The End

Black Sabbath

Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

September 15, 2016

 

Next to Motörhead the band that influenced me the most in this lifetime has been Black Sabbath.  In high school the jocks liked Zeppelin.  The normal kids liked The Beatles. I gravitated to Black Sabbath.  Sabbath pointed me towards the dark path, which hasn't been that bad at all.  This final Bay Area show tonight made me feel like that validated teenage misfit again.. In a good way.  Back in February I attended the band's show down in San Jose because it had been billed as "the final show"... but then they put this Oakland show onsale not long afterwards.  That kind of pissed me off and I didn't really think I wanted to see them again especially since the San Jose show had been amazing and perfect.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Casual Sabbath fans only focus on "Ozzy this" and "Ozzy that".  For me Sabbath has always been about the Hand of Iommi and tonight would be my 16th and final time being in the same room as him.  It should go without saying that Tony Iommi is my favorite guitarist.  Ironically the first time I saw Iommi live was only several hundred feet from tonight's venue in 1980 on the Heaven And Hell Tour.

Umlaut trips on full circle moments like this.  In 1980 I fell asleep in the stands during Journey.  Here in 2016 I was concerned about falling asleep on the BART train after the show.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Flashback to a couple of weeks ago and one thing led to another and the opportunity to attend this Oakland show with some veteran old Metal friends presented itself.  Sometimes the Metal Godz work in mysterious ways. First off, I was due to meet up with my concert buddies at Rosamunde in The Mission after work before heading to BART and heading under The Bay to Oakland.  I arrived early and one of the dudes who works there is a Metal guy who recognized me so we chatted, which was a nice way to start the night.  Then once my bros Chewy and Eric arrived we headed out.  However, I didn't get the memo because they were both wearing Thin Lizzy tees while I was flying Motörhead.  Awkward.  The BART ride was uneventful but I was inside the arena less than 5 minutes and miraculously ran into 6-7 old friends immediately.  METAL.  It was one of those shows that felt like a high school reunion more than a mere gig.

I've known these people since we were all teenagers going to Metal shows in San Francisco and the East Bay.  Oh Lord, yeah.

The final Bay Area performance of Black Sabbath started right around 8:45pm on this Thursday night on this fifteenth day of September in the year two thousand and sixteen.  The players known collectively as "the band" appeared onstage as the curtain fell with the unholy riff monster pounding darkness of the composition titled 'Black Sabbath'.. and for the next 2 hours or so we were given a final sermon by the band who started it all.

The San Jose show in February had been perfection with even the notoriously inconsistent Ozzy being strong of voice and not annoying at all between songs.  Tonight was almost a carbon copy of that show in the best possible way.  Having seen this final lineup twice before from up close it was actually a nice change to watch them from further back to appreciate the stage production and also the finer details of the great sound mix.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Tonight's setlist differed from January only by the exclusion of a song from that final new Sabbath album that I haven't bothered to listen to (yet).  So it was all old time songs performed in their original forms.  I still can't believe a Christian band hasn't covered 'After Forever' (yet).  'Hand Of Doom' was my favorite performance of the night.. but 'War Pigs' will always be my favorite song.  Watching the Hand of Iommi a final time in person was bittersweet but reminded me how music can be a time machine back and forth between moments in your life.  I know there are folks who crossed their arms and said "No Bill Ward, No Sabbath" which is unfortunate because the young gun drummer Tommy Clufetos plays like a young Bill Ward.  Geezer will always be the quintessential ying of Doom to Iommi's yang of Doom; the black vegan heart of Black Sabbath.  Ozzy is Ozzy.. Sometimes the worst example of Metal... but sometimes you're reminded how great he was and can still sort of echo.  Although he wasn't as chatty as at the past couple of shows, he was all business and his voice for this final Bay Area curtain call was strong.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Fourteen songs and then Sabbath said goodbye to The Bay Area (after) forever.  According to some Internets research the Ozzy-versions of Sabbath played 23 shows in The Bay Area (the 415, 510, and 408 area codes) between their first visit in 1970 to this year.  According to the Umlaut Archives I was fortunate to have witnessed 5 of these performances.  Given how good this final version of Ozzy Sabbath is it's hard to remember how profoundly Iron Maiden blew them off the stage at OzzFest 2005 even with Bill Ward in the lineup.  That being said it's awesome that Sabbath and the band's legacy is going to the finish line very strong.  Oh Lord, yeah.

[Photo courtesy of Timo's iPhone]

On the way back to my car via BART, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Actually, a weird incident happened on the BART return trip when 2 other Sabbath fans and I were caught in a train that evidently was going out of service; I was still 2 stations from my final stop.   In typical BART customer service fashion no one responded to my intercom request when I pressed the button on 2 different "emergency" intercom speakers.  Finally one of the other trapped Sabbath fans simply pulled the emergency door release and we were freed.  Bizarre.. Then as I waited for the next train heading my way literally the only other person on the platform was a drunk guy who has a copy of Murder In The Front Row.  METAL.   Anyway, I eventually made it back to Casa de Umlaut safely.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Now I will say adieu and merci boucoup to Black Sabbath.  With Sabbath due to play their "final" show in December, who would have thought both Motörhead and Sabbath would cease to exist within a year of each other!?  My name is Lucifer.. Please take my hand.. one last time.

Oh Lord, yeah.

