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Band:Ozzfest 2006 DVD:Ozzfest ('05 DVD) Produced by:Clear Channel Writer: Linda Ode Media: Zakk Wylde-You Tube Click Album Cover To Buy Now

Man, do I love me some Ozzfest. The setting this year was a great lineup, first Ozzfest show on the 2006 tour, Ozzy headlining, beautiful weather, and for me personally getting to meet up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in ten years. So I knew this was going to be an awesome day, but I had no idea how much fun it was really going to turn out to be.

We wandered up to the gates about 1 pm or something like that, and promptly made our way over to the second stage to see what was going on. We got there about halfway through the set of Bleeding Through. For the most part Bleeding Through was pretty good melodic numetal stuff. The drummer’s meter was a bit off as my drummer friend who was with me observed. For the most part there wasn’t anything amazing going on with this group, but they seemed typical for an Ozzfest second stager.

We hung around for Unearth just to see what that was all about. Unearth’s singer came out on stage in a sweatshirt, which I thought was pretty funny. That didn’t last too long. Their lead guitarist spent a lot of time trying to get the crowd going and generally trying to look like he was the most awesome thing since sliced bread. This band was doing the breakdown thing constantly, which is something I usually enjoy. Overall, they kept the audience pumping their fists, and even had them clapping at one point.

At this point, Atreyu was coming on, who I’ve seen before. So we wandered our way up to the lawn after getting some food and relaxed in the sun for a while. If you really want to know how they sounded, check out my Taste of Chaos review from April, because it was pretty much the same, from what we could hear from the lawn.

After finishing our eats, we had to make our way back down to the stage to catch Black Label Society. Of course they come out in all their glory and start busting some great guitar into our lives. During the 2nd song, Zakk Wylde took off the bandana he was wearing and threw it into the crowd. Some BLS fan was made very happy at that moment. Zakk spent a lot of time standing right up front and showing off his kick ass skills. As far as the rest of the band goes, they definitely have all their songs down tight. It’s nice to hear a band totally on it. Their drummer had great energy and was totally on it. There was one point where Zakk played a blistering solo that was at least 3 minutes long. And the fans just go crazy for it. Being a fan myself, I had to stay until the very last second of the set, so by the time I made my way to my assigned seat, I had just missed Dragonforce. What really blew about that was I wanted to see if the live set could keep up with the standard of skills they show off on video. Too bad I missed them. If you want to see both BLS and Dragonforce, you will have to run from the second stage to the main stage.

I’ve been a fan of Lacuna Coil for some time, so luckily I was in my seat and ready to rock when they took the stage. All of the band members came out in matching outfits, which I thought was a little cheesy, then low and behold here come Christina and that other singer dude in different, but also matching outfits. I got over that quickly because after a couple of new tunes, they played Heaven is a Lie off Comalies. They also did an amazing cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.” Christina did a beautiful harmony during this song, as well as a hauting vocal at the end. As far as the performance the band did a pretty good job of staying tight. There were a few sloppy moments, but nothing that distracted heavily from the pure goodness that is this band.

At this point, we had to go see what our friends were up to so I watched Hatebreed from the lawn. I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from this band, and they did not disappoint with this set. They played “Through the Threshold” which will be on their upcoming album. And the moshing freaks were so crazy that they actually broke the barricade during Hatebreed’s set. The singer kept having people move back so they could try to fix it, but by the time we made our way back down to the seats, they were still working on it. It took a good half hour before Avenged Sevenfold was able to take the stage. Interesting because the set changes had all been very quick up until now.

Sorry to disappoint you A7X fans, but I thought it was more important to go have a beer with my buddy from out of town than to stay for their set. However, my husband tells me that they had these awesome metal walkways going around the drummers set that they spent a lot of time on. He also says the lead guitarist was way awesome and that I should have stayed because I would have loved him. That he was totally buttrock and had great energy. I was able to hear their cover of Pantera’s “Walk” from the beer garden though, which made me happy. I think they did it justice.

I ambled my way back just in time to watch Disturbed. The first thing I noticed was that the drum kit had this sweet glowing demon face thing in the bass drum. So that was cool. The drummer was totally on it and kicked major ass. As far as playing, these guys were fully on point. The only problem was that David’s voice seemed to be giving him a hard time. There’s no doubt the man can sing. There is also no doubt he can bust out a mean monkey cry. But his voice did crack a few times when he would try to carry a note all the way out. I could tell he was annoyed by it, so I think it was just a bad night for him. I’m sure he’s still got it. David also spent a minute talking about Ozzy and Black Sabbath being the only reason they’re all here, and had the crowd chanting “Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy” within seconds. Their set list included “Believe”, “Stricken”, “Down with the Sickness” among many others.

System of a Down started their set letting guitarist Daron Malakian come out and play the Soldier’s Side intro. I could tell right away that he was either drunk or messed up on something. At least that made for a good show. Daron’s antics set the stage for the silliness of their entire set. He did a hilarious intro to “Cigaro” talking about his cock. He did a hilarious intro to “Lonely Day.” He did a hilarious rendition of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (yes, the Mr. Rodgers theme). He humped his guitar for a bit. He did the crazy screams live even better than he does on the album. Drummer John kicked major ass as well. In fact, there were times when John was kicking so much ass that the rest of the band couldn’t keep up with him. The bass player, Shavo, was doing this silly thing where he’d kindof half bounce, half jump. He also walked way out on the edge of the stage in front of the amps to the side and played a song or so there. Serj had no problems whatsoever with his voice. He has a beautiful voice live or on record. He seemed to be having a great night and did an amazing job on all of the harmonies that he sings. Their set list included Hypnotize, Lonely Day, Cigaro, Toxicity, Aerials, Chop Suey, BYOB, and many others. They actually played for quite a while, and did a great job at giving us fans just what we wanted.

Finally it was time for Ozzy to come out and show us what this fest is all about. There was a good 3 or 4 minute montage on the big screen before Ozzy came out. It showed clips of him throughout his career, and had clips of probably about 20 different songs. It was a pretty cool montage. This was my first time seeing Ozzy, and between the show and now as I’m writing this review, a few people have seemed annoyed with the fact that I liked his performance. Being that this was my first time, I thought he did really well. Maybe he was way better when he was younger, maybe he had more energy, maybe his voice was stronger, maybe his presence was bigger. But for ME, I thought this was a great show. He hit every single note, he didn’t miss a beat. He was also really cute when he jumped up and down and smiled at the crowd and told us he loved us. So what if he’s not jumping around like a crazy man. He’s old, it’s not like his body can do what it used to. But as far as his voice goes, he’s still got it. He is an amazing vocalist and I was very impressed with his willingness to even still be out there bringing us his music.

He started the set with “Changes.” He also did “Mr. Crowley”, “Flying High Again,” “Goodbye to Romance”, “Suicide Solution,” “I Don’t Want to Change the World,” and “Crazy Train.” The three song encore consisted of “Bark at the Moon,” “Mama I’m Comin’ Home,” and “Paranoid.” Zakk Wylde also did a good 5 minute solo, including an absolutely mindblowing rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” He showed off playing the guitar behind his head, and also did a bit of his solo with his teeth. The band was great, playing everything perfectly, and they just put on a great show.

If you are a fan of any of these bands, I would highly recommend checking out Ozzfest this year if it comes to a town near you. It’s worth the money. You will have a great day. Remember to bring sunblock, a camera, and water. And have a good safe time.

Band:Ozzfest DVD:Ozzfest ('05 DVD) Produced by:Clear Channel Writer: Linda Ode Media: Zakk Wylde-You Tube Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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