Reviews from CTNOW.COM Meadows Music Theater - Hartford, CT - July 10th, 2004

Nero Kalem: “The band played very well, actually.... Ozzy, if he had any screw-ups, weren't bad enough to be highly noticeable. The only slight problem he had was that Ozzy might have been slightly out of sync in "Black Sabbath".  Bree reminds me that Ozzy was certainly charismatic and effusive (very happy and "into it", she says), even if the effects of age and drugs appear to showing on him visually.  Geezer Butler also is, visually, showing a few signs of age.”

”But overall, Ozzy definitely wasn't the weak link I think people were expecting him to be.  He seemed to be pretty much in sync and tune with the rest of the band.  For those who went to Ozzfest 2003, you'll probably find that Ozzy's singing was definitely an improvement.  I remember thinking last night (6/10/04) that if Ozzy could maintain the voice I heard at this year's Ozzfest, he might be able to pull off another Black Sabbath studio album.”

“The visuals were really good this time around, incidentally.  They had a really good huge-screen feature in which they showed the following:”

-Footage of George W Bush and various historical battles and despots during WAR PIGS

-Footage from SCARFACE during SNOWBLIND

-Footage from REEFER MADNESS: I believe, it could have been another anti-pot movie) during SWEET LEAF.  They also had a digital clock visual that went in cycles of changing from 4:19 to 4:20, which was enhanced by the green lighting and the accompanying smoke machine.

- Footage of hippies and freaky-deaky '60s counter-culture transvestites and homosexuals during FAIRIES WEAR BOOTS.  No porn, don't worry... just very odd ANDY WARHOL- type stuff.

”Oh yes, Ozzy did the “Wo--oo—oo” thing he stole from Dio during WAR PIGS, but I don't recollect him doing the “booo---ooots” thing from the REUNION album at the beginning of FAIRIES WEAR BOOTS - could be wrong though.”

Mike Flood: "My wife told me I was absolutely not taking our new digital camera to Ozzfest!!  So, I bought a disposable and snapped many shots.  Just have to get them developed tomorrow.  Ozzy was in top form right on in every way. The rest of the band was awesome as well.  They teased me though!!  Tony went into "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" as an intro to Paranoid.  The magic is still there and its never going away.  Bill kept losing sticks all night.  I thought that was weird."

maggotbird@yahoo.com: “Here are some of my comments of what I experienced at Hartford for  OZZFEST 2004 ~ July 10 2004.  If ya don’t like it you can LICK MY PLATE!!!” 

“It was wicked crowded, but that may be the norm for this venue as it was the first time I’ve attended a show here.  The parking lot police were mostly lax and most everyone had tunes cranked and were boozin’ away.  We didn’t get hassled once about drinking in the parking lot but did get told to move the car like 5 times.  We took a 14-passenger limo and it did take a lot of space, but with a $7.50 parking fee on each ticket we paid like $75 to park, counting the people we went with.  We felt that we had paid to park just to be left alone.  Probably could have understood the lot attendant if he (or was it a she?) spoke English and made sense the first time around.” 

“Juiced by 10am!  Gotta love it.  HAH HAH HAH!  Man was it hot!!!  A few clouds provided occasional relief, but damn if I still wasn’t burnt to a crisp.  Having the second stage areas set up on blacktop didn’t help much in that respect.  The lawn was a roastfest in more ways than one, and about the only relief was one indoor concession area.   Anyone attending future shows should make sure to bring a couple of jugs-o-water.  It sucked waiting in a concession line for a half-hour for a drink and then being told, "we have no ice nor $4 bottled water".  At least there was enough $8~16oz Heinekens to drink!!!  Seems the beer police at this venue are inside and confiscate booze from anyone drinking without an ID wristband.”

“Have to agree with Raddion – I loved seeing the girls wearing no tops and sporting painted "shirts"/breasts.  Damn - wish I brought a camera, as there were ALOT of these girls sporting this fashion - TITFEST 2004 indeed.  Went thru 5 mosh pits during Slayer to get a decent lawn spot for the remainder of the show.  And I only got punched in the head once – HEH!  The water bottle war was a sight to behold.  I’m not sure when it started, but I saw most of the action near the end of the Priest set.  Thousands of flying plastic bottles - WOW.  Too bad there weren’t any Garbage cans.  Similar to every Ozzfest I've been to, the bathrooms are always friggin’ NASTY!!!  It must suck for the womenfolk to have to take a leak without getting a bottle up the backside.”

“I didn’t pay much attention to any of the bands except for Black Label Society, Judas Priest and Sabbath.  Black Label Society were OK, but not so much that I'll go out and buy any of their recordings tomorrow (or anytime in the near future for that matter).  Highlights for me during Judas Priest were “A Touch Of Evil”, “Beyond the Realms of Death” and the encore with Halford on the Harley – “Hell Bent for Leather”.  I would have loved to hear some of the newer Priest.  I know it was "Rippers" material, but damn!  Their 2002 show with "Hell Is Home" sounded amazing and I know Rob could have done that one justice.”

“Black Sabbath was friggin’ loud!  I’ve got to love the fact the one of our friends who had a Pit Ticket decided not to go to the show and let me have his ticket.  This put me just thirty feet from Iommi.  The most enjoyable songs for me during Sabbath were “Snowblind”, “N.I.B.” and “Children Of The Grave”.  Ozzy mooned the crowd once and didn’t stray from the teleprompter much at all.  He seemed to mess up some lyrics on the opener “War Pigs”.  He only threw 1 bucket of water on the crowd during the whole show.  The confetti shower at the end of the show was very cool.  I had almost wished it was water cause it was so friggin’ hot!  I can’t write a musical review, as every time I see Sabbath it's simply the best.  And as I wrote here for the '97 Ozzfest, this was the best to ME.  However, I for one will always miss the Tony Martin era Sabbath.  All in all a fantastic show and not one to be missed if YOU can still rock.”  

Joebt: "What a great show Sabbath put on!  They were all 100% there, technically and emotionally.  Ozzy seems the healthiest in years and was really into it.  Geezer and Tony played as a unit.  But the man who seemed to play with the most passion was Bill!  At the end of the show, he was obviously moved and ecstatic - and even gave Ozzy a kiss."

"Judas Priest were also re-united and Halford sang like a young man.  Slayer were good too.  By far the best of the three Ozzfests I have been to - 2002,2003, and 2004."