6.13.11 - Sweden

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!

6.11.11 - Finland

[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.

6.8.11 - London

Did anyone else know that you can take a dump on a plane? That should be a mandatory announcement right after we learn how to tighten a seatbelt.

I hope all London police officers have facial hair like this. Even the lady cops.

Ok, London. Keep playing your cards right.

Touché.

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.

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.

2.26.11 - Jacksonville/Puerto Rico

I've been extra behind on this blog, sue me. Wait, don't please. Videos from the end of the last leg:

Jacksonville

I gotta talk for a minute about the space shuttle launch. This was by far the coolest thing I've ever seen. Adam stumbled upon four passes to this at around 8:00pm the night before from his friend Marciano, who happens to be the vice president of marketing at Converse. An invitation was extended my way. I almost didn't go, under the fear that I wouldn't be able to finish all my work in time for the next show. Sure enough, Adam pressured and heckled me enough to where I thought, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I'd be insane not to get in the car with him.

So after a 3.5 hour car ride to Orlando, we arrived at one of those fantasy hotels you might have been to as a kid on that Disney World vacation. It had an entire indoor park, complete with wild animals, a pirate ship, gift shops, you name it. We hopped aboard some buses with families of the astronauts aboard the mission. I was starting to realize that the group we found ourselves in was pretty exclusive. We were on our way to the closest possible viewing site for the launch. You ever see the movie Apollo 13? There's some benches the astronauts' families chill on while they watch the launch, that's where we went.

Decision time.

Indoor pirate ship? This is like a life-size ship in a bottle. Man, I'm so funny.

Launch time. Camera ready. I really had to struggle between making sure I got a clean shot of the rocket, and just looking at it with my naked eyes. It's much different through the lens. I'll never forget the sound of the launch, it was a rumble that I've never heard before, and likely won't hear again. It's as if everyone there became a toddler again, humbled by the sight of humans going into space. A very nostalgic moment for me. It's like, who didn't want to be an astronaut as a kid? Am I right?

 Clay was nice enough to take some pics from my phone while I worked my camera.

Indefinitely my cell phone background.

On the bus ride home we made buddies with the rest of the hotel managers who were aboard the bus, and they even asked us to grab dinner with them after arriving back at the resort. Free food? I think so. We tried to get a table on the pirate ship restaurant, but it was full for the night, naturally. Sushi was the obvious second choice, I can't complain at all. So we found ourselves having a free gourmet meal with the managers of a five-star hotel chain, a NASA employee, and a project manager for Boeing. All were extremely cool people, and we all traded business cards at the end of the night. This day will be hard to top in this life.

Puerto Rico

I wish we could have spent more time in Puerto Rico. I've never been out of the country before, so this was thrilling for me. "But Colin, Puerto Rico is still U.S. property." SHUT. UP. Let me have my wide-eyed moment...

Everything was in Spanish! Now, I took four years in high school, but my Spanish is rustier than my dad's 1990 Honda Civic wagon. Finding the VIP room to talk to some fans was a challenge, but I could muster enough foreign vocabulary for venue employees to point me in the right direction. It's a pretty rewarding feeling to communicate in a different language. The little victories...

 Adam and I editing on the plane. Work never stops.

Puerto Rico's fans were crazier than any we've had on this leg of the tour. It makes sense though, these guys don't get to see acts like we do in the States. Big name artists rarely come to Puerto Rico, where we're spoiled here. We can go see an arena show three times each week if we really wanted. Ozzy hasn't been there in 30 years, so his show is long overdue. Fans were super friendly though and played to the camera whenever I pointed it at them.

 About an hour before the show.

These guys were rocking out to the music over the PA before anyone came on stage!

Heading home from this leg, I'm absolutely exhausted. I've been in overdrive mode for six weeks, shooting and editing every single day. It'll be nice to have three weeks to recharge my batteries before South America, but I think I'll want to get back to it sooner than that.