On This Date: January 8th

Tonight in San Jose, California in 1999: The first Black Sabbath reunion tour with Pantera and..  Incubus??  This was only the 5th show of the tour and they had just played L.A.; Ozzy said from the stage how lame the L.A. crowd had been compared to S.J.. 

As I was making my way to my seat I ran into Steve Von Till and Dave Ed of Neurosis who were sitting in the section next to me. Full circle. Thanks to a last minute ticket switch I ended up with a great seat only one row up from the main floor on the stage left side.  It was my first time seeing the original lineup and I was completely geeked out... and a great 'board feed bootleg emerged from the show as well.  The limited edition boot done by some friends:

It was only the 5th show of the tour and Bill Ward fucked up at the start of 'War Pigs' by coming in way too early.  Awkward... but as I type this I'm listening to the show again after 16 years and for the most part Ward pulled it together for the rest of the set after that.  The band were dialed in and Ozzy sounded great.  Needless to say, Tony and Geezer were godlike.

Ozzy after the opening song 'War Pigs': "I gotta tell you guys.. We just played Los Angeles but you guys fucking kick their asses, man.. This is where it's at!!"

In hindsight it was a pretty emo show for Umlaut since Sabbath are one of my all-time favorite bands and are without a doubt the one band that influenced my head the most in my salad days.  Seeing the original lineup in a packed arena was, like, special.... man.

Sabbath confetti from the show.. Never throw anything away.

"Faeries wear boots.. yeah.. you gotta believe.."

World Painted Blood

The other night Umlaut was having dinner with some old friends in The Mission District of San Francisco.  Near the end of the meal one of the friends mentioned how he thought there was a mural nearby that included some old school looking Metalheads.  Odd, right?!  Umlaut lived in The Mission in the early-90's but I had never heard of such a mural but it sounded awesome.

However, my friend couldn't remember exactly where it was and it had been at least 7 or more years since he'd last thought about it.  Since his memory said the mural was sort of on the way back to our cars we headed in that direction... and after walking down a side street we came across a crazy cool mural painted on the side of a building!

It had various scenes of Mission and San Francisco life and seemed to date from 1980's S.F. since there were details like Joe Montana in his full Niners glory depicted... and near the end of the mural were these two dudes:

Heaven & Hell

Show No Mercy

To quote Slayer:  "Trapped in purgatory... A lifeless object alive.."   Of course, The Interwebs was able to reveal the story of this awesome mural.  It was done in 1985 so it does date from the time of the original Old Metal Days of San Francisco!  Amazing!!

Click HERE for the story and location of this piece of San Francisco art history.

To quote Dio-era Black Sabbath:  "If it seems to be real.. It's illusion.."

Fairies Wear Boots

Black Sabbath
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California
August 26, 2013

I originally wasn't planning to see this tour due to all of the drama around this Sabbath "reunion" not including Bill Ward on the drum riser.  However, something clicked in my jaded old head when I thought how I'll never see Ronnie James Dio again.  I remembered how his final appearance in San Francisco with Heaven & Hell (aka Dio-era Black Sabbath) wasn't even sold out... which was fucking criminal when you think about it.  Then I reminded myself that Tony Iommi has always been my favorite guitarist.  My Inner Teenage Metalhead then chimed in that I needed to seize the moment and see my old heroes again since I might not have the chance again.  Dio never got his victory lap the way Ozzy is getting with this tour.  According to The Umlaut Archives, I've been in the same venue as Tony Iommi 12 times dating back to 1980.  The Hand of Iommi has guided me for so long, man.... so long.  I owed it to him to be at this concert.

At approximately 8:30pm Pacific Standard Time the piercing scream of an air raid siren blasted out of the PA to announce the arrival of Sabbath; the siren was like a call to arms and I got chills down my spine.  Yes, I'm a dork.  It was cool how understated Sabbath's arrival onstage was as they simply walked out to the wail of the siren and then lurched into 'War Pigs' and then kept steamrolling over The Bay Area with 'Into The Void' and then into... 'Under The Sun'!!?  Holy shite!  Even the most jaded hater could not possibly resist geeking out that they pulled that Vol. 4 deep cut out!  THEN then went into 'Snowblind' as Ozzy said "I don't do it anymore, man..".  COCAINE!

It's been very easy to be indifferent about Ozzy here in the 21st Century.  Back in The Day he was the Prince of Darkness but in recent years he's been the Court Jester.  However, maybe redemption is a real thing because Ozzy hasn't been this good in forever!  It was rather stunning to hear Ozzy sing so well.  I kept waiting for him to stumble into talking / mumbling the lyrics as he's done on past tours... but goddam if he didn't keep it together!  It was inspiring to hear Ozzy sing so well as he did his old man shuffle across the stage clapping his hands and flashing the peace sign like his younger self.  Oh Lord, yeah!

 [Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

Needless to say the rest of the band was spectacular and whoever is doing their sound on this tour should be considered a 5th member because the mix was the quintessential balance of pounding volume and clarity; the sound was absolutely perfect.   Geezer was as nimble and godlike on the 4-string bottom end as I've ever seen him... but I don't think I've ever seen Tony as engaged with the crowd as he was tonight.   Besides reaffirming himself as my favorite guitar player he was constantly smiling and playing at the lip of the stage.  Perhaps his brush with cancer has given him a renewed sense of purpose... and dog bless him for that!  Finally, and with no offense meant to Bill Ward, but Tommy Clufetos on drums absolutely killed it.  Although his drum solo (that began as part of an abbreviated version of 'Rat Salad') went on about 5 minutes too long.  Okay, you made your point Mr. Drummer... you are definitely heir to the Ward drum stool... but there's no need to beat Ward's memory to death with your 10+ minute solo spot.  Of course I understand that the solo was to give his aging bandmates a break, but 5 minutes would have gotten the point across.  Just saying.. but kudos to you Mr. Drummer. 

