Review: OZZY OSBOURNE's Sound Was 'Way Too Soft' During Late Afternoon OZZFEST Set

July 2, 2006

Brad Kava of The Mercury News reviewed this year's Ozzfest when it hit the Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco, California on Saturday (July 1). An excerpt from his review follows:

The Prince of Darkness played in the bright light of day Saturday at the 11th annual Ozzfest concert, and, while the reigning monarch of metal said he loved it, his fans weren't all ready to get on that crazy train.

Ozzy Osbourne, 57, played on Ozzfest's second stage, the general admission one in the dusty parking lot usually reserved for up-and-coming bands. His set started at 4:20 (the symbolic clock-stroke for potheads to light up joints) and ended about an hour later.

"You kick (expletive)," he said, to the 15,000 or so people who crowded in to get a closer glimpse. "You know what, I'm going to do this every (expletive) year."

(Author's note: to keep quotes accurate in the rest of this story, just add a profanity, usually one that begins with "f," in between every pair of words from a performer from here on out.)

Some 2,500 early risers, who got to the venue well before 9 a.m., were given wristbands that let them into a roped off section closest to the stage. For the rest, it was dog eat dog.

"I paid good money for reserved seats to see Ozzy," said Charles Knauft, 36, of Santa Cruz, who expected Ozzy to play the main stage. "I don't want to be fighting with a bunch of drunk 20 years olds to see him."

The wind had picked up right before Osbourne launched a set that included ballads "Mama, I'm Coming Home" and "Road to Nowhere", as well as rockers "Suicide Solution", "Crazy Train" and "Paranoid". As a result, the sound, which had been perfect through seven hours of little-known metal bands, was suddenly way too soft.

"I couldn't hear him or see him," said Knauft. "And all the people around me were talking and drowning him out. If I had known he was on the second stage, I wouldn't have paid 135 bucks a ticket. I won't come back next year."

Read the entire review at www.mercurynews.com.

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