TOUR REVIEWS

July 19th - Tweeter Center at The Waterfront - Camden, NJ, U.S.

Chris Stewart:

Sabbath was amazing in Camden last night.  Well worth the wait, since last year Ozzy didn't show up because of bronchitis.  This year, I decided to spend a little extra and go for 2nd row tickets in the center section, well worth the money.  

The beginning of the show had a curtain with the Master Of
Reality Black Sabbath logo which changed colors to the beat of the opening montage of songs.  During the opener, "N.I.B." Ozzy had everyone in the place jumping.  Then they roared into "After Forever", easily one of my favorite Sabbath tunes.  

The lighting on this Ozzfest is quite impressive from what it has been in the last few times Sabbath has played Ozzfest. The band rolled through each song, going into "War Pigs" next.  Ozzy had a huge smile on his face and was moving around and singing better than he has in years.  "Dirty Women" was next, but only the real hardcore Sabbath fans seemed to know this one while the rest of the crowd just kind of jammed along.  "Fairies Wear Boots" was next and the drums sounded awesome.  They were so heavy and hard hitting - it was incredible.  After "Fairies Wear Boots", Geezer brought out an Aston Villa Soccer team flag and was holding it up, but it was upside down!  Everyone in the band had a good laugh about that. 

Tony then roared into the opening riff of "Symptom Of The Universe".  After the first verse riff, Sabbath went into "Sweet Leaf" and then left you hanging for a few seconds,  just to smash the crowd with the gut wrenching opening of "Electric Funeral".  "Iron Man" was next and that also sounded very good as Ozzy's voice was a perfect 10.  Then Tony led the way to start "Into The Void".  Towards the end of the song, there seemed to be some confusion as to where the end was but they quickly got it back together and finished it nicely.  

The song "Black Sabbath" was next and the flame background they used on the video screen is really awesome.  You feel like your standing in hell with all the lighting and effects.  Sabbath didn't play "The Wizard" tonight.  I suppose that is the sacrificed song, much like "Sweet Leaf" last year.  

Instead, they went into "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" / "Paranoid".  It was weird - Ozzy had been singing so well all night and then his voice started to crack pretty badly.  It would crack and then nothing would come out.  Whatever the case was. instead of leaning on the mic stand and kind of looking embarrassed, he ran around and compensated for it with raw energy.  Even at the end of the show he continued to dowse the audience with buckets of water.  

Ozzy said before the last song that he needed everyone to help him out because his voice was going.  "Sleeping Village" was awesome.  I know some people prefer "Embryo" before "Children Of The Grave", but this was so eerie and would actually make a great opening to the show.  "Children Of The Grave" sounded phenomenal!  Ozzy's voice continued to crack a bit but no one really noticed.  Everyone was having such a good time that they could've cared less. 

After that the infamous bowl and then good night.  If you have opportunity to see Sabbath this year at Ozzfest and are thinking of not going, GO!  I've seen Sabbath 9 times and this was the best out of all the shows.  Tony's guitar playing was flawless in Camden and Bill's drumming has always sounded great, but has a little more of a kick to it then it used to.  Also, Bill seems to be having a lot more fun playing as well as he was smiling a good part of the night.  Geezer seemed a little crowd shy, but he always does.  He didn't look up at the crowd much but maybe he was just so into the music he was in his own world.  Ozzy was the real story of the night though.  He looked and sounded better than he ever did before.  Ozzy had such a big smile on his face all night it was obvious he was happy to be there and he still enjoys touring.  Hopefully we'll see a new Sabbath album someday soon.  With all the energy, power, and raw talent this band still has, there's no way the album would not meet up to standards of the past albums.

LIVE PHOTOS BY CHRIS STEWART

Steven Burg:

At 9:20, a velvet red banner with the Master Of Reality Black Sabbath logo was drawn over the stage at the Tweeter Center.  Anyone who had attended the Ozzfest show last year in Camden couldn't help but experience at least the slightest bit of déjà vu.  Last year as Sabbath was about to take the stage it was announced that Ozzy had fallen ill with "bronchitis" and that Rob Halford would be taking his place that evening.  No refunds were offered to the crowd.  I for one, had my fingers crossed and was hoping that Ozzy would show up this year.  Any doubts I had were instantly dissipated with a familiar shriek of "I can't fucking hear you!" from behind the curtain.

Ozzy was there indeed and he performed marvelously.  It was one of the most energetic and heartfelt performances I had seen from him since the Sabbath reunion shows in 1999.  The whole band sounded unbelievable.  Tony played extended and improvised solos on several songs.  The set list was the same from the European shows with the exception of "The Wizard" which was dropped from the set list tonight.

In my opinion, the best song of the night was "Black Sabbath".  One could easily close their eyes and believe they were listening to the version on the 69' album.  Absolutely amazing!  Ozzy's voice started to crack towards the end of the show during "Paranoid" at the "can you help me" verse.  However, he finished the rest of the song decently.  When the band came back on for their encore "Children Of The Grave", Ozzy said that his chords were "all fucked up" and that he wanted us to help him out and sing with him.  Surprisingly, his voice held up very well throughout the song.  The band took a final bow and concluded an unbelievable performance. 

Chris M.:

I was at the show in Camden last year.  When it was announced that Ozzy was sick, I was disappointed but it was still cool to see Rob Halford fill in for him.  However, this year there was nothing disappointing about their performance.

Before the show started, they had the stage closed off with a
curtain bearing the Black Sabbath name.  Then, "I cant fuckin' hear you!!".  The crowd went nuts!  The intro started to play, but this time it wasn't the video.  It was just the audio of a slew of different songs played throughout Sabbath's career.  As the intro played the curtain changed colors.  After the intro stopped, Ozzy got the crowd going again.  Then the curtain disappeared and the band walked forward.

Geezer played the beginning to "N.I.B." and the show started.  Now was the moment of truth.  Was Ozzy's voice as good as everyone was making it out to be?  Was he sounding as good as he did in the 70's?  Of course!  Just flawless throughout the whole set.  The energy was great, the sound was great and
the band really looked like they were having a great time playing there.

The end came, and "Paranoid" was played.  Ozzy's voice started to crack here and there and he even noted, "My voice is starting to crack here", but did anyone notice? No!  After "Paranoid", they all walked off stage like it was over.  The lighters came out. Ozzy got the crowd going again and ran out with his hand held to his ear?  Then the rest of the band walked out.  They encored with "Sleeping Village" and "Children Of The Grave".  For some reason though they left out "The Wizard".

Overall, a fantastic show.  My first time seeing all 4 members of Black Sabbath together live, and it was just great.  These guys are definitely not over with just yet.

I cant wait for next year's Ozzfest....

Live Pictures by Chris M.