When Ozzy Osbourne seems as though he needs a walker or cane to move across the stage properly, it may be time to hang up the boots. Seeing the 65 year old metal legend try to clap or bang his head can bring about feelings of depression amongst fans.
Despite age, Ozzy and the boys in Black Sabbath failed to skip a beat Tuesday night in Clarkston, Michigan as they performed a 120-minute set featuring songs from across the decades, including songs of their new album “13,” such as “God is Dead.” An impressive video setup and simplistic stage design allowed for a lot of action on stage from bassist Geezer Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi.
Black Sabbath opened their set with the heavy hitting “War Pigs.” Ozzy, despite his limited mobility, didn’t miss a note in his performance. This trend continued throughout the night as the band played with Ozzy taking moments to scream “I can’t fucking here you” or “Put your fucking hands in the air!”
“Into the Void,” “Snow Blind” and “Black Sabbath” rounded out the top of the night and set the stage moving forward. During “Fairies Wear Boots” fans were treated to beautiful, naked metal chicks on the video screen.
Butler at one point had a two minute bass solo that was the epitome of sexy while their drummer, Tommy Clufetos, performed a full drum solo that lasted the length of a full song or two, inciting excitement and energy from the Metro Detroit area crowd.
The end of the solo had Ozzy come out and lead the crowd in chants that signaled the beginning of “Iron Man” and the massive horde of fans singing along, at times drowning out Ozzy’s powerful vocals.
“God is Dead,” “Dirty Women” and “Children of the Grave” rounded out the set list for the night. But instead of leaving, Ozzy led the fans in another chant of “one more song.”
As the “Bloody Sabbath” intro played, fans knew what they were in store for as Black Sabbath began to play their encore. The 1970 hit “Paranoid” rounded out the night, ending in thunderous applause for the heavy metal legends as they took their leave.
Despite the inevitable aging process, Black Sabbath can still outperform even the most talented of today’s crop of young rockstars. Black Sabbath’s 13 is now available, and as Ozzy said during their performance, was their first number one album ever in the United States.
