HUB CITY.ROCK CITY BY CHRIS PIERCE

On the eve of thanksgiving, I witnessed a most interesting spectacle that no mere mortal can withstand. But if you have metal flowing freely in your veins as i do, you need to go see Sabbra Cadabra as soon as possible, preferably at a tributefest if you are so lucky.

The stars were somehow in my favor,and my band had to cancel a possibly lucrative (yea, right ) show, but it all fit into a master plan that made me ecstatic and my girlfriend anxious, but strangely entertained. The Sabbra guys were hosting a tributefest at the Tavern in the Park,s back room, and their midnite set time coincided with my closing up rockshop and zipping up to Roselle Park to witness the performance of The Nations #1 Black Sabbath Tribute Band,as the T-shirt says.

After interviewing Tom and the crew via the phone for these same hallowed pages a few issues ago , I had to see what sounded so good on tape and described to me.

Let me start by saying, even if I didnt know what band were playing, I would have guessed Sabbath. The stage was dominated by the two guitar stacks, the most centered being a fluorescent Orange ( brand and color ) stacked, with a marshall to back it up.The Ward - styled trap kit was sealed in by a horizontally stacked wall of SVT 8x10