Also, aside from stylishly appropriate videos shown behind them, Sabbath played with minimum production and this no frills approach made the show even more amazing.  Without the standard pyro, inflatable props, or other distractions like confetti cannons the focus was entirely on the songs and the performance.   Other aging bands would wither under such naked scrutiny, but Black Sabbath seized their 2 hours onstage and made us all remember they were the first great Metal band and also how many bands basically copy their sound in one form or another even today.   My Inner Teenage Metalhead got all emo as he was reminded how much Sabbath meant to me as a kid and my adult Metalhead got all emo realizing how much Sabbath still means to me.

 [Photo courtesy of Tim Healy]

The setist included 3 songs off Sabbath's new 13 album... and they were alright... not terrible.. but the rest of the set was pretty unrelenting with ancient songs that have been seared into my soul and psyche since I was a teenager.  There was a stunning version of 'Black Sabbath'... Then another mind blowingly great deep cut with 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep'.. Then Geezer laying down his brief solo spot that slid straight into the eternal romance of 'N.I.B.'.. but it was 'Fairies Wear Boots' that crushed me the most tonight.  

I genuinely enjoyed the overplayed 'Iron Man' for the first time in ages and my Inner Teenage Metalhead was ready to fuck shit up to 'Children Of The Grave' all over again.  As on past "reunion" tours, 'Dirty Women' seemed like an odd song choice, but it still worked if only because it features one of Tony's longest guitar solos to end the song.  Sabbath teased with the intro of 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' before saying "Thankyougoodnight" with 'Paranoid'... and my Inner Teenage Metalhead banged his head to his original heroes to the song that I actually learned how to play on guitar once upon a time.

The last time I saw Ozzy with Sabbath (including Bill Ward) was at OzzFest 2005 when Iron Maiden completely blew them off the stage and on that night I left before their encore to beat the traffic because Sabbath were so listless and appeared to be going through the motions.   Fast forward to 8 years later and I wanted to stay until the final note of Sabbath's set rang into the night sky; I didn't care if I got caught in traffic afterwards.  This was also fueled by the realization that this might be the final time I would be seeing Black Sabbath ever again.  

[Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

I did get sad at one point during 'Paranoid' when I remembered that Dio-era Sabbath is now very much in the past.. and for a split second at the end of 'Paranoid' I half expected them to go into the 'Heaven & Hell' outro that they used to do when Dio sang with them.  Ozzy-era Sabbath was the soundtrack to when I first discovered Rock music.  Dio-era Sabbath was the Sabbath I actually grew up with and saw as it happened; it's always meant a little more to me.  Hell, I even saw the Ian Gillan-era Born Again lineup and the dubious Tony Martin-era Cross Purposes version of Sabbath.  I had also seen the first "reunion" tours with Ozzy (and Bill Ward) twice including the first time around in 1999.  However, after tonight's show I finally feel like I've seen Sabbath with Ozzy at their full power and glory together... and for that I'm eternally grateful.

If you bought one of every Sabbath merch item you would have paid around $600.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.  As we made our way back to the car after the show I started to regret not bailing a little early to beat the traffic... but the Metal Godz work in mysterious ways... and it only took mere minutes to get out of the parking lot and onto Highway 101 back to Casa de Umlaut.  Oh Lord yeah!  Black Sabbath forever, man.  Forever.

"Fairies wear boots.. yeah.. you gotta believe... I saw it..  I saw it.. I won't tell you no lies!"

Then Sabbath posted this statement from Tony that confirmed what I felt watching them at Shoreline:

Die Young

The exciting sequel to Neon Knights, Heroes - Part Two, and Metal Masters!

Heaven & Hell / Coheed And Cambria
The Warfield, San Francisco
August 10, 2009

There was a moment last week when Umlaut thought he would miss this show due to ANOTHER road trip to see Green Day, this time to the Southern Cauldron of New Orleans and Houston.. No, I haven't written about it yet, and I'm trying to figure out how to do that amidst all of the Rock activity and other commitments that I have this week... Anyway, the Rock Godz are indeed benevolent and my streak of seeing every tour by the Ronnie James Dio-version of Black Sabbath remained intact.

When the reunion of this version of Black Sabbath was announced in 2006 it caused many grown men to scream like little school girls (guilty!). For my generation, this was the version of Sabbath we grew up with and for my money it's always been the most engaging of all the lineups. Unfortunately, it's now 3 years down the line and the appeal of this lineup seems to be waning as the new album is "just alright" IMO and this show was moved 50 miles from the 6,500 capacity San Jose State Even Center to the more intimate 2,500 capacity Warfield... NOT that I was complaining of course since an hour drive home was reduced to around 15 minutes.

Given the show's magnitude, The Umlaut Nation was out if full force tonight... so a shout out to Old Metal Tim, Teri, Raymond, Timo, Jerry, Photo Ray, Johnny, Any, Paschke, Stacy, Metal CPA, Photo Alan, Bret, and Nikki Blakk. Rock Star Sighting = Umlaut's old friend Dave Ed of Neurosis! Dude, Neurosis played a one-off opening the show in Seattle a couple of days earlier and they were offered the entire tour, but couldn't do it... Can you imagine!? Neurosis with Sabbath!?? I can't... and it's too bad because I walked onto the main floor to check out some of Coheed And Cambria's opening set and literally watched 10 seconds of them before turning around to return to the lobby and chat with friends; that dude's voice annoys the hell out of me.

