Allianz Parque was packed to say goodbye to Ozzy Osbourne.
Ozzy Osbourne 's entire show at Allianz Parque on the night of May 13th.
For the 5th time in a row I had the opportunity to see the Prince of Darkness live (not counting the 2 recent appearances with Black Sabbath at the 13 and The End ) out of the 6 times he came to the country with his solo band.
Unfortunately, since I was 15 years old at the time, I couldn't go to Ozzy's first show in Brazil at the historic Rock In Rio in 1985, but since his return in 1995, I've been to every one of the Madman's shows.
Reinvention. The word stuck in my head throughout the entire show. It was more of a wish than a hunch. I wanted a reinvention.
But if this reinvention were to happen, it wouldn't be in the setlist.
Ultimately, of all the songs performed at that distant first show I saw in 1995 at Pacaembu, the only differences today were "Road To Nowhere," which replaced "Goodbye To Romance," and "Shot In The Dark," replacing "I Just Want You" (in addition to the instrumental medley and minor changes to the traditional Sabbath covers that Ozzy always performs). The rest of the set was exactly the same as 23 years ago.
But I went to Allianz really hoping that Ozzy would surprise us with something. If Ozzy's reinvention wasn't going to come from the setlist, who knows, maybe he would invent something, as he has been doing for the last 50 years, after all, the story of the Prince of Darkness is one reinvention after another:
Ozzy reinvented himself by creating a brilliant solo career full of hits after being kicked out of Black Sabbath.
Ozzy reinvented himself by introducing the world to brilliant guitarists like Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde after prematurely losing the immortal Randy Rhoads .
Ozzy reinvented himself several times upon returning from his supposed retirement: The tour of the first show I saw in 1995 was called Retirement Sucks , which followed the supposed No More Tours 1 .
Ozzy reinvented himself by opening up about his family life on the MTV series "The Osbournes" and playing a role that didn't reflect the importance that John Michael Osbourne has, and will forever have, in the history of music.
Ozzy reinvented himself by returning to electrifying tours after that phase of the reality show that portrayed a caricature of the Prince of Darkness.
Ozzy reinvented himself by writing the funniest autobiography ever made, which begins with the phrase "They said I'd never write this book."
Ozzy reinvented himself in his marriage to Sharon, which went through numerous challenges, from attempted murder to discovered affairs.
Recently, Madman launched a podcast called "The Osbournes" in addition to the series about historical landmarks with his son Jack.
And so, Ozzy Osbourne's reinventions continued and didn't stop. Who knows, maybe he saved one for today in São Paulo?
When the epic "O Fortuna," a line from "Carmina Burana," echoed through the former Parque Antárctica, the 40,000 people in attendance knew that the Prince of Darkness had arrived, since the song traditionally opens Ozzy Osbourne's shows.
The electrifying riff of "Bark at the Moon" announced the start of the show, and from the first note to the farewell with "Paranoid," we could once again witness the almost messianic presence and influence that Ozzy has over his audience.
At 70 years old, Ozzy Osbourne still exudes charisma and charm, giving the clear impression that he enjoys every second of his show as much as the audience. Quite different, in fact, from other artists, including younger ones, who seem to be there to fulfill an obligation.
And then we had several traditional things that aren't reinventions, but that everyone wants to see at Ozzy's shows:
The howl at the end of "Bark at the Moon" with Ozzy asking everyone to howl along with him;
The deliberate delay in starting to sing the beginning of "Mr. Crowley," right after the keyboard introduction created by the brilliant Don Airey , now in Deep Purple , and masterfully performed by Adam Wakeman , Alan's son;
Ozzy's shouts of "Hey" during the solo in "Mr. Crowley," the second song of the show. This solo was created by the brilliant Randy Rhoads and masterfully performed by Zakk Wylde;
The jumping, the clapping, the “I can't fucking hear you” and “Let's get crazy”, the kneeling;
And so we went on throughout the show. No reinventions, but with essential elements for an Ozzy show.
