Tagged: Ozzy
Ozzy in Poland, travels and Russian visitors
After a short concert-break, it’s time to start planning for “round two” of my Rock’n’Roll Travels again.
Next up is OZZY in Poland. It was kind of a bummer to miss him at Graspop (he cancelled that show due to illness) but I’m sure the show in Poland will be worth the trip.
While they’re travelling around in tour buses with everything that comes with it (I’ve done it, I know the little “details” that are far from nice or comfortable) – I’m flying everywhere and staying in decent hotels.
It’s not that I’m a rich bitch, Far from it. I’ve just done this for so long that I know all the tricks to get the best, cheapest deals for flights and hotels. Might share my tips someday. Or open my own rock’n’roll travel agency.
Like my Firewind-trip to the UK in September (which is the 1st round. After that, shows in NL, BE & DE + 3 shows overseas).
I’ll be going to 3 shows during a weekend+a Monday that I just kind of threw in there because I think that Reading-show could be interesting. ;-)
It includes flight Copenhagen-Manchester, hotel in Manchester 2 nights, train Manchester-Glasgow, hotel in Glasgow, flight Glasgow-London, airport-transfer and train London to Reading, train from reading to London and flight home to Copenhagen. Beat that price if you can.
I travel to see bands that I like, but sometimes, depending on the band, it’s more an excuse to travel than the reason. I’ve never been to Poland for instance. I most likely would never have gone there if I hadn’t found an excuse to go. Ozzy is one of the best “excuses” I could think of. :-)
Found a hotel that’s 3 minutes from the arena that I booked months ago. I’m glad I did because NOW, everything in Gdansk and Sopot (where the arena is) is sold out! And the rooms that are still available are crazy expensive. So, it pays of being early.It’s a cool designer hotel where each room is unique. No two rooms look alike. I hope I get that “John Lennon” Imagine-inspired room (the white one). Would be nice. :)
Anyway, I’m just glad and very much looking forward to the show – which by the way will be repeated two days later when I see Ozzy at Smukfest-festival in Skanderborg, Denmark. It’s actually a very strange place for him to play because it’s not really a rock concert. It’s all kinds of pop- and alternative music, Danish stars that I haven’t heard of, so I’m wondering about what kind of crowd he will have.
I saw some advertising at Copenhagen central station and they listed all kinds of artists, EXCEPT Ozzy. That’s weird. You get a legendary artist to the festival, and then you barely even mention it? If I hadn’t seen it on the Ozzy Android-app, I wouldn’t even have known about it.
Today is cleaning day. Getting a visitor from Russia on Friday. Probably one of the most “exotic” visitors, since I don’t know anyone from there, other than short chats I’ve had on Youtube with a girl who filmed Jon Oliva’s Pain at Bang Your Head last year.
Now I’ll be hosting Vera, a fellow colleague from the Russian edition of Classic Rock Magazine, that I met in the press-tent at Sweden Rock Festival.
She walked up to me when I was sitting there a few hours before the Judas Priest press-conference (before people started dropping in, because after that, you can forget about getting a good seat in there) and said she remembered me from a few years back – ALSO at the Judas Priest press conference. I had told her that I was a huge Priest-fan apparently.
Vera turned out to be super-nice and helpful. She offered to film the Priest press-conference so that I could concentrate on just listening or asking questions myself. She did that on yet another press conference, can’t remember which one (yeah, the thing about the short memory!).
And then on Zakk Wylde’s press conference, I came WAY too late, it had already started. She on the other hand, had been there on time, so when I rushed in, she offered me her spot so I could get a better angle if I wanted to film it. Just a very helpful and unselfish person, from what I could tell, not knowing much about her. :)
I’ve always trusted my gut-feeling when it comes to people. Sometimes I’m wrong, but most of the time I’m right. :) Spoke to to her briefly the other day and she started telling me about all the gigs she was going to during her visit in Sweden. I couldn’t help laughing because she sounded just like me! Then she comments on that going: “If there’s chance to see a gig, I always do!” Hell YES, sister!