At around 9:20PM the band's standard intro tape of 'E5150' started and then gave way to the call to arms that is 'Mob Rules'.. It was then Old School Metal bliss for the next 90 minutes or so. Besides standards such as 'Children Of The Sea', 'Falling Off The Edge Of The World', and 'Die Young' as well as 2-3 of the new songs, the band also pulled out 'Time Machine' which has always been an Umlaut favorite. A thunderous 15-minute version 'Heaven And Hell' closed the main set (I will never get tired of hearing that song..)... and for the encore they served up 'Country Girl' that acted as an intro to the show closing 'Neon Knights'... WOW!

"It's Heaven and Hell..."

There is no more powerful moment in Metal as when Geezer pounds out the bass line that announces the final verses of 'Heaven And Hell' after the bridge..

"They say that life's a carousel..
Spinning fast.. you've got to ride it well..
The world is full of kings and queens..
Who blind your eyes then steal your dreams.. "

Fuck yeah.. METAL.

While Vinnie Appice has always been a weak link for me, Geezer Butler is still the quintessential keeper of the bottom end... and Dio was in fine form as well, masterfully working the stage with his voice as strong and inspiring as it's always been. When the band hit the stage and Dio picked up his mic stand and twirled it in his hands I got the biggest smile on my face since it's always been one of his signature moves. It's cool to still have that connection with my Inner Teenage Metalhead over stuff like that; we've been best friends for so long. However, it's always been about Tony Iommi for me.

According to the Umlaut Archives, this was my 12th time seeing Iommi in one of the various incarnations of Black Sabbath dating back to 1980. Newbies will always think that Sabbath = Ozzy but the truth is Sabbath has always been Iommi's band; he (and Geezer) created the music and he even owns the band's name. I've said it before in this space: Iommi's tone is where it all began for me and it's guided my life since I was 15 years old.

I love watching Iommi onstage because he knows exactly how badass and legendary he is... He will step to the front of the stage, blaze off one of his trademark riffs, look at the crowd... and then shoot a quick smile at the fans before returning to the backline as Dio sings another line. Iommi has always been my only true Guitar God... Always.

However, during the set I kept thinking to myself how disrespectful it was for Iommi to be playing an intimate theater that was NOT sold out... WTF!? How often do you have the chance to see THE person who basically created the sound of a genre?! Tony Iommi created the sound of Heavy Metal with his plastic capped fingers!! EVERY Metal band that has ever existed has basically ripped off or interpreted what Iommi originally did... and here he was in San Franfuckincisco, playing in the smallest venue that he's played here in years, and there were still tickets available at the door. Stunning. Wrong.

THANKS to Old Metal Tim for getting me in as his +1. Backstage revelation of the night: Dio smokes cigarettes.


Compliments I got on my Iron Maiden 2008 Tour hoodie = 2. I checked out the merch in detail, but didn't do a merch audit for some reason. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Waiting to get backstage is one of the most degrading things if you don't have *the right* pass and Umlaut doesn't have alot of patience for it. Oh yeah, I shook Dave Meniketti's hand while waiting in the Line of Shame... but only around 4 of you reading this know who he is or even care about that.

"So live for today... tomorrow never comes... die young.."

The Devil You Know Rehearsal

The Metal Masters Tour headlined by Heaven And Hell was one of Umlaut's favorite concerts last year. Fast forward to now and the new Heaven And Hell album The Devil You Know is released today. As fate would have it, Umlaut friend South Bay Bret was one of the lucky 100 or so attendees to Heaven And Hell's dress rehearsal down in Southern California this past weekend.

The Mighty Sabbath Takes Over Van Nuys - April 26, 2009
Submitted by South Bay Bret

Black Sabbath, or Black Sabbath presents Heaven And Hell - whichever you prefer - took over a rehearsal studio in Van Nuys, CA on 4-26-09 - giving some local rabid fans a taste of the new material live.

I flew from Oakland to Burbank - and keeping in tradition of Oakland airport spottings (my last flights have been shared with Eric Kretz, Billie Joe Armstrong, and a James Hetfield cameo thrown in) - this time Nick 13 of Tiger Army - but I digress....

A crazy taxi cab ride at Mach 4 led me to the Van Nuys studios, where I found So. Cal Sabbath fanatic Black Sabbath Mark scoping out the scene. Then we were ushered into the smoky warehouse-like studio - and the show began!

(All pics by South Bay Bret)

EVERYONE- TAKE ONE STEP BACK:


The mighty Sabs plowed through a 4 song set - 3 off the new LP: 'Bible Black', 'Fear', and 'Follow The Tears' - all which had coordinated visual displays - and 'Time Machine' from Dehumanizer thrown in as the 4th song. The 'Time Machine' visuals:


The band set up at a stack of amps after their set and signed for the masses:


These posters were passed out:


It was a killer show in a terrific setting- from legendary metal masters Black Sabbath!! Hope the band was able to find parking o.k.


THANKS South Bay Bret! I still can't get my head around the fact that you watched Iommi at eye level, man... The Dio version of Black Sabbath has always been Umlaut's favorite incarnation of the band. Click HERE to find out just how Music Geek I am about them.

