Concert Review: The Scream Tour - Slash and Ozzy Osbourne
On February 16, 2011 Slash and Ozzy Osbourne hit the stage at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with the kind of raw charisma and fuel-driven performances that distinguished them from their peers in their earlier days and now from those who follow in their footsteps. From the moment they hit the stage you could feel it: that natural magnetism that is sadly missing in rock and roll these days. These guys are the real deal. They're fucking Rockstars!
The first thing that is glaringly different in their show is their awareness of their audience. They hit the stage then take a moment to assess the crowd before them, Slash swaggers along the front of the stage, his signature Les Paul wailing, throwing a crooked smile to those who stand screaming in front of him. Ozzy Osbourne prowls the stage back and forth like a caged tiger, pointing at people in the audience, throwing devil's horns to the rowdiest fans. Their acknowledgment is what makes this concert different from others. It's not a rock and roll show--it's a rock and roll party! And everyone is expected to participate.
The reason these men have remained relevant over the long haul is not just a matter of talent, it's the connection that their fans feel with them; a connection that continues to grow stronger as they move forward in their musical careers. Slash's incredible, distinct guitar playing which fails to comply with any corporeal descriptor; it affects everyone with the same force, but the connection it makes with each of us is so very personal that it cannot be neatly summed up or explained away.
Ozzy Osbourne's most defining talent is far more enigmatic. It is a fact that at the beginning of every new decade the most popular music and musicians are tagged by era and dumped. Rarely does a band, or the music they created, survive into the next decade. People love Ozzy Osbourne more today than ever before. Die hard fans who have stuck by the Prince of Darkness through thick and thin are met head-on by the devotion of a new generation of fans.
The enthusiastic crowd is unique; fans dating back to Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath days are out-numbered by high school and college kids, some wearing their Slash top-hats, others wearing vintage Blizzard of Ozz t-shirts. Ozzy Osbourne and Slash are not going away any time soon. The youthful audience promises them both another decade of music making. But more importantly, these kids know every single song from start to finish. They scream along to classics like "Mr. Crowley" and "Night Train" as well as songs from the 2010 releases Slash and Scream from Ozzy Osbourne.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati