I rocked 2 Wellington

I will forever be grateful to concert promoter Phil Sprey for putting himself on the line to bring Rock2Wgtn (or Rock 2 Wellington) to life. It seems as though he may be lucky to break even, which is a crying shame given how much everyone who attended seemed to enjoy themselves. I can’t help thinking that cheaper prices upfront and a better seating plan might have made for more sales, but then, that is an idle speculation. Phil’s been promoting for a long time and surely knos his stuff. For me though, the price I paid ($135+booking fee) should have given me free reign to squish to the front of the pit as best I could, or chill back in the stands.

 I only went on the Sunday night (second night of the festival) due to the ticket prices. The acts on show were Poison, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, with support from Sonic Altar, The Valves, and various fire dancers, zombie cheerleaders and a giant dragon shooting lasers from its eyes. The previous night had seen Lordi, Alice Cooper and Kiss entertain the crowd.

Poison were surprisingly entertaining, really recalling my school days. I could swear that one of the women in the crowd in front of us was in my class in sixth form! Brett Michaels might be a tad cocky, but he knows how to work a crowd. They were actually a great warm up for the night’s other entertainment.

Whitesnake sounded excellent. Their play was tight, they had a huge stadium sound and David Coverdale’s voice was strong, as was his stage presence. On the whole though, there was a bit too much noodling and it all felt a bit lacklustre to the non-fans or casual listeners.

The crowd were really pumped for Ozzy. He was preceded by a montage of video clips where he was spliced into well known movies and TV shows. There were some genuinely funny moments that had the crowd howling with laughter and cheers. When Ozzy finally hit the stage the crowd erupted. He belted out I Don’t Wanna Stop, which was a good choice to open, but one that Ozzy had trouble keeping up with. He got stronger after that, ripping throught Mr Crowley and Bark At The Moon. There was a mix of other classics and newer material, and the crowd were right into it, rising to all of Ozzy’s taunts and invocations to “go crazy”. He went off for about ten minutes while Zakk Wylde played a guitar solo. I LOVE Zakk to pieces, but this went on a bit too long. I think he was forced to play a longer solo than he would otherwise so that Ozzy could get a decent half-time break. Highlights for me were War Pigs and Paranoid from the Black Sabbath days, and Crazy Train, Mama I’m Coming Home and I Don’t Wanna Change The World from his solo catalogue. Ozzy finally left the stage promising to be back, and I for one hope he makes good on the promise.

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