Metal Masters

The Metal Masters Tour Featuring:
Judas Priest / Heaven And Hell / Motörhead / Testament
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mt. View, CA
August 31, 2008

THE concert lineup of the year, and if you weren't there you're kinda, like, a poser. When I was a teenage Metalhead in the early-80's, this was the type of bill I could only read about happening in a muddy field somewhere in Europe.. A show like this:

Port Vale Football Stadium, England
August 1, 1981

Shows like this never happened in America then because the U.S. was not Metal. Trivia: Ironically, Ozzy replaced the Dio-fronted Black Sabbath at Port Vale.

Fast forward to the 21st Century: Shoreline was the final stop of the 16-date Metal Masters North American Tour.. After picking up my pass at Will Call, who should I run into but The Legend that is Steve Von Till of Neurosis!! Since he now lives out of the area, I hadn't seen Steve in years so it was really cool to chat with him and to catch up on the latest regarding standardized test scores for Grade Schools..

Backstage Lemmy strode around like the badass Lord of The Manor that he is, and it was funny watching people's reaction as he walked past them.. EVERYONE'S head turned to watch him. My favorite Lemmy moment was when he sat down next to someone holding a puppy and Lemmy pet the baby dog and gave it attention. LEMMY AND A PUPPY!!? I almost shit myself it was so cute..

Local boys Testament should be named the Comeback Heroes of 2008; their new album (the band's 1st with original Guitar God Alex Skolnick in 18 years!) hits on all cylinders and onstage they live up to the comeback as well. Also, Chuck Billy beat cancer! In other words, he defeated DEATH and he still looks and sounds great.. AND he's still the nicest guy in person.. There is NO ONE more Metal than him!

To top it off, as an end of the tour prank, Motörhead's Phil Campbell rode a horse onstage while wearing a blue wig, Micky Dee led the horse wearing a sombrero and blanket, and Lemmy dressed as a sheik followed behind with a broom. Where the hell did they get a horse!? I didn't see it backstage prior to their set. "Over The Wall!"

Motörhead goofs with Testament
(Pic by Umlaut)

The backstage area was jam packed with a veritable Who's Who of Old School Bay Area Metal scenesters and Umlaut Nation members.. I'm not even going to try and name check everyone because I know I'd leave someone out (sorry).. I'm not gonna lie: It was a great scene in a "The drink will flow and blood will spill and if the boys wanna fight you'd better let 'em.." way. Nice.. Also, I have to give myself bonus points for wearing a High On Fire Blessed Black Wings shirt and Matt Pike noticing it when I said "Hi" to him.

Motörhead blasted through the daylight with a set that included 'Over The Top'..."Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!!" Awesome.. Lemmy commanded the stage like the badass Lord of The Manor that he is... However, while 'Ace Of Spades' was the obvious crowd pleaser, it was disconcerting to me how many people didn't seem to recognize the set closing 'Overkill'.. Kids, PLEASE do your homework!

To top it off, as an end of the tour prank, Testament threw an inflatable pig and a sex doll on the backline and some girls invaded the stage to bump and grind up against Lemmy while he played. LEMMY!!

However, THE best part of Motörhead was seeing old Umlaut friend DeVito's art emblazoned on the band's stage backdrop, the bass drums, the tour laminate, the tour shirt, AND on posters around the venue! Dreams really do come true... Congratulations, brother!

Motörhead's Art and Artist
(Pic by Umlaut)

In between bands, I was on the backstage patio chatting with people when a child darted past us... I took another look at the "child" and realized it was Ronnie James Dio making his way to the band's dressing room. Ooops.. Well, Dio IS small in person. "Lookout!"

I was kind of in "work mode" as Heaven And Hell went onstage... I watched the first song of their set from the VIP area at the side of the stage, which might seem cool... but it's really not because it's behind the PA and the sound sucks. At that moment my "work" side would have stayed in the safe confines of the VIP area.. but my Inner Metalhead told me to watch the set from out in the crowd.. so I did.. and The Mob Ruled.

I've seen every Bay Area show that the Dio / Iommi / Geezer version of Black Sabbath has ever played dating back to their first tour in 1980... and I think this was my favorite one. Iommi's guitar tone has ruled my life since I was 15, and his playing was at another level on this night; it felt like I was hearing him play for the first time all over again.. Dude, his tone was astounding!

My Inner Music Geek kept tripping that Iommi played the same vintage and beaten up red Gibson SG for the entire set; I'm pretty sure he's been playing that same guitar for at least 30 years, but on recent tours has mainly played his shiny new custom SGs.. Seeing him wield his old axe again only added to my geekdom over his performance. Note to self: Write "Tony Iommi Is God" on Pee Chee folder during 1st period homeroom.

Tony's Ancient Weapon on the video screen
(Pic by Umlaut)

In fact, all of Heaven And Hell were at the top of their game; Dio's voice was flawless and he worked the stage in similar fashion, Geezer owned the bottom end as always since he practically invented it, and even Vinnie Appice got my seal of approval despite his drum solo (which I usually can't stand because of the 80's-style electronic tape loop thing..). At one point the guy behind me said "Unbelievable!!" to his friend, and I could not have agreed more; 'Die Young' was especially inspiring and kinda left me reeling, man.. "Behind a smile there's danger and a promise to be told: You'll never get old..."

