Ozzy Osbourne @ Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN. Photo by Pennman 2/16/2011.

Believe it or not, I had never seen Ozzy live. So when I heard he was coming to Nashville, and with Slash no less, I said to myself “I think it’s time”. So I can put another notch in my belt. Of course, in the back of my mind, the thought was “can Ozzy still do it”? Well, even though he looks like he has a tough time walking around up there, the man can still sing. So surround the singer with a kick-ass band and you’ve got yourself an honest to goodness heavy metal rock show right before your eyes and ears. And you leave happy.

Opening up the show was Slash, fresh off his Super Bowl fiasco. That in itself made me curious as to how he too would do up there. With his trademark top hat in place, he and the band (which featured Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge on lead vocals) came out and did an 11-song set of rockers taken from various stages of his career. So that meant we got to hear several Guns N Roses tunes, along with some Snakepit, new stuff from his 2010 solo album, and some Velvet Revolver material. Since five of the eleven tunes were from Guns N Roses, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about how this performance compared to the old gang in their prime. Well, I guess you can predict the answer to that.

While it was nice to hear that wonderfully familiar riff that starts off “Sweet Child of Mine”, and the booming drums that lead off “Paradise City”, it just lacked the power and charisma that was G & R. Perhaps a few more of the tunes from his 2010 solo album would have got me off the G & R thing, but there were only 3 of those.  And that’s a mystery, because that CD is very good. And Slash, man, did you really not play “By the Sword”? Ouch. Still, it was evident the man can still make the Les Paul sing.

But where Slash was pretty good, Ozzy was simply awesome. After a short video where Ozzy caricatured, or should I say skewered, several of today’s most popular TV and movie roles, he wasted no time busting out with “Bark at the Moon”.  Next up was a new one, “Let Me Hear You Scream” (it is, after all, the Scream tour). As the Prince of Darkness ran through his set, we were treated to one classic super hit after another. “Mr. Crowley”, “I Don’t Know”, “Suicide Solution”, “Road to Nowhere”, “Shot in the Dark” (I think perhaps my personal favorite Ozzy tune), “Crazy Train”, and “Mama I’m Comin Home” were all included in a set list built to please. Now you didn’t think he was divorcing himself from his Black Sabbath catalog, did you? Not a chance. We also heard bang-up versions of “Faeries Wear Boots”, “War Pigs”, “Rat Salad”, “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”. The audience was loving every minute.

So how does the old guy do it? Well, I suppose it’s part complex and part really simple. The hard part is keeping himself in shape, at least in good enough shape to perform at a high level. Whatever Ozzie’s doing he should keep it up. Although it appears he might be having a tough time prowling around up on stage, he does keep moving, sort of like a caged animal. One senses there’s even more energy inside of him than the huge amount he pours out. And of course, the man can still sing, as I said above, and then some. Obviously he’s having fun and it shows.

The simple part of the equation is to surround himself with younger, smoke-breathing musicians at the top of their game. So guitarist Gus G. was just blazing on one solo after another, striking guitar hero poses all night long.  Bassist Blasko Nicholson was booming and quite animated up there too, and his rhythm section mate, drummer Tommy Clufetos was a powerhouse throughout, and did an awesome drum solo to boot. Adam Wakeman returned to fill in the sound nicely on keyboards and an occasional stint on acoustic guitar. Old master plus young gunslingers equals great rock and roll. Glad I finally made it.

Ozzy’s latest album is “Scream”. For info on that and just about anything else Ozzy go check out www.ozzy.com.