I am, next Friday for the Birmingham gig. Can’t wait.

Beer, metal nostalgia, curry, night out with my bros’.

Perfect.

Not going but I thought this review will prepare you:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/live-music-reviews/10510453/Black-Sabbath-The-O2-London-review.html

Yeah I have no illusions about the state of Ozzy (I was there – at the very front – at the O2 Academy warm-up gig last year) but this is Sabbath and I couldn’t care less.

\m/ \m/

Went on Tuesday, good gig with a really good performance from the band. Review has a point that Ozzy was the weakest link

It is hardly surprising to be fair.

What is surprising is that he is still alive to actually perform.

And I’m seeing them on the opening night in Brum so I am hoping he’ll put in a little bit of effort…

I’ll be there in Manchester on Wednesday. I saw them in 2001 and I honestly thought Ozzy would be history by now.

It’s going to be good, it’s Sabbath! I doubt there will be anyone there who doesn’t know exactly what they’re getting.

First bands I ever saw live. 1977 Technical Ecstacy tour. Ozzy was awesome, Iommi was sublime, Bill Ward immense and Geezer Butler out of time 😀

I remember having tinnitus for a good while after too!

Enjoy the gig, Snowblind, iron Man, Pigs of War… Rock on!

I’ll be in Manchester on Wednesday too. Not seen Ozzy live before so I don’t really mind if he’s a bit off par.

Who’s on drums? Can it really be Sabbath if it isn’t Bill?!

Shabby treatment of Bill IMHO.

Ma boy saw them a few days ago at 02.

The first time I saw them was I think 1974 and that was the last time that rock bands were allowed to play at the Royal Albert Hall.

Saw them again at Hammersmith Odeon where I fought for an item of Ozzie’s clothing that he threw into the crowd. 8)

Happy days. 😀

jamj1974 – Member
Shabby treatment of Bill IMHO.
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Possibly, the real story is yet to come out though I think.

He *was* drinking buddy with Ozzy so I reckon it was just Sharon doing her best to avoid a meltdown. She has a zero tolerance rule backstage…

Went to the Reunion concert at the NEC in ’97. Wouldn’t want to see them again live after that. It will tarnish the memory.

Yes I’m going, can’t wait, went to see the at the O2 and Download last year, plenty beer this Friday will be drunk.

Saw the Heaven and Hell tour a year or two back – awesome sound, I reckon this proper version would be great too

Saw them on the Sabbath 4 tour, probably at their peak. Wouldn’t want to see them now.
And Bill’s only a drummer, a bloke who hangs around with musicians…

Saw them at the O2 the other night. Wasn’t expecting a great deal – probably just a bunch old guys going through the motions – but they were bloody great. Best gig for quite a while (far better than Soundgarden and the Pumpkins)

The telegraph is pretty spot on in some respects – but Ozzy’s been doing the shuffly old man routine for a few decades now, so it’s not exactly unexpected – he ain’t gonna change.

The lack of Bill Ward wasn’t a bad thing – the new drummer added a load of energy to the gig. There was also a monster drum solo – during which I presume the rest of the band had a cup of tea and a lie down.

It depends which ozzy turns up tbh… Saw him a few years ago with sabbath, and it was just plain sad, you could see tony spent half the gig trying to look after him and just keep him more or less pointing in the right direction… Singing was awful, all over the place. When they did the wings thing, he ran off halfway through with only one connected and had no idea, stage hands trying to fix it…

But then, weirdly, a bit later we saw him without sabbath and he was on bloody good form- sure, still obviously an old dude and physically limited, but he worked the crowd, he hit most of the notes, basically looked like a man 20 years younger or about 100% less braindamaged.