The Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne farewell concert was a singular event that few performers could pull off. One would have had to spend decades giving the gift of excellent and dangerous music, and not many are capable of doing so.
The concert was not without its bad bits, though. For instance, while many bands wore Sabbath or Ozzy merch while playing their part in the show, Slayer wore their own. It was an oddly self-serving moment for an event meant to say goodbye to another band.
But overall, it was worth every penny or pound one might have spent to see the show in person. If one streamed it, the production value was high. And there were several moments not to be missed.
Three of the best moments from the Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne farewell concert
Metallica - "Johnny Blade"
Every band played at least one Black Sabbath or Ozzy Osbourne cover. That was part of being involved, but several bands did more than one. Guns N' Roses, for instance, performed six songs, but four of them were Sabbath tunes.
Metallica did a couple of catchy Sabbath numbers, but what set "Johnny Blade" apart from "Hole in the Sky" is that the group seemed to be having so much fun playing the track. Of course, it is one of Sabbath's more fun songs, but in lesser hands than James Hetfield and friends, it wouldn't have been as good at the farewell gig.
Supergroup B - Steven Tyler singing "Whole Lotta Love"
Tyler has been struggling with his vocal cord health for some time now, but he was able to do a short set with Aerosmith recently. While going through another tour appears out of the question, perhaps Tyler and his band decide to have their own farewell concert. They aren't Sabbath, but they aren't too far off in terms of popularity.
The surprise might have been that not only Tyler performed a few numbers, but that he was so good at the Sabbath farewell gig. He sounded a lot like Robert Plant when covering the Led Zeppelin song. It was a remarkable moment, as much for its unexpectedness as its power.
Ozzy Osbourne - "Mama I'm Coming Home"
By far the most emotional moment of the show was Ozzy performing this while many in the crowd teared up. The reality of the event seemed drawn all over Ozzy's face. This was the end of a long and wonderful career. The fact that he is dealing with Parkinson's and singing a song about death did not help the situation.
But at the same time, it was quite beautiful. Few vocalists have had the kind of connection the Prince of Darkness has had with his audience, and this was a reminder of that. When it's OK to cry with tens of thousands of others at a heavy metal concert, you know something has gone right.