Black Sabbath 2013 Tour Attendance

It actually was very nice, and I usually sweat like a pig at that place. I sweat more at Dave Chappelle/Flight of the Conchord's comedy tour at that venue this past weekend. The fans over the reserved seating were at full blast and I didn't break a sweat. For some reason the comedy show had the fans on low (because the Sabbath crowd was full of adults who would complain). The only time it gets bad at the Woodlands is when it is an all day festival like Buzzfest (for people who think Nickelback are alternative rock and Hanson was grunge), and I avoid those like the plague. But when the sun disappears around showtime it isn't bad at all. That said, I don't think I will do anymore shed/amphitheaters anymore. Sabbath is it for concerts. Montgomery County cops are the unfriendliest police in Texas (and thats saying something!), parking is a mix of playing like playing Tetris and Frogger at the same time what with the Woodlands mall and movie theater next door and the lots scattered in different places, and it is just too out of the way for people who don't live in the north side of town. At least the Woodlands staff are friendly.

The Sabbath crowd is also the best crowd I've been around in 20 years.

The band got off to a rocky start since it was the first show, but we were honored to have them open here. The new album material was like the band had never aged. I recently saw videos of the classic lineup somewhere around 2005 and it made me wince. This time, they showed whose the boss.

Also Rock Wizard, I wonder how the 1981 Rolling Stones show backfired. Did the crowd revolt? Was there a crazy riot? My uncle saw that tour in Houston with ZZ Top opening. It was a hot day(one of the hottest summers on record), the water hose was in full effect, and he said there were women in the audience wearing nothing but high heels and sunglasses. Once again, I was born too late. You can pm me if you don't want to derail the thread.

 

You're gonna love it!

 

I had the perfect spot in the General Admission terraces. At first I thought "Where are all the people?", but it was a packed house, just took a while for the crowd to arrive. GREAT SHOW!!!

 

I was at this show; thought it was really excellent. Ozzy sounded really good for the most part, the band was on fire, and I enjoyed Tommy Clufetos just fine, outside of the endless drum solo.
The sound was perfect.
It was quite full in the seats; I never checked out the lawn.

 

The last show I saw in the Woodlands was Cocker/Steve Miller. Took me a good 45 minutes to FINALLY cool down and by that time, Cocker was done. And that night, those fans were running at a good clip.

The Stones 1981 show - that was an "event". Special made tickets for the gig to curtain scalpers - it worked - heavy police presence day of sale and all around the Dome night of show. Some of the bandits were begging folks to buy the $18.50 tickets(and that was a 3 band gig) for $5!

I'll have to check my Katrina salvage stuff. I believe I still have the program from that show and the newspaper article/review from the show. They have a picture - the front half of the floor was heavily congested with people. If you had a vice, IT WAS THERE. You name the substance, you could find it somewhere on the floor area. Totally blew my mind. Bongs, pipes, grass, heroin, acid, EVERYTHING. And...for good measure, despite the warning of heavy security, they still confiscated 300 guns. Still can't figure that one out.

There was never any "revolt", just 89,500 inside the Dome sweating their a$$es off. They put the hose on us down on the floor to cool us down. All it did was invigorate the masses. I remember being about 20ft dead center from the stage. I was in the middle of a "box" roughly 10 people deep and 14 wide that kept swaying side to said and front to back. Totally unreal the humanity squeezed into that space. One guy passed out and we passed him back from the front wall all the way to the back of the Dome floor. My first time being part of a "group pass" That show was my first of 3 times seeing them(1981,89 and 94). Sometimes I wonder how many they REALLY could have put in there. Once past the half way point of the floor, lots of room to move around. Still, having almost 90,000 at a festival seating indoor show is impressive.

 

Whoa, talk about rock and roll decadence! This paragraph alone makes the stories my friends told me of the 1985 Slayer concert with their (literally) bloody mosh pit sound like the Lillith Fair. Guns, hard drugs, smoking paraphernalia that is hard to hide, and a stadium surrounded by New Orleans cops! I tell you, I would have died from laughter seeing the water hoses douse all those joints, pipes, and bongs. Lots of bummed out stoners I bet! I wonder what the acid heads thought of being sprayed in the face, heat or no heat!

And talk about apples and oranges...the 1981 crowd vs. the 1989 and 1994 crowds! Most Stones crowds I remember at the later shows looked so yuppie; at worst drunken mullet haired dudes.

To get the thread on track, the recent Sabbath crowd was pretty straight laced compared to the old days. You could smell the occasional pot smoke, but you could NEVER see where it was coming from. And with the reputation of the county sheriff in that scary, uptight area north of Houston, no one would do anything in the open. I didn't witness any busts until I went to the Dave Chappelle comedy tour a month later at the same venue, and the cops were roughly shoving by the head some poor kid in handcuffs wearing an LSU shirt who wasn't resisting at all! There also weren't any drunks as far as I could tell. All eyes were on Ozzy and the band, who had done enough substances in his lifetime to blitz all 17,000 of us! From now on, its the Toyota Center or smaller (screw the House of Blues) for concerts unless if it is something really unavoidable.

 

They really used a hose for an indoor show that took place in December? I'm just making sure you're not confusing it with the '78 show, which took place in July.

 

I was under the impression that it was summer. I can't imagine my uncle's Stones show being in the winter with naked girls running around, even in Houston. That cold wind blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico is NO JOKE.

 

You can see from the photos above and below that it obviously wasn't an unusually warm day or anything like that, so I'm confused for sure. These were taken by someone who traveled from Japan to see the show!

 

I see Sabbath on Friday in Phoenix, and I am excited . I saw them one other time at Ozzfest 2005 on a very hot August evening.

 

Is it me, or have the Ozzy Sabbath played mostly in the US since the late 90s reunion?

 

No confusion. I remember them unwinding the fire house by stage right and letting it rip. December 5, 1981. Special made tickets with a red swirl and a huge Stones tongue on the ticket. I still have it somewhere.

 

thanks!! only gonna miss Ward =(

 

I thought the European/UK leg happened earlier this year.

The dates were as follows (plus some UK dates earlier , I think):
May 18 – Moscow, Russia – Olimpiski
May 20 – St. Petersburg, Russia – New Arena
May 23 – Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena
May 25 – Stockholm, Sweden – Stadium
May 29 – Bergen, Norway – Bergen Calling Festival
May 31 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum
Jun. 02 – Malmö, Sweden – Malmö Stadium
Jun. 04 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle
Jun. 10 – Donnington, UK – Download Festival
Jun. 12 – Rotterdam, Holland – Ahoy
Jun. 15 – Bilbao, Spain – Azkena Rock Festival
Jun. 17 – Nantes, France – Hellfest
Jun. 19 – Paris, France – Bercy
Jun. 22 – Dessel, Belgium – Graspop Metal Meeting
Jun. 24 – Milan, Italy – Gods of Metal

Also new dates for Nov/Dec just listed:
http://www.ozzy.com/us/news/black-sabbath-european-tour-dates-announced

 

I said since the 90s, not just this last tour.

 

I shot this video from the front of the pit!

 

Saw them in Philly (2nd row), placed looked pretty packed to me.

 

Saw them at Sheffield Arena (UK) last Saturday. Total sellout! Place was packed! Bloody superb they were too! Had reservations about the drums but Clufetos was great!