That’s what it’s all about.
I don’t know too many people, especially not girls, who are like that. So it’s great to get to know a fellow rock chick that shares the same passion for music and live-music.
Check out her interview with Doro:
Well, time to start vacuuming, doing dishes and all that stuff, and transform this from a “before-and-after travel”-home with passport, adapters, carry-ons and tickets that are laying around the house, to a more guest-friendly area. :-)
Coverdale saved the day
Back at the hotel after a long day at the Graspop festival. Actually, it wasn’t half as bad as I had anticipated. It rained, but it was just a little, there was very little mud (no more than usual), no bands sucked, except for maybe Priest but I will need to clarify that later, people were generally nice and I like this festival – simple as that.
What made my day today was David Coverdale – again. The past fifteen years or so, he has always recognized me anytime, anywhere – press conferences, shows, whatever. Same thing happened today.
He smiled, walked over to “my” side of the stage and then I heard him say: “Well hello Daniela, how are you? Looking hot as always!”
That was my ego-kick of the day, thank-you.very-much. I’m easy to please, ;-)
So, I choose to smile like a 15-year old girlie about it, OK? :-D
Didn’t even get it on video, would have been a nice memory. I was going to record the show (yes, I know, I’m a horrible criminal and I’m going to hell) but then I decided that I wanted to enjoy the show instead so I just figured “fuck it…”.
It’s always when you make those decisions that you wish you had made a different choice.
Ozzy’s cancellation must have been a bad thing for Ozzy himself, but I didn’t notice anything in particular at the festival, people were enjoying themselves as if nothing ever happened – and a Belgian band that I’d never heard of, Channel Zero, were asked to play mid-day to fill out the schedule, and that turned out to be the craziest performance of all! Not necessarily the band – but the crowd went crazy! The crowd-surfing was ridiculous! I haven’t seen that many people flying through the air even at a Megadeth concert..!
Fans of Ozzy-guitarists had a double-treat today as well – first Gus G and his Firewind, then Zakk Wylde and his Black Label Society. I’m more of a Firewind-person, not particularly into Zakk or his thing, never have been. And I can’t stand his solos, I know that I’ll get shit for saying that, but never in my whole life have I heard such boring guitar solos. When he starts doing that, all I can think of is “please just shoot me now!”
I’ve got videos from all of the above, but not now, it’s time for toothbrushing and maybe a few hours of sleep. The way I look right now could scare crows and children – or I could fit right in with any of the characters in The Night Of The Living Dead. Gah!
Sleepy time, more when I get home.
Ozzy cancelled, and it’s pissing down
In Belgium, reliving last year’s Sonisphere-nightmare. What was supposed to be a sunny, fantastic day, has turned into one of those “it’s pissing down and it won’t stop anytime soon” days where you KNOW you’re gonna be walking in mud up to your knees. It was only raining a little bit yesterday and that was enough to make it muddish… Today is going to be “walk around in gruel”-day. Perfect. :-/
Not only that. Ozzy has cancelled. He is sick. I feel so bad for Ozzy, cause after having seen him a few times on this tour, I know that the man LOVES to be on stage, and I also know that he has defied doctors before and performed against their recommendations. So, if Ozzy cancels, it MUST be VERY bad. :-(
It’s no catastrophy for me, cause I’ve seen him and I will see him a few more times on this tour (hopefully) and I will get to see Gus who’s playing with Firewind early in the afternoon today.
Trying to remember what Lips (Anvil) said in their documentary: “Everything went wrong, but at least there was a tour for things to go wrong on”. Same here. Everything has gone wrong so far, but at least I’m in Belgium and there is a festival for things to go wrong on. :)
Yesterday was an ordeal that I will write about when I get home. Right now I’m hungry, tired, thirsty and in desperate need to get some breakfast. So – more from what’s happening here tomorrow…
THE WIZARD OF OZ – GUS G
This day in Ozzy history, Blizzard of Ozz went platinum in the US, 1982.
