Review Of Black Sabbath - 02 Academy Birmingham 19th May

I went to see Black Sabbath on the 19th May at the 02 Academy Birmingham.

When the gig was announced on Sabbath's website, I could barely believe my eyes and knew it would be a challenge to get a ticket.

Luckily, I managed to get a ticket before the gig totally sold out.

At 6pm, I joined the long queue (around the block) to wait for the doors to open. As the doors opened at 6:30pm, the queue slowly moved forward and I got my event t-shirt on the way in.

There was a lot of standing around, for a good hour and a half before Black Sabbath finally came on. There was music being played by a DJ, but most people were buying merchandise and drinks as they waited. The vibe was good, but there was a lot of tension in the air. No one seemed to know what to expect from this one off performance.

Their entrance was announced by a mix of all of their best songs in one track. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler came onto the stage with buckets of energy. They all looked very happy to be back in their hometown of Birmingham.

Ozzy sang in time and in tune, which surprised me considering how he stutters when interviewed. He was energetic and interacted well with the other band members. My favourite Ozzy moment of the night was definitely when he poured water over himself and the audience.

Tony looked healthy and relaxed as he played. He was perfectly on time, a flawless performance, as Tony is well known for. He looked very pleased when the crowd chanted 'Tony' inbetween songs. The gig was Tony's first since being diagnosed with cancer, but he showed no signs of slowing down.

Geezer played very well. He seemed to be the relaxed, calming influence on the stage as Ozzy ran around. He seemed very absorbed in the music, but was definitely enjoying the excitement of the fans.

Tommy Clufetos was such a great drummer! He's Ozzy Osbourne's current drummer and was Bill Ward's replacement. It was sad that Bill Ward didn't play with the rest of the original band, but the show definitely didn't suffer because of his absence. I doubt Bill could have done as good a job as Tommy did.

The mosh pit was constant and almost furious. The crowd jumped throughout the two hours that the band were on stage. They seemed to be expressing their love of Sabbath at the same time as expressing their anger that such an intimate and brilliant gig could only last for one night!

Overall, I think that the whole band were fantastic! The song choices were great as they were just what the crowd wanted.

If you ever get the chance to see Black Sabbath then I definitely recommend that you go, you won't regret it!

Setlist:

• Into The Void
• Under The Sun
• Snowblind
• War Pigs
• Wheels Of Confusion
• Electric Funeral
• Black Sabbath
• The Wizard
• Behind The Wall Of Sleep
• N.I.B
• Fairies Wear Boots
• Tomorrow's Dream
• Sweat Leaf
• Symptom Of The Universe
• Drum Solo
• Iron Man
• Dirty Women
• Children Of The Grave

Encore:

• Paranoid

Band Members:

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Tony Iommi
• Geezer Butler
• Tommy Clufetos

For more information on Black Sabbath, go to: http://www.blacksabbath.com/