Earlier this month Black Sabbath finished up their year long “The End” tour. I caught the beginning of the tour at MSG, which was one of my favorite shows of 2016. I’ve been a Sabbath fan for a long time. If you play electric guitar, how can you not? I know it’s not the same without Bill Ward, but since this tour seemed like a final chance to see Tony Iommi play guitar in the US before he stops touring, I had to go. I had never seen any incarnation of them live. While I listened to a lot of Heavy Metal growing up, by the time I was seeing concerts, my musical interest had changed.
I didn’t expect to feel as strongly about the show as I did. I went in casually ready to dig some classic Sabbath tunes live, but from the first notes of the first song, Black Sabbath, I had chills. The crushing riffs and sound was a reminder of what first inspired me to play guitar, and it was LOUD! The band just rocked The Garden through and through.
Ozzy sounded good, better than I expected, especially since they had cancelled a few date at the beginning of the tour due to him being sick. Geezer is a force of the bass, a distinct foundation to the sound of Black Sabbath. Tommy Clufetos hit the mark behind the kit, and he hit it hard. Tony Iommi is one of my favorite guitarists, and the mastermind behind so many incredibly powerful, seminal guitar riffs. Watching him play live was even more of a thrill than I anticipated.
I saw some of the most sincere “sign of the horns” I’ve ever witnessed being made throughout the arena, and of course I contributed as well! Heavy Metal knows no age.
There is some great audio of the first night floating around, which I mixed with some video I shot during the show you can check out here…
Photos by Steve Leonard
Awesome pics!!!