To top it off, as an end of the tour prank, Motörhead handed out newspapers to the first several rows so when Dio & Co. hit the stage the first 3 rows of Section 103 appeared to be reading the news instead of watching the Metal. HaHa...

Judas Priest were great only because of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton... Man, Halford's voice is shot now.. There, I said it.. BUT he still knows how to work a crowd like no other Metal God. Kids, you will NOT learn how to play guitar like K.K. and Glenn by masturbating with Guitar Hero.. However, if you can score chicks by pressing those plastic buttons instead of caressing strings, more power to you.

K.K. in particular was working the stage above and beyond the call of duty; when he bent backwards while playing his white Flying-V at the end of each verse in 'Green Manalishi' I thought the skies would open up and rain molten metal down upon us... Also, Umlaut still loves the opening riffs of 'Devil's Child' as much as he did when he was 17.. "Feast your eyes on (Feast your eyes on!) a whole lotta sin..." Oh, and Priest dusted off 'Dissident Aggressor' (For the newbies: From their 1977 album Sin After Sin), which they have never played live before this tour! Wow.

This show would have been epic back in The Day and it was epic here in the 21st Century; the other old people know what I mean. It would have been incomprehensible seeing so many Metal legends sharing the stage in fucking Mountain View back in 1981. As I said at the top of this rant, back then shows like this only happened in muddy fields in Europe.

I didn't do a merch audit, and I probably won't until further notice. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. Man, Timo and I attempted to meet up at a Denny's for our traditional post-concert grub, but here in the 21st Century that chain no longer exists in the vicinity of Shoreline Amphitheatre! The Denny's that used to be on El Camino near Tower Records Mt. View (R.I.P.) is now a Chink restaurant. WTF...

The Metal Masses during Judas Priest
(Pic by Umlaut)

Heaven And Hell

Some readers know how Umlaut pays his mortgage. Not too long ago, but long enough so that any NDA has hopefully expired, Umlaut worked for a certain infamous Lock 'N Loll merchandise company.

Now, while I did like most of my co-workers as people, it always bothered me on a purely Music Geek level how uninformed my colleagues were about the bands we represented. What also bothered me during my stint with this company was how I KNEW some of our clients as a fan dating back to my Salad Days.. I fucking KNEW everything about some of these bands, goddamit! However, I never felt this knowledge was seen as a valuable asset... except on the rare occasion like this actual IM conversation Umlaut had with a colleague:

• Colleague: Hey... what's a popular Black Sabbath song?
• Umlaut: paranoid is their signature song
• Umlaut: need an mp3?
• Colleague: what about Heaven and Hell?
• Umlaut: heaven and hell was done without ozzy in the lineup
• Umlaut: they had another singer at the time
• Colleague: NOOOOOOOO
• Colleague: whats another popular Sabbath song, with Ozzy
• Umlaut: iron man
• Umlaut: as far as well known
• Colleague: perfect
• Colleague: can you send that one to me??
• [Umlaut sends MP3]
• Colleague: oh i know this one!
• Colleague: who knew!

Long story short, despite Umlaut's ability to know the difference between Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio, my stint with this infamous merchandise company ended prematurely with a meeting that included the words "position" and "eliminated". However, this indignation led to a moment in Umlaut's life where the Rock Godz showed him that sometimes things happen for a reason.

Note: Yes, Umlaut did save the IM transcript for a ridiculous amount of time with the intention of posting it on this space eventually. Hell hath no fury like a Geek scorned!

Iron Maiden... always.

Heroes - Part Two

The exciting conclusion to Heroes - Part One!

Heaven And Hell / Megadeth / Machine Head
HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
April 24, 2007



What was it I said in Heroes - Part One a couple of days ago?

"I couldn't think of a more appropriate show to see at this moment in my life... unless it was Black Sabbath with Dio on vocals.. and what are the odds THAT would be happening at this same moment in history too??"

The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and I'm humbled by their generosity.

Of all my Metal heroes, I have to say the Black Sabbath lineup featuring Ronnie James Dio on vocals is one I'm beholden to the most. For the newbies: One story is the band is using the name Heaven And Hell ("H&H") instead of Black Sabbath to avoid confusing the posers expecting to see Mr. Sharon on the mic; I'll buy that.

Besides, Ozzy these days is a court jester who throws buckets of water on himself and the crowd during shows to distract from his diminished vocal abilities; he's a shadow of his former self. Meanwhile, Ronnie James Dio is still the consummate Rock front man whose vocals have remained impressive with age. Fuck Ozzy; DIO!!

On the walk from the parking lot, I found a ticket on the sidewalk underneath an overpass a block from the arena…and it happened to be a comp (guest list) reserved seat in a good section. It was almost like we'd stumbled upon the scene of some dark event.. Who knows what fell creatures stalk Dio these long nights.. "A Hobbit lay here... he crawled.. his hands were bound.. but his bonds were cut..."

What? Oh yeah... Sorry...

Anyway, The God Squad was present outside the arena trying to convert the Heavy Metal sinners to their team. I laughed out loud when the God Squad Leader preached over his bullhorn how we would all burn in "a lake of fire" for our sins, which caused some Metal Kidz to shout "YEAHH!!". Talk about not knowing your audience, Mr. God Squad Leader! If you want to scare Metal Kidz you have to use a threat, like, spending eternity with Christians in a boring place like Heaven, which I envision being a massive suburban shopping mall complete with crap music playing over the PA.

