3.26.11 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dinner and a movie. Fisheye-style.

I've actually been in Buenos Aires since Thursday morning. We were given an extra day off to refuel from our long flights, and I definitely took advantage of the time. Someone in our party befriended some Argentinian girls last time he was here, and they took us out the very first night! Pretty much the only item on my Buenos Aires bucket list was to have steak... They do that here. The restaurant the girls took us to had an all-you-can-eat buffet-style spread, and there was a chef cooking any kind of meat you can imagine on a grill the size of Texas. I pigged out.

 Kevin (assistant tour manager), Gus, Clay (sound engineer), me. Cheesin'.

The crew. Really, really fun crowd!

One of the girls dared me to try this super hot pepper.

Everyone laughed at my expense as I cried at the dinner table. Never again.

My hotel is absolutely gorgeous! It's right next to a palace that was built in the 1930s, and there's an awesome outdoor patio. The complimentary breakfast is killer, too! These dudes make the most perfect eggs I've ever had. Omelets, scrambled, anything. I make sure to get my ass downstairs in time for breakfast just so I can have some.

This is where I desk out.

Baff-room.

Free grapes. Thanks, Hyatt!

We found the American Embassy.

  A fan outside our hotel gave this painting to Adam to give to Ozzy.

Ozzy wanted to take everyone to a graveyard near the hotel where loads of royal and/or wealthy families were buried. Obviously this is a good video opportunity: The Prince of Darkness in a graveyard? Yes, please.

When I tried to walk through the entrance, a security guard stopped me and let me know that my camera wasn't allowed without permission. So I went and asked permission.

"No."

Whatever. The graveyard was still pretty awesome. People slowly started to realize who was with us, and cameras came out from everywhere. We went to an outdoor cafe afterwords, where the fans got worse. I feel pretty bad for Ozzy, the poor guy can't go anywhere, not even a cemetery, without loads of people asking for pictures and autographs. I'm surprised he's as grounded as he is. I'm not sure I could handle that kind of pressure.

Maybe this guy invented wreaths?

Every single mausoleum was at least this extravagant.

The boss.

I mean, I would probably do the same to be honest.

It's not every day Ozzy Osbourne strolls through your neighborhood.

The show was an absolute crazy-fest. We played at a soccer stadium that was just enormous! I went out into the crowd with my camera just to look for some shots, and I was approached instantly by people because they knew I was on the inside. Plenty of fans tried to give me personal items to bring back with a signature. Sorry, it's out of my control.

"Well, will you at least take a picture with me?" Sure, why not!

 Martin!

 Alejandro!

This was the best audience we've had thus far. It was the sort of passion you might see from a crowd at the World Cup, I kid you not. As the stage crew was getting everything ready for Ozzy's set, I walked to the front of the stage in front of 22,000 people and provoked them to cheer for my camera. Suddenly, an entire chant swept the stadium, and I definitely got more than I bargained for. That was a chilling feeling, no doubt.

Sepultura, openers for Ozzy.

This was my body guard for the night whenever I went out in the crowd for some shots during the set. We became great buddies even though he didn't speak any English. A great dude!

Also, I might have the roundest head. Challenge me.

GEBA Stadium definitely came out to play.

After the show, we met up with our Argentinian friends who wanted to take us to a nightclub called Roxy. Look, I didn't come all the way to Buenos Aires to not go to a nightclub. Get real, everyone. So I hopped in a caravan with Gus, Clay, Kevin and Big Dave, and we found ourselves in the VIP room of the club. In Argentina, the night life doesn't come alive until around 3:00am, so we were out pretty late. I wandered onto the dance floor on my own for a while, inserting myself into random pockets of people. The crowd was mostly high-school/college kids, and pretty much everyone accepted me with open arms. I made a few friends without having spoken a word. It was pretty amazing to notice how much the language barrier didn't matter last night.

This guy!

These homies were a ridiculously fun crew.

Whoever you are, I hope we can hang together again!

Today is being spent editing, and tomorrow we head to Santiago, Chile! Later.