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BlizzCon 2009: Closing Ceremonies Impressions of Ozzy Osbourne and TAFKAL80ETC

August 24, 2009 | | 1 Comment Share thison Facebook BlizzCon 2009: Closing Ceremonies Impressions of Ozzy Osbourne and TAFKAL80ETCon Twitter

You’re likely asking what the hell a TAFKAL80ETC is. That’s okay, you’re just going to have to read our impressions to find out. But yeah, there were two acts this year, and while I missed the comedy act and VGL performances that they’ve had in recent years, I agree with what Director of Audio and Video Russell Brower’s assessment that doing the same show three years in a row would be lame (my words, not his).

Anyway, Ozzy Osbourne. I suppose that should more than make up for the lack of anything else that they’ve had in previous years. It was a pretty standard set of songs, but it was awesome. It was also kind of hot, loud, and stinky. Oh, and wet.

Hit the jump for our write-up and answers to all the burning questions I’ve likely sparked in your head!

First of all, this place was a mad house. People started filing in for the 6:30pm event at around 5:00pm, but fortunately there was a press section where I was able to get a first-row view of the happenings on-stage. There was also a “standing only” area right in front of the stage, but things quickly got crazy when Ozzy got on stage. More on that later. On a side note, we were told the names of the winners of all the on-site competitions, and unsurprisingly, most of them were Korean.

So, the opening act was Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. Unfortunately they didn’t have any new songs for this year’s show, but I love their songs, and the lead singer’s ability to get the audience involved is amazing. He did his usual Horde versus Alliance thing, and it was a good time.

Their set list was as follows:

01. Rouges do it From Behind
02. Terran up the Night
03. Nightfall
04. Power of the Horde
05. Diablo III
06. I Am Murloc

I really dig their Diablo III song. I mentioned it last year, as it debuted there, but it has a lot of fan service, including lines like, “There is no cow level—yes there is!” and “stay awhile and listen!” He also refers to Diablo as “Big Red.”  “I Am Murloc” always gets a huge response, and it’s one of my favorite songs of theirs.

So, about this TAFKAL80ETC business. In protest of having to change their name each time Blizzard raises the level cap, the band decided to change their name to “The Artist Formerly Known As Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieften,” or TAFKAL80ETC. They also took time to assure the audience that although Blizzard is now a big corporate company, they don’t intend to sellout.


[The new logo for TAFKAL80ETC]


[TAFLAK80ETC is back from their WORLD TOUR, but will not run into the PITFALL of selling out]

So, after the band left the stage, the crowd starting chanting “Ozzy, Ozzy!,” and the energy in the place was amazing. The Prince of Darkness finally took to the stage and performed a modest 10 tracks. The standing area I mentioned earlier was let loose, as it was initially several feet away from the stage, and the entire front of the stage quickly became a crowded, hot, smelly, and insanely loud swarm of manflesh. I stuck with it, as it was only for an hour.

His set list was as follows:

01. Bark At The Moon
02. Suicide Solution
03. War Pigs
04. I Don’t Know
05. Mr. Crowley
06. I Don’t Wanna Stop
07. Iron Man
08. I Don’t Want To Change The World

Encore:
09. Crazy Train (featuring Yuto Miyazawa)
10. Paranoid

I guess you could technically say that by playing “Paranoid,” they were referencing the soundtrack from Rock ‘N’ Roll Racing, one of the best racing games of all time. I got a kick out of that. Aside from that, however, Ozzy played some of his classics, with “War Pigs” being one of my favorites.

Throughout the performance, Ozzy consistently prompted to crowd to get loud and “fucking crazy.” It was a lot of fun. Gus G did a good job on the guitar, although I’ve read a lot of people were disappointed that Zakk Wylde wasn’t there. I don’t know anything about this whole drama, as I admit I don’t follow Ozzy Osbourne, but I thought Gus was pretty good.


[Gus G tearing it up. Looks good to me!]

Throughout the show, Ozzy sprayed people with a water hose. I have no idea where this hose came from, but he managed to soak himself in the process, looking like a crazed, wet devil in a trance on stage. For “Crazy Train,” he shouldered 9-year old Yuto Miyazawa, a guitar prodigy from Japan, who played a guitar that was about as tall as he was. It was interesting, but nobody in the audience knew who the hell he was (I had to look him up after I got home).

All in all, it was an amazing evening and event. Even if my ears are still recovering from the show, and even though the guy next to me was perhaps the worst thing I’ve smelled in my entire life, it was certainly an experience to see Ozzy Osbourne live. Blizzard put on a good event and a great show, and I left feeling more than satisfied.

Were you at the closing ceremonies, or perhaps tuning into the Pay-Per-View channel?  What did you think of TAFKAL80ETC’s and Ozzy’s performances?

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