San Jose God Squad (Pic by Timo)

This seems as good a time as any to quote Dio's legendary live version of the song 'Heaven And Hell':

"There's a little white shape looking down at me,
Saying "I know where you ought to be…
Come with me, because I know just what to do"..
But I say "Go away! I'm gonna burn in Hell with all of you!!"

Dio is so Metal.. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Machine Head: I wasn't even inside the building when they played.

Megadeth: We walked into the arena for, like, 45 seconds to watch them and then went back out to the lobby and I immediately ran into a gang of Old Metal Bruthas and chatted with 'em… which was WAY more Metal than Mustaine could ever be.

Heaven And Hell: I've seen every Dio-era Sabbath tour and how Dio manages to deliver his majestic vocals like that every night is one of the mysteries of The Universe. How has Dio preserved his voice over the years? Was he once given a magical elixir by an immortal Elven prince?? Also, does Dio buy his stage clothes off the rack at the Ren Faire?

Tony Iommi's axe wielding has always been profoundly more melodic with the Dio lineup, and watching him play is like following Aragorn as he wields Anduril and wades into a sea of Orcs... or something like that.

Admittedly, the pacing of the set dragged a bit in the middle IMO, but my only real complaint is that I can't stand drum solos.. and Vinny Appice, you are The Weakest Link... However, the new songs were good in the "live performance" setting... and Geezer Butler on bass is always magic; I was especially tripping on his finger work during 'Neon Knights'.

For the record my favorite portion of the night's program was 'Die Young' > 'Heaven And Hell'. It's a testament to the greatness of the latter song that I completely geeked out when Dio sang the iconic closing lyrics and that after the show the streets around the arena echoed with fans singing the melody.

Random Notes:

• In between songs, Dio did The Rock Lock with fans in the front row.
• The Caveman was there (The Bay Area Old School know who I'm talking about)!!
• Halfway through the set, 5 or 6 security guys wrestled some dude to the floor in front of us and held him face down for several minutes before dragging him off.. I'm sure he deserved it.
• It was nice being at an Arena Rock show where a bra got thrown onstage.. Old School!
  

Sidebar: I guess it was kinda ironic that H&H played the song 'Computer God' in the heart of Silicon Valley in a building named HP (Hewlett Packard) Pavilion. At least I thought so...

This was one of those shows where the Umlaut Nation was out in full force, so a shout out to Ted, Timo, Dave, Richard, Chris J., Chris S., Mark, Craig, Sven, Erik, Loren, Raymond, and Rich. All dudes and no chicks! Hmmm. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Also, Rock Star Sighting = Phil Kennemore. I know… 1/4 of you are saying "Cool!" and the other 3/4 are saying "Who?". I shoulda had my pic taken with him. Squeeze! Word is his guitarist was also in attendance.

If you bought one of every Heaven And Hell merch item you would have paid $590. Dude, you could get a copy of the new Black Sabbath: The Dio Years CD autographed by all 4 members for $75; Dio's handwriting sure is pretty. You could also get a drum head signed by Vinny Appice for a mere $40. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. I wonder if I'll ever be put into songs or tales....

I wonder if people will ever say, "Let's hear the story about Umlaut seeing the Stooges and Heaven And Hell within 3 days of each other."

And they'll say "Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Umlaut was really courageous, wasn't he, dad."

"Yes, my boy, the most famous of Hobbits. And that's saying a lot."

However, my story would end before the Hobbits went gay on each other like in the movie... Not that there's anything wrong with that!

"They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you've got to ride it well.. The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes, then steal your dreams.."

47 Days and Counting

"Oh no, here it comes again..."

Show of the year, man... show of the year.

"They'll tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night..."

Neon Knights

"Good things never last,
Nothing's in the past,
It always seems to come again.
Again and again.
Again and again.
Again."

When the following news hit the Information Superhighway last week I almost screamed like King Diamond:

RONNIE JAMES DIO Says HEAVEN AND HELL Will Do 'A Year Of Touring'
- Nov. 9, 2006

Legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) has revealed to Classic Rock magazine that HEAVEN AND HELL — the new band featuring Dio alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — will likely headline next year's Monsters of Rock festival.

Monsters of Rock returned to the U.K. festival scene at Milton Keynes Bowl this past summer, with DEEP PURPLE as headliners. Now it looks like it will return in 2007, with HEAVEN AND HELL on the bill.

The following is a brief interview Classic Rock conducted with Dio at Monday's (Nov. 6) Classic Rock Roll of Honour event in London:

Classic Rock: Speaking of Tony Iommi, there are of course rumors that you will be reuniting with him, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward as HEAVEN AND HELL next year.

Ronnie: They're absolutely true. We'll probably be doing a year of touring together. And it's looking like you'll see us at the Monsters of Rock festival, then shows in America. And after that we'll come back to the U.K. for eight or nine more shows.

Alot of my Old Metal buddies agree with me that the 4 Black Sabbath albums (3 studio + 1 live) with Dio are equal (or even superior) to the band's output in the 70's. For the newbies: Dio was in Sabbath from 1980-82 and then again in 1992.. I'll go out on a limb and state that most of the songs spawned during his time in the lineup are superior musically and lyrically to Ozzy-era Sabbath. There, I said it.

Dio is a gifted vocalist and lyricist and he brought these talents to his Sabbath alliance; Ozzy was always Iommi and Geezer's errand boy musically and creatively (Geezer Butler wrote the majority of Black Sabbath's lyrics in the 70's, NOT Ozzy... VH1 doesn't mention that, do they?). Ozzy flashes the Peace Sign onstage; Dio flashes the Devil Horns. Fuck that Hippie Shit; S810!

Also, Tony Iommi's solos on the Dio-era albums are the best of his career IMO. Listen to songs like 'Heaven And Hell' or 'Turn Up The Night' and you will know what I say is true.

"Turn up the night, it feels so right!"

HEAVEN AND HELL - 1980

I was 16-years old and my cousin and I took BART to Oakland Stadium from his house in Concord. There were alot of huge scary bikers down front during Sabbath's set. Dio wore a cape onstage in the Summer heat, but when they opened with 'War Pigs' > 'Neon Knights' he had the crowd in the palm of his Elven hand.

Dio's Cape > Summertime Heat
(Pic by Timo)

I got separated from my cousin in the crowd and ended up falling asleep in the stands during Journey. About a month after this show, Bill Ward quit the band and didn't perform with Geezer and Iommi again for 5 years (at LiveAid).

Merch purchased: Black 'Heaven And Hell' shirt.

About 3 months after this show, Geezer Butler caught a bottle with his face in Milwaukee and Sabbath left the stage after only 2 songs... which resulted in this:

The Milwaukee Journal
October 10, 1980

Give the people what they want, and they'll beat a path to your door. But take something away from a Milwaukee heavy-metal crowd, and . . .

"The bands, the audience and Arena officials never expected the event to live up to its name - the 'Black and Blue Concert.'

"But shortly after a bottle sailed out of the audience and struck (Black Sabbath) band member Geezer Butler on the head, The Blue Oyster Cult-Black Sabbath concert at the Arena Thursday night did just that . . .

"(Responding to the incident, Black Sabbath quit the stage after three songs.) Suddenly the crowd reared in anger and became a mob. At first, just a few people overturned a set of chairs, while others raised their fists and egged them on. . . . But within minutes, others started kicking their chairs and ripping out seat cushions. Then iron arm railings were pulled out and tables were toppled. . . .

"When objects started flying at the stage, then randomly around the Arena, some in the crowd started leaving. As they left, many overturned trash cans and smashed lights, windows and glass doors. . . . By the time police arrived in full riot gear about 11:40 p.m., the Arena's seating area was totally cleared."

Miraculously, the riot was captured on one of the most amazing concert bootlegs ever recorded... which you can hear if you know where to look or who to ask...

MOB RULES - 1982


I think it's safe to assume that the Milwaukee incident inspired the song 'The Mob Rules'; why it never became that city's official anthem is beyond me 'cause it's WAY better to air guitar to than the 'Laverne & Shirley Theme'. Anywho.....

Ten dollars and fifty cents!

I seem to remember Old Metal Rich and I got in line for this gig at least 10 hours before the doors opened; this was back in The Day when you did that at concerts. The Cow Palace was sold out, and by Noon several hundred people were behind us drinkin', smokin', and snortin'.. Once everyone was inside the general admission pushin', shovin', and punchin' was pretty rough down at the front of the stage.

During The Outlaws' set Hughie Thomasson caught a bottle with his face and the crowd cheered; this was back in The Day when you did that at concerts. He left the stage, but then came back to finish the set and the crowd cheered. Tough Sabbath crowd!

Black Sabbath > Circus
(Pic by Umlaut)

During the pushin', shovin', and punchin' a girl trying to get to the front bit my shoulder to get past me. It was medieval down there... When Sabbath hit the stage ('Neon Knights' > 'N.I.B.') the crowd surge was so intense I ended up moving back so I'd live to see my 19th birthday.. Once I did that, I flashed the Devil Horns when Dio prompted and didn't worry about my mortality for the rest of the night.

Merch purchased: Tour program and 3/4 sleeve 'Mob Rules' jersey.

Six months after this show Dio quit Sabbath.

DEHUMANIZER - 1992


The reunion we thought would never happen! This was my reaction to the show in Umlaut #7:

Black Sabbath / Exodus
Kaiser Auditorium, Oakland
Friday the 13th of Nov.

The lights went down and it was 1980 again: A couple of girls had their hair feathered! Geezer and Iommi are still gods, but Dio is still an elf. On the way back to the car some pimply-faced teenagers wearing Soundgarden shirts called me a fag. I kicked them in the nuts and shouted "If you listen to fools, The Mob rules!"


Despite having a cheesy title and cover art, Sabbath's Dehumanizer album had solid songs on it... Listen to 'Time Machine' or 'Computer God' and you will know what I say is true. The new songs sounded good next to the old classics in Oakland, and it was like a time warp seeing Dio with Sabbath again after 3,650 days!

Merch purchased: None.

It was raining and storming like crazy outside of the venue that night AND it was Friday the 13th (!), which in hindsight foreshadowed the show's aftermath: Right after this gig Dio quit Sabbath (again) and hasn't performed with them since.

[Trivia: The final 2 shows of the tour in L.A. featured an abbreviated set with Rob Halford on guest vocals. Ironically the shows were headlined by Ozzy solo (?!) and closed with a 4-song reunion set by the original Sabbath lineup.]

Dude, check this out:

'Neon Knights' from Oakland - 11/13/92

Here's to 2007 and hoping The Neon Knights really do ride again! I hope Dio brings the cape back.

"They say that life's a carousel,
Spinning fast you've got to ride it well.
The world is full of kings and queens,
Who blind your eyes then steal your dreams.
It's Heaven and Hell."