Today, 2011, Ozzy’s got something else that will also go to the history books of rock’n’roll: Guitar-wizard Gus G.
After Ozzy’s show at Madison Square Garden in NYC back in December, I was very impressed by “the new guy” whose fingers were faster than the speed of light.
He was handling his guitar like nobody’s business, moving across the stage like a true Rock Star, with confidence but without the arrogance.
That evening has been described in an earlier blog post which you can find here:
The World Needs Guitar Heroes
I made a note to myself that I would have to do an interview with this guy sooner or later.
Six months later I finally did.
Gus took time to do this at Sweden Rock Festival, shortly before he was due on stage on June 11th. As far as I know, he didn’t have time to talk to anyone else that day, so I’m glad that all the pieces of the “logistics-puzzle” worked out the way they were supposed to. :)
It’s all true – the stuff that you’ve read everywhere – yes he is one hundred per cent down to earth, a sincere non-bullshit sort of person who takes his musicianship seriously, but not for one minute allows himself to forget who he is or where he came from.
A star doesn’t need to prove anything, he lets his craftsmanship do the talking.
Meet the Wizard of Oz – Gus G.
OZZY – the roadtrip (part 1 & 2)
Actually, these would be shows 2 and 3 if you count the show at Sweden Rock Festival as well…
Finally home, with access to broadband internet and everything. :) The whole trip went effortlessly, apart from a few smaller mishaps, but I can live with that.
The drive from Munich airport to Olympiahalle was a piece of cake. Beautiful day it was too. Stood outside the venue all day, nothing better to do – same old, same old… At least we got some free entertainment listening to the sound check that started shortly after 4 pm, and frankly, sometimes I enjoy listening to instrumental music more than with vocals. Not always, but it’s just a totally different thing when the instruments get the main focus instead of only being “backup” for the vocals.
The show was fun as hell. Call me childish, but I love that foam and water-splashing thing that Ozzy does! It just brings you into the right sort of vibe where you let go of all inhibitions and allow yourself to just relax and not think about how you look or act or anything, it’s down to basics. We all look absolutely ridiculous and we’re all laughing like kids. Can it get any better? :)
I had a discussion actually with a business-colleague, whether or not it was good for a professional to be seen in the crowd – whether that be someone from a record company, another band, photographer, journalist, manager…. I’ve battled with that throughout my whole career. That whole IMAGE-thing.
Yeah, I know it’s WAY more cool to stand somewhere on the side of the stage with a laminate looking important, but I’ve done that – and I hate it.All you see is the band’s asses and you don’t get to experience the show the way it’s supposed to. It’s not that I can’t be that “cool professional”. God knows I have every opportunity in the world to get my ass on some guest list and talk my way to a pass.
But at this point, I don’t care what people think anymore. When I’m doing a job, I’m doing a job and I know how to separate one thing from another.
I loved this piece of news about LADY GAGA recently – to me, that says it all!! Lady Gaga ROCKS!!! :-))
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2011/05/28/iron_maiden_fans_were_kind_and_warm_toLady Gaga was initially apprehensive about joining the crowd at a recent Iron Maiden concert, but was surprised by the “kind and warm” welcome she received by the rock fans.
The “Poker Face” singer went to see the band at a gig in Tampa, Florida, last month and watched most of the show from a private box.
Towards the end of the performance, Gaga and her friends decided to brave the main auditorium – and the singer was overwhelmed by the positive reaction to her presence.
She tells Rolling Stone, “We went down during The Number Of The Beast. And when we got there… we just booked it into the center of the crowd. We were dancing and singing and everyone was just so into it. And it was one of the first times I’ve been able to just be at a rock concert in a long time.
