Ozzy Retires From Touring and We Remember His Stops In The Hub City

Ozzy played Lubbock at least three times.

Thanks to some rockin' listeners, I have the three dates the Oz man played the Hub City.

Ozzy has sadly decided that touring is no longer possible for him. He is investigating ways to play some shows without the wear and tear that touring puts on a body. This could mean just flying in for a festival here or there, a Vegas residency, or who knows what (I'm hoping for a closed-circuit goodbye concert). Whatever he ends up doing I hope he knows how much he is loved and appreciated by his fans everywhere.

This got me to thinking about the times Ozzy visited town. I knew I had seen him three times and two of those performances are crystalized in my memories. I believe it was Ozzy's first stop in Lubbock when I was on the floor. The lights went down and the curtain parted (did it part or rise?). We were then greeted to Ozzy sitting on a giant throne, with red velvet accents, and Ozzy was looking out into the crow like a damn maniac while holding a giant silver reflective cross.

The middle performance from Ozzy sparked no real memories for me, and I was thinking I may even have imagined it, but I found someone who was actually selling a ticket to the show on Ebay. (NOTE: Some are saying this show was canceled. That could be why I have no memory of it).

The other memory I had of Ozzy coming to town was mostly that of Peter Steele of Type O Negative who was one of the openers. I remember him playing with a chain for a guitar strap. As for the Oz man, I believe he was a bit more low-key that night. The show did open with a hilarious skit in which Ozzy interacted with Forrest Gump. I can't believe I actually found a copy of that intro and you can check it out below. The video does contain some bad language and was hilarious because here was Ozzy cussing out the most loved man in America at the time.