Disturbed

@ Blockbuster Pavilion!!!!!! 
Written By: Peter Lorre jr.
and Jeana with a "J"
Pics By: Scott Wulfestieg

PART I

           My Twelve-hour Marathon began about 11:00 on a hot Saturday in September. The OZZ-fest has become the Anti-thesis of festivals like Lilith Fair and The Weenie Roast. Its line up always includes nothing but furious hell-bent bands ripping the air with some great hardcore metal music.  It’s almost cruel to have this show start so early because the relentless barrage of music left the weak in little puddles of sweat in an arid desert of dust. 

            I was really pissed to hear the last song of Primer 55’s set while trying to get my passes at will call. Primer 55 was one of the main reasons I wanted to cover Ozz-fest. The four pieces out of the East Coast will definitely be around for a while; with they’re in your face, fuck you attitude!  They ended their set with my favorite song and a personal declaration to the pit to get ”loose.” If you haven’t heard of Primer 55 now you have, now get the album.

            I decided to get a beer and some food, and take a quick look around the area to see what was going on in the make shift fun zone. Unfortunately by doing so I missed a couple of good bands. The bands were Reveille, and Taproot I am disappointed that I missed all of Reveille and most of taproots set but I liked the little bit that I saw. So you can bet I’ll be in the pit at their next show.

            Up next was Pitchshifter, a band you can never quite pin down music wise. They have an energy that derives from their question all authority type of attitude.  They’re not afraid to use samples, and they’re somewhat infamous for their stage show. Although do to the tight time constraints they must not have had the time to set up a stage show. But their energetic stage presence was in full effect.  Singer J. S. Clayden was prowling and spinning around the stage like a loose top.  I’m not too familiar with pitchshifter but I definitely want to buy their cd when I get back to civilization.

Speaking of civilization, on the side stage was it me or was the place selling bbq turkey sausage dogs trying to short change everybody that went through there line. I swear they got me for about 5 bucks the first time I went to their stand, and damned if they didn’t try again the second time.  Anyway Canada’s Slaves on Dope were next to assault the OZZ-Fest side stage. This hardcore band with a singer that looks like he’s straight out of a punk band really got the crowd into the show. The recently L.A. transplanted

          Canadians gave a great show and got the girls showing a little pride I them selves by bearing all for a good cause. Slaves singer Jason Rockman looked like he was in a perpetual bad mood, as he blasted thru some Slaves songs. And out of most of the second stage bands they had the best use of the time in between songs. They seemed to really be in touch with their fans, and that’s a good thing.

            I was really interested in seeing the next act up on the second stage the Disturbed.  I have seen their name around and wanted to see what the hype was about. And when they escorted the staightjacketed singer David Draiman out to center stage ala Hannibal Lechter.  I knew this was going to be a pretty interesting set to watch. Disturbed struck me as just that, a bunch of disturbed people, releasing torrents of fury threw their instruments.  But most of the people’s attention was focused on their singer David Draiman. He wore the look of a madman possessed.  Singing and prowling around till the ambush occurred, it seems there’s been some backstage chicanery during the tour and it was the disturbed’s turn to get it. Unfortunately I was off to the side of the stage when it happened so I didn’t get to see the prank. All I know is baking flower and sweaty musicians don’t mix. By the end of their set the band looked like doughboys. But like true professionals they continued their assault of stage to the very end.  My local music store’s going to love me, because I got another band to add to my must buy list. The disturbed are definitely worth the hype their receiving.

            During a good part of the afternoon there was a huge line forming for something. I finally had to ask somebody what the hell every one was waiting for, so I saunter up to couple girls and ask. They purred were in line to meet Kittie!   Question answered, and so were about 5000 other people. When it was time for Kittie to take the stage the crowd had already been chanting their name for a good 10 minutes or so. The only bummer of the day was the fact that the bands sets were a strict 25 minutes but the set changes sometimes took up to 45 minutes. I would have liked to seen more of Kittie than the 25 minute set provided. The Canadian four piece were able to stuff a lot of anger in the little 25 minute set. Kittie is the antithesis of Britney Spears, and the Spice Girls, were pretty girl power ethos. They empower themselves by being the most aggressive sounding girl band ever and they kick ass over a lot of guy bands also! With the intense and coarse singing of Morgan Landers, and the gorgeous fella on guitar, all I can think to say is “here Kittie Kittie.”

            The headliner on the Ozz fest second stage was Brazilian hardcore king Max Cavalera’s Soulfly. Since leaving Sepultura, Cavalera has reloaded with a new band, that hits all the primal hardcore chords your used to.  Experimenting  with tribal sounds and a lot of pure unadulterated power Soulfly was given a their rightful due and given a good amount of time to play their set. And they took full advantage of it playing to a now exhausted and battered crowd. With war drums and one string instruments, to regular electric hardcore tools of the trade. Soulfly had command of them all during their intensity filled set.

Peter Lorre Jr.