“People did recognize me, but it was so kind and warm and awesome… I’m a pop singer – I didn’t know what it would be like in a crowd of Maiden fans; everybody was hugging me, high-fiving, fistpumps in the air… ‘Oh, it’s so cool you’re at Maiden.’ Jumping and dancing… I mean, it was like absolute no judgment, no prejudice, freedom and love for music. It doesn’t matter who you are… It was just awesome… Maiden changed my life.”
I’m 100% with Gaga on that one! :-) Very cool – how many other “superstars” would have done that, to me she is true to herself, even with the super stardom she has reached. I respect that.
I had my usual laminate when Sebastian Bach was playing Sweden Rock years ago, and I was welcome to walk around anywhere I wanted. Guess people would have expected to see me in the photographer’s pit but I thought it was so lame to be standing there on my own rocking out to Baz, so I went back to the craziness of the crowd.I like to be right in the middle of it – hear people go crazy, feel every happy move from people around me jumping, dancing, headbanging, just creating that ENERGY that rock’n’roll is all about.
I also think that Ozzy is the perfect artist to be “uncool” for. The security guys in the front learned very quickly that there wasn’t much point being professional at an Ozzy concert. He hosed them down from top to toe, it was absolutely priceless!
After the show, I went back to the car with the intention of driving to Anett and Markus (Red Lion Music, Jon Oliva’s Pain tour manager on their last few European tours) during night. I figured there wouldn’t be much traffic but it was raining, and driving in rain and darkness gets you tired pretty easily, so I decided to stop somewhere and sleep instead.
Pulled into the first parking-sign space I saw, lots of trucks there, guess that’s where truckers get their rest between destinations.
I slept like a baby in that car! The seat could be stretched like a bed, and it was actually dark and quiet there so it couldn’t have been more perfect.
When morning dawned, I was starving and looked up to check where I was. When I drove in, it had been totally dark, now I could see where I was.
And it’s funny… when you travel like this, you eventually end up recognizing places, getting little Deja Vú’s everywhere!
This was a typical German Autobahn-rastplatz and I remember it, because I stopped at the exact same place last year after Zwarte Cross-festival where JOP had played, and on the way to Frankfurt where they were staying at an airport hotel before flying back home to the States the next day.
Had a tasty cappucino and a hot panini in the morning-dew freshness outdoors. Brushed teeth by using water from my Evian-bottle and well you know – sometimes you gotta improvise. :)
It was a 4,5 hour drive from Munich to Anett’s and Markus house, and I found it thanks to my beloved TomTom GPS that always brings me safely to my destination.
Was greeted by the biggest Dobbermann-puppy you could imagine – Slash. This killer-machine dog (ehm, according to some people…) is absolutely convinced that he’s in fact a chihuahua !
Spent all day talking with Anett, topics that are are not always to easy to share with other people. :) Tours, bands, management, all the drama that sometimes surround bands and the people that work for them and around them – there’s plenty of stuff for discussions for sure. And it’s nice, because again, there aren’t too many people you can talk to about those things that don’t need further explanations.
Anett was a great tour manager, very organized and very tough. Sometimes when you’re dealing with a bus full of musicians, you need to be a strict “babysitter”, which is probably also why she was given the nickname “Mommypig”. :)
Had a few glasses of really nice wine, a few pastries, then when Markus came home, antipasti w. cheeses, salami, filled fefferoni, mozarella and tomato salad and bread, olive oil – very Italian style.
Walked it off by takin Slash for a walk down the meadows surrounding their house. The area would be perfect for a rock festival.
After good food, good wine and fresh air, I was done for the day – couldn’t keep my eyes open. Excused myself and pretty much passed out right away down in my guest room, next to the office. :)
Markus, Anett, Slash & me
Wall outside office:
Rained all night – perfect for sleep! :)
[Video from Rockhal Luxemburg. Not the best quality but I didn’t want to use my fancy camera as it would have been ruined with all that water and foam that comes flying your way when you least expect it. :)
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NEXT DAY…… LUXEMBURG… (COMING UP!)
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 