Forward Thinking From A Backwards Mind
As of lately I’ve been thoroughly disgusted with the amount of closings throughout the country of rock, metal, and punk venues. The two biggest probably being ‘The Pound’ down on the pier in San Francisco, and the closing of CBGB’s in New York. The longevity of these clubs in certain communities really does show that the people cared and wanted more. The only problem is the cities don’t want it. They say it promotes violence, and drugs.
Do the same people closing these clubs realize that dance clubs promote more violence and drugs than any rock/metal club ever has or would? The majority of metal heads may drink and like to fight, but do they consider that closing these clubs (especially the all ages clubs) means that you put more kids out on the streets on weekend nights to do more drugs, and to commit more acts of violence? The kids that are under 21, don’t have much else to do. Trust me I remember being 16 and 17.
My friend and I were walking down J Street last Friday night coming back from Concerts in the Park, and realized that there was another dance club newly opened on J Street between 16th and 17th. The club will make money, because the dance crowd is large. The dance crowd tends to be mostly women. With women come guys fighting over the women then drugs get thrown into the mix.
I can remember going into Club Empire once and felt out of place, being a metal head. I swear I could feel eyes burning into the back of my skull.
So now all of us metal heads and punks have resorted to going to dive bars and drinking, when we could be doing something much more productive with our time-like going to a show to support local music Don’t get me wrong, I love going out and talking to hot women dressed up with their little tattoo’s and belly buttons pierced just as much as the next guy, I’m just tired of seeing venues that bring good music to the masses get closed.
Anyone that’s over 21 is stuck with either driving their happy asses all the way to Orangevale to the Boardwalk (not exactly known for its wonderful sound) or staying downtown hoping and praying a good show pops up somewhere like Wilimenias in old Sac, or the Blue Lamp.
Recently there has been a string of halfway decent shows popping up downtown, including one on May 12th at the Blue Lamp. If you like good Rock & Roll, that’s the place to be if you’re 21 or older. Last weekend at The Town House (a relic of sorts), was Will Haven, The Radio Life (Shortie re-incarnated with a bit of a different sound), and The Snobs. The crowd didn’t get there until almost 11:30. By the time Will Haven came on, I was pretty well sloshed, but still rocked my arse off. I don’t know when the next chance to rock my arse off will be.
Speaking of the Boardwalk though, has anyone seen the line-ups for their summer gigs, holy bejesus, I haven’t seen so much Death Metal since the Anal Cunt/ Six Feet Under days when they were nice and popular.
My roots stem originally from Motley Crue, Ozzy, Aerosmith, and Guns ‘N Roses for the most part, and I’m getting to the point again where I feel that good old fashioned dirty-ass Rock & Roll is a whole lot more fun. As much as I love metal, I would still like to see a more eclectic range of bands this summer out of the Boardwalk. Maybe I can just hope and pray that my words reach the few powerful bookers out there and we get some good rock shows downtown so I don’t have to worry about driving all the way to Orangevale.
I sit downtown at bars, and I talk to people, and I realize that I’m not the only one out there has these sentiments and our pain needs to be heard. We need to storm these cities and burn crosses to get our point across (well maybe not burn crosses, but you get my point.)
Well until next time kids where you can expect a nice large article, hear my prayers to the Metal God’s, and never let metal die.
Ozzy Lives!
In 1995 a following began, a following that, eleven years later, would become the monstrosity of a tour rightfully named “Ozzfest.” Coming from humble beginnings, to the juggernaut that it is now, we are still reminded every summer that heavy music is alive and well. The founder of this dark and heavy monster, is just as awesome of a vision to watch as ever before. Ozzy Osbourne, over the past six years, has been poked fun at for many reasons. But year after year, the man, the legend, the rock God came out on stage night after night to give one of the most mind-blowing performances you could ever imagine, a true rock & roll spectacle — a religious experience of sorts.
Saturday, July 1st, 2006 at Shoreline Amphitheater was different. It was not an Ozzy we see every year. With his all-star lineup of axe-man Zakk Wylde, drum extraordinaire Mike Bordin, and Zombie bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson, the group completely tore up the ever-so-tiny Ozzfest Second Stage, showing kids out there what a real showman can do.
I’ve been to many Ozzfest’s over the years, but have never quite experienced anything remotely like this one.
After being completely psyched about having a chance to see Ozzy up close, for a minimal price, I was ecstatic. I was beyond ready for this. I knew how intense this show was going to be, but I wasn’t prepared for the crap that awaited us inside the venue.
When we got in, after waiting in line for over an hour, three of the second stage bands had already gone through their sets. So, we grabbed a beer and walked on down to the tiny dirt-filled area that is known as the “pit”, to only find that there was a fence 50-feet back from the stage, and the only way inside the fence, was to have been one of the first couple thousand inside to get a wristband.
After trying to bribe several people, I finally gave up, and went to the beer garden to drown my sorrows. Then, during the mighty Black Label Society set, as I was delightfully slammed up against this horrid fence, myself and the 20,000 people behind me decided the fence had to go. When Zakk finished walked off the stage to suit up for the mighty Ozz set, you could feel a sense of despair and unrest brewing in the crowd. Something big was getting ready to happen.
With no warning, and the summer heat beating down on all 20,000 of us, 4 p.m. rolled around and the intro started.
All it took was enough people to start pushing, and right as Ozzy and Zakk ran out on stage, and you heard Zakk’s guitar start screaming to “I Don’t Know”, that fence was gone. I ran through the crowd of people punching and pushing my way through until there was nothing in front of me but a crazed Ozzy Osbourne looking directly down at me, screaming his head off.
Ozzy played by far the most memorable set in recent history. It was not long enough, but packed with everything from “Suicide Solution”, to “Flying High Again”, “Road to Nowhere” and so on. Everytime Ozzy said jump, or his signature “Go F– n’ Crazy”, the crowd did it. This was not your common crowd of maniacs starting fights, but better, they were just Ozzy fans on the brink of insanity, with smiles on every one of our faces.
I’m proud to say that I was part of something that truly showed how much the Ozzman still means to the metal community and that when you look past all of the horrible TV shows, and commercials on MTV, you still get the mad man.
As Ozzy’s set came to a close with Sabbath’s epic “Paranoid”, Ozzy belted out, “I think I’m going to do this every year!”
Well Ozzy, it’s been heard throughout the world that this year is free. Why in God’s name are you doing it for free? Who knows and who cares. You’re going to the true metal fans this year; the entire second stage is packed with nothing but metal, true, down and dirty, nitty-gritty metal. Main stage is looking very promising as well, as is Ozzy headlining yet another year, showing that he’s not gone. And with the new album on the horizon, and the promise of an old-school Ozzy sounding album, I can’t wait. The Ozzy faithful have spoken.