“I Don’t Know” followed with an insane Zakk, playing the opening riff in killer fashion, facing drummer Tommy Clufetos .
The song was followed by the first Black Sabbath cover of the night, the classic "Fairies Wear Boots," which featured keyboardist Adam Wakeman playing guitar, allowing Zakk to improvise and add a more "Black Label Society" feel to the main riff, illuminated by a colorful and psychedelic screen referencing the song's lyrics.
“Suicide Solution” arguably featured Zakk Wylde’s best solo of the night, and the images on the screen had a black and white effect that created an incredible visual contrast with the cross in the center of the main screen, which projected textures, shapes, and colors.
Next, completing the band, we had bassist Blasko playing the famous opening riff of the legendary "No More Tears".
In a recent interview with Fantástico, Ozzy said that he "doesn't consider himself a great vocalist, but a true Maestro of Madness." This became even clearer during "No More Tears": A theatrical Ozzy takes over the stage, staring intently at the audience with a crazy, deranged look. Ozzy runs from one side to the other, asks for applause, conducts the stadium, and at the end of the solo, kisses Zakk Wylde's head, grabbing him by the neck with both hands, while the guitarist finishes the solo.
“Road To Nowhere” is a song that definitely works better in the studio than live, cooling down the audience only for the red lights and the traditional siren to announce the second Black Sabbath cover minutes later. The stadium erupts during “War Pigs”.
Once again, Adam Wakeman takes over the rhythm guitar on the song that transforms the stadium into a huge football crowd when the final "Ôôôôô" comes in.
The song's ending seamlessly transitions into Zakk's solo, complete with a guitar behind his back, a mouth solo, and other acrobatic moves, all strung together into an instrumental medley of "Miracle Man," "Crazy Babies," "Desire," and "Perry Mason," which Zakk performed while descending from the stage and leaning against the railing.
The end of the medley provided the cue for Tommy Clufetos' drum solo, which, although pleasing, inevitably brought to mind another Tommy, Aldridge, playing drums for Ozzy at Rock In Rio, when his solo left blood on the drumheads from pounding so hard.
It's clear that this interlude, featuring a solo by Zakk, an instrumental medley, and a solo by Clufetos, was necessary for Ozzy to rest and recover. However, it's undeniable that this passage cooled down the show, and the following songs lacked the same energy and excitement, both from the band and the audience.
“Flying High Again”, the only song from the perfect Diary of a Madman played tonight, began with an almost inaudible guitar, a chorus that didn't quite click, and the solo was the moment where you could really feel the absence of Randy Rhoads.
“Shot In The Dark” and “I Don't Want to Change the World,” with their relaxed rhythms lacking the energy of the first part, also failed to rekindle the excitement in the audience, which was only returned when Ozzy announced the next song, asking everyone to “go crazy” during the famous “Crazy Train,” which closed the show.
After a short break, Ozzy and the band returned for a beautiful performance of "Mama, I'm Coming Home," which, in addition to the traditional cell phones illuminating the stadium, featured colorful lights taking over the entire Allianz Parque, creating an incredible visual effect.
As is tradition, Ozzy said goodbye with the third and final Black Sabbath cover, "Paranoid".
My hopes for something unprecedented and surprising that would show Ozzy reinventing himself again did not materialize.
Perhaps "No More Tours 2" truly marks the end of Ozzy Osbourne's world tours. Or perhaps the intention is to leave us in doubt and always hoping for a new madness from the Prince of Darkness, for a new reinvention.
The fact is that, with charisma and charm, Ozzy bid farewell to São Paulo forever.
Forever, until the next reinvention.
Check out today's setlist:
- Bark at the Moon
- Mr. Crowley
- I Don't Know
- Fairies Wear Boots (Black Sabbath Cover)
- Suicide Solution
- No More Tears
- Road to Nowhere
- War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
- Miracle Man / Crazy Babies / Desire / Perry Mason (Zakk Wylde Solo)
- Drum Solo
- Flying High Again
- Shot in the Dark
- I Don't Want to Change the World
- Crazy Train
- Mom, I'm coming home.
- Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)