PART II

          Saturday morning hit me hard as it always does. The obstacles I had to overcome to get to OzzFest were painfully cumbersome. My free ticket, turned into, "I don't care how much it cost, I need my truck by noon, I've got tickets for OzzFest!!" Luckily the Big O on Beach Blvd. is run by punkers, and $477.95 later, I was on the road. I tell you what, I have never seen so many fucking people. We had to park in the dirt so far away, they bused our asses in. But the party in the lot was everything I was hoping for, the fragrant aroma of "chronic" filled the air, and pockets filled with bud everywhere. First stop, beer line. A check of my watch and I want to rip something or someone into tiny pieces, I missed P.O. D. , Disturbed, Static X..... fuck, I'll just tell you about the bands I did get to see. My brother scored us pretty good seats in Loge, (I felt sorry for those sweaty fuckers on the lawn), but....I still think seats suck ass. I like a festival type of atmosphere like "Tattoo the Earth", "Warped Tour" and so on. 

            The sound system wasn't loud enough for me, if I can hear the dork next to me singing, it's not loud enough. To be honest, I waited to hear "Steller" and the other song they're killing on the radio, and then we bailed to the 2nd Stage to see one of the bands I was really looking forward to... Kittie... The 2nd Stage had so many people there, I couldn't get close. I had two options, to sit on top of the portable toilets or jump up and down. I chose B. Kittie rocked!!! 

           There were people being carried out of the pit, sweating, bleeding, unconscious. Vocals (Morgan & Fallon) were amazing. They have a great range of seductive screams mixed with feminine background choruses. And they know how to play their instruments, hard rocking guitar riffs and a powerful stage presence, left the crowd gender blind. I was stoked to see them, they played all the songs I was hoping to hear.."Spit", ‘Brackish", "Suck" on and on. Kittie is the perfect example of "Girls Rule!" After Kittie, it was time exit the 2nd Stage area, thousands of people moving in a fucking heard, people starting mooing like cows, it was hilarious. Another quick beer stop and next up on the main stage is Godsmack. I've got beer, buds, and really good company and then Godsmack hit the stage hard with "Stay Away". The whole place was singing, no one was sitting and they continued in this fashion through the whole set. They played every song I wanted to hear, "Voodoo", the over played "You better fucking go away???" song that had people leaping over seating dividers. My personal favorite "Moonbaby", I fucking love that song, was the highlight of their set. There are some bands that make an impact on you when seen live, that you don't get from the CD. They played some new stuff I really like. Wasn't a huge Godsmack fan before, but I have to say, one of the cleanest performances I've seen. They were tight and they played hard and got us all pumped up for the reason I had to make it to OzzFest, NO MATTER WHAT...PANTERA. "Reinventing the Steel" baby, Phillip and Dimebag and the boys hit the stage with Fire!!! Their name cut in steel on fire, it felt like 50,000 +++ people were going to explode!! I have never seen Pantera before, and they didn't let me down. I have to get a daily dose of "Vulgar Display of Power" (a fucking classic), or I can not co-exist with the world. They did not disappoint. Phillip with his Charles Manson hair and beard and his high fashion wardrobe of prison inmate, was classic. He's hot with big hair, bald, in a burlap sack, who fucking cares, Pantera rules! I like the new CD, but it's all about Vulgar. They played a lot of the new shit, but so happy to hear "Walk, This Love, New Level".. I really wanted to hear "Rise", but no such luck. All in all, Pantera has always been on my top 10 list of favorite artists, after seeing them live, I will never miss them again when they come to town. It's almost 10pm or it could have been later, after losing count on the number of beers I had consumed, I was slightly impaired. 

            I tell you what, he's funny, he opened with some comedic video clips that were so universally funny, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Video clips of Ozzy in a space suit handing Brittney Spears a giant red dildo, was almost too much to bear. He did a clip of his spoof on the "Whatz up.." thing, He was dressed in the classic football jersey with a fro, and then a chain of "Whatz up" phone calls to his bro's, that had people rolling in the aisles. After he had the crowd all fired up, he made his entrance down a flight of stairs on to a dark, gothic set. I couldn't tell you names of any of the songs they played, I recognized some classics, but again, I'm not a big Ozzy fan, but I'm sure all those hard core Ozzy fans were not disappointed. He made sure we were all aware why we were there, to fucking party and listen to bands that rock. It was the biggest party I have ever been to. This magazine is the fucking coolest mag. on the planet. Deadontheweb rules for letting a girl like me express my opinions on music, life and all the other shit that goes with it, to all of you fine people. My personal forum, to give one girls honest opinions and the best part, my experiences. If anyone out there is like me, when we're on our way to a show, we always wonder what our adventure will have in store for us. Will I get in a fist fight?, maybe just set a few things on fire, maybe just get way to wasted and throw up the whole time, or maybe, if you're lucky, find lost love in
the beer line (word to Bob). You never know what the power of music can do.