Black Sabbath, with support acts Pantera and Deftones, at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ on February 5, 1999
Once I decided to go see the reunited Black Sabbath (which really didn't take much deciding at all) it became obvious there were really only two places to go to see them: New Jersey or Long Island, right? All I can say is, "IYKYK".
Jersey won out and the people there did not disappoint. Metal mayhem ruled the parking lot and the crowd was over the top throughout the show...
But not moreso than the band. This was the original Sabbath line-up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, with their long-time keyboard player Geoff Nichols safely hidden away and with drummer Vinny Appice on the tour "just in case" (that being his official credit in the tour book). I have seen every incarnation of Blacks Sabbath (and a few Ozzy solo shows) since the early/mid-80s and this was just so good...the band was bone-crunchingly heavy and while the setlist was a bit predictable, it was no less than what I was hoping for. I waited a long time for this one and loved every minute. The band tuned several of the songs down so Ozzy's voice could hit all the notes and all that did was serve to make them sound even heavier.
This concert was one of the first times I felt old. Having never heard a lick of either opening act's music, the onslaught they unleashed literally left me nauseous. At one point I had to go out into the concourse for a breather. The kids seemed to love it, though.
My younger brother, whose birthday was to be a little over a week later on Valentine's Day, could not make it to the show. I bought him a Sabbath t-shirt at this show as a birthday present. He died the day before his birthday, on February 13th, going on 25 years now. I managed to sneak the shirt into his casket and it was buried with him.
Black Sabbath Setlist: War Pigs, N.I.B., Fairies Wear Boots, After Forever, Electric Funeral, Sweet Leaf, Into The Void, Snowblind, Dirty Women, Black Sabbath, Iron Man, Children Of The Grave, Paranoid. This recording of Sabbath's set is from my personal archive.
Pantera Setlist: Domination, A New Level, Walk, Becoming, Use My Third Arm, Primal Concrete Sledge, Fucking Hostile, This Love, Cowboys from Hell.
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