Ozzy Osborne and Rob Zombie, Salt Lake City, Utah - Written By Stephanie

Three days after having a 3" lump removed from my
neck, Ashley and I hurried ourselves to the Rob
Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne concert – for what was
surely going to be the greatest concert pairing ever.
Yep. I'm that hardcore. We made our way towards
the venue, The West Valley City E-Center, through
the miles of streaming red brake lights to find a place
to park. Once inside, we grabbed our tickets from
Will Call and walked right past a security guard
railing as the guard was busy chatting away with
someone else. Never even noticed. Kind of pissed
me off knowing I didn't really even have to buy
tickets. Thanks E-Center security!

As we tried to shuffle our way through the crowd,
I realized that I haven't really yet found a venue that
I like 100%. I take everything in, of course, including
sound quality, parking, security, etc. Maybe when I
get industrious enough ( i.e. motivated), I will create
a venue rating chart so that you're prepared should
you ever come see a show in Salt Lake City, UT.


Anyway, here's what I hate about The E-Center:  upon entering the venue, you have to take an immediate right to go up the first flight of
stairs to GA and Lower Bowl seating. When I say immediate right, I mean there's about 12 feet from the doorway to the wall in front of
you, so you have this aisle to make your way to the staircase. The E-Center thought this would be a perfect place to set up the line for
wristbands for beer drinkers AND the merch tables. It suddenly became clear why the crowd was so thick when we realized that
everyone from the sold-out show was trying to stuff themselves through the passageway while stopping for a beer wristband and
merch. Well done, E-Center, well done.
The next thing I hate about The E-Center is the sound. The acoustics are terrible, too high, with resonating bad sound that leaves your
ears ringing after the first note is played. Ear plugs are a must just for the safety of retaining any hearing capabilities after the night is
through.

But I digress…


























main entrance and waited in a thicket of people for my purchases. Which brings us back to my horrible experience at The E-Center once
again…

There were 5 people working the merch tables, a total of 7 plastic barricades and a number of tables in a row. There were a couple
hundred of us and the crowd was beginning to get restless, anxious to see Ozzy's opening number. The more and more evil the crowd
became, the harder it was for me to maintain my inner monologue. When a black girl made a comment about how she wasn't being
helped because of her skin color – that's when I finally snapped. A verbal fight ensued as I pointed out how many merch people there
were versus how many of us and it was starting to get ugly when finally the girl was helped so we could enjoy the rest of our queue in
quiet peace. The opening chords of Ozzy's band opened up and the crowd lessened. By the time I got up there, they were sold out of
hoodies and most shirts in my size. I settled for my 6 th choice on Ozzy shirts and was able to get my first choice for the Rob Zombie
shirt.
When I made it back to the rafters, it was like the crowd had completely changed into the raving psychopaths that are Ozzy Osbourne
fans. Bringing me to a third reason why I hate The E-Center: the law here states you can have two beers for the wristband. The E-
Center interpretation of this is two beers at a time. By the time I made my way to my seat, you wouldn't have been able to discern my
sweaty ass from a beer puddle on the cement stairs. The crowd was going nuts to what I think was Ozzy's fourth song in the set. He
was singing "Not Going Away", one of my favorite songs off of his new album, Black Rain.

I love watching Ozzy perform. Regardless of which clueless expression he wears the majority of his personal life, there is no denying
that The Prince of Darkness' true home is on stage and before a crowd of screaming fans. He loves them and we love him back. He
turns into a child again, grinning from ear to ear and hopping about on stage. The man may be aging, but the songs may as well be fresh
off the printer as he continues to carry them with strength. That being said, about 5 or 6 songs in to it and the Ozz Man needed a break.
Enter Zakk Wylde.
I'd like to preface my bit on Zakk Wylde by saying I've seen a few guitar solos in my concert-going history. Hell, I just saw a nice one
an hour ago. However, I have never endured such a long solo in my life. Not even going through a Zeppelin DVD. Remember how I
mentioned the terrible acoustics at The E-Center? They're even worse when it's just one instrument and a squealing guitar to boot.
Zakk's fans went mad and were hanging over the balcony, screaming, whooping and hollering – the beer bringing out their inner
redneck. Drunken 20-something's were yelling at us to stand up and give our props to the guitar icon playing below. All I could focus on
was the intense pain in my head and ears. This went on for fifteen minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. FIFTEEN. AGONIZING.
MINUTES.

At one point I turned to Ashley and typed out on my cell phone "Last time I checked, it was Ozzy's name on the bill". She nodded in
agreement because we were both in pain. The ruckus and the scream of the guitar nearly ended us, but the worse was yet to come as
Zakk Wylde proudly screeched out the Star-Spangled Banner in near-Hendrix fashion. I'm not so sure what is so Rock n' Roll about the
national anthem, especially when the star of the show is British, but it nearly caused a riot amongst the drunken, die hard fans. Cups of
beer were launched over the balconies to create alcoholic streamers of appreciation. Fists were held high and I swear to God I saw an
Hispanic biker with tears in his eyes. It was too much and I wanted to go home.
We waited for Ozzy to come back onstage and when he began singing, my ears couldn't even decipher what song he was singing. It
was useless. Wylde killed whatever phenomenal effect Ozzy could have had in mind the rest of the evening. I was pissed.
The bottom line is:  if catching any of the shows on the remaining tour dates, bring ear plugs. If there are no ear plugs to be had, then
for the love of music get out of the venue before Zakk hits the first note. Brilliant guitarist or not, the showboating ruined my concert
experience. Should've taken that six flight walk for a smoke break. Maybe then I could have stayed longer.


Let's also keep in mind that it was Wylde's performance which drove me to leave early. Not any amount of pain or discomfort from the
surgery three days earlier.


Just something to think about
x2
BAND: Ozzy
and Rob Zombie
VENUE: E-
Center, Salt Lake
City, Utah
DATE:
November 11th
The show opened with Mr. Rob Zombie and all I can say is that I just
fell in love with him even more. They played my favorites: House of
1000 Corpses, Living Dead Girl, Dragula… It was a great set and Rob
does a brilliant job with engaging and interacting with the crowd. John
5 was alive and performed an amazing guitar solo ending with the Star-
Spangled Banner played by his teeth. We all applauded and cheered at
the horrible rendition played note for note as he struggled to move his
mouth over the strings. Victory arms from the guitarist and Piggy D
earned even more cheers. There were pyrotechnics (a rarity in Utah)
and we could feel the heat from the rafters (nosebleed seats are still
seats). There were snippets from Rob's movies playing in the
background amongst other clips of zombies and gore.

The end of the show was just as entertaining as the beginning when
Piggy D handed his bass to one of the dancing girls, strapping it on her
and showing her how to continue plucking the one bass string to bring
them to a close. Meanwhile he pranced and egged on the audience,
bowing gallantly and grinning from ear to ear. I loved this show and I'd
love to see them all again. Although I will admit that the dancing girls
need some assistance. Rob Zombie or not, I would've checked for a
pulse.

Now it was time for the intermission and the opportunity that every fan
takes to get their merch. Wandered down the 6 flights of stairs to the