My first impressions of Sweden include words like awe, beauty, and white people. Unfortunately, no reproduction of the sun over green Swedish fields through a lens is as spectacular as it is first-hand. It was an incredible sight.
Our lovely flight attendant was nice enough to get energy drinks for me before the shows!
Breathtaking...
We're at a rock festival today with bands like Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Rob Zombie, and Black Label Society, whose guitarist used to be Ozzy's a year back, Zakk Wylde. I really wanted to get a word with him, but he disappeared with his band pretty quickly after their set ended. Oh well, next time.
There is SO MUCH going on at this festival. All kinds of food in every direction, rides, carnival games, beer, you name it! The grounds were very spread out, and while the crowd in front of the stage wasn't very dense during set change, I knew this concert would be huge.
Local Swedes, very cool folks.
This place blew UP! The final count was somewhere close to 35,000, and this became the biggest show of the tour since it started last summer. The stage was gigantic and gave me tons of freedom to try some new tricks. A new stage is so key for me when I shoot these concerts. It's usually the same setup, and it's a bit more of a challenge to find ways to be creative, but this particular show gave me the opportunity to grab shots I've never been able to get before. It was especially cool to follow Gus and Blasko as they walked down the long runways on either side.
This was tonight's set list, revised a few times.
The noise from this amount of people nearly ran me over like a freight train.
Tonight we rest in Dusseldorf, Germany, and I desperately need some rest. I'm out!
[Expletive], I'm so messed up from jetlag. We got to our hotel at 7:00pm. I woke up at 3:00am. Time for a walk.
Lovely room!
Complimentary duck.
The coolest part about Helsinki in the summertime is that it never really gets dark. It's very dim, but not dark. This place is like a zombie apocalypse ghost town at night. Streets are littered with the day's remnants, and the only walking dead I saw were a few bar stragglers. It was an urban explorer's wet dream. Believe it or not, the sun started rising at 4:00am, so I headed back to my hotel to grab my camera.
I took this picture at 4:00am. Insanity!
This place is Utopian. Everyone is good looking, there are all sorts of shops and cafes, and a central park is saturated with picnics, funny dogs, and musicians. One of our drivers told me he's lived here all his life, and has no desire to leave. I can see why.
I tried some reindeer meatballs while I was out with Adam, which tasted like a burger and a breakfast sausage had a lovechild. I also bought this strawberry liquid from the supermarket. I can't read a lick of Finnish, but I trusted what I could make of the carton. Bonus! It was thick and sweet and yum.
...Don't take that out of context.
On dasher, on prancer, on my plate.
This is a car covered in grass with monitors. The artist told us it was to raise awareness about poor public transport services in Helsinki.
Concert time! I met this hilarious couple at the the meet and greet (seen in the video). They had me guess their ages. I didn't do so hot with the guy, but complimented his girlfriend. 1 for 2 scores high in baseball. I also met this drunk guy who dressed just like Ozzy, complete with a black leather overcoat on an 85˚ day. I'm gonna say meeting locals is my favorite part of shooting concerts. Everyone's got a great story to tell and is ecstatic to chat.
It was cool to be back in the swing again. I did lots of running around the venue, so much that I almost got in trouble with security. Sorry friend, but I CAN actually go over there to shoot. Our own head of security spotted a pair of boobs in the crowd. Surprised I haven't seen more, come to think of it. Definitely not OzTV material.
During the show I was hiding behind Gus's side cabinets on stage, and I would poke my head out to get a shot of Ozzy down the side of the stage. Well, when the foam gun came out I found myself in the line of fire. Also, the rule of "lightning doesn't strike the same place twice" didn't apply at all. I got a second dose as if sticking my head out again was a means of provoking.
Hyping the crowd for OzTV
This won't end well...
Just before leaving Helsinki for Sweden the next day, I headed out to run a quick errand. And what did I find not ten feet from the door? A damn parade. Helsinki couldn't be cooler. Tons of costumes and floats, smiling children and sunshine. This is paradise.
Lovely! The Kensington Gardens were just outside my window.
Thank God I was provided with a CD of the John Wilson Orchestra. I can't imagine a hotel without it.
So I've never been to London before, anywhere in Europe actually. Only a few hours after checking into the hotel, I headed to rehearsals with the band to review the set list one last time before we all set off. A lot of people ask me if I'm sick of Ozzy's music, and it's actually quite the opposite. Getting to hear some of the most talented musicians in metal on a daily basis makes me appreciate the music more and more. Plus, the songs that usually have an "older" feel (for instance, those found on Ozzy/Sabbath's first records) sound pristine with a modern influence.
Rehearsals for a new set. Should have worn ear buds.
This is Grape. He's always trying to untie my shoes or give me a wet willy when I'm off my guard. Great dude.
As soon as Ozzy saw me he goes, "Aww fuck, not this fucking cunt again! What did you do to your head?" This phrase translated would be something like, "Your camera annoys me a lot, but you're ok. Good to see you. What did you do to your head?"
Things I've experienced much later in life than my peers:
-Jeans
-Jetlag
My buddy Kevin woke me from impending jetlag doom with a phone call to go grab a beer with him. Done. I tried this alcohol called Pimms, which I guess is pretty popular in England, a friend told me to check it out. This stuff is like juice man, holy hell! Not that I got slammed or anything, but it would've been easy.
That's not how you spell "apple juice" at all. Comon, London!
Pimms. Super delicious, summertime treat. Oh, and Kevin (potentially delicious summertime treat).
What kind of blog would I write without food porn? Thought so.
Everyone in London smells good.
I'm actually writing this on the plane to Helsinki right now. Excuse my Finnish, but leaping leopards! I'm on a plane, a private jet mind you, with Ozzy Osbourne, who asked me what I did on break, there's a full menu of food to order, and I'm getting paid to be here! This is stupid. Excuse me while I punch myself in the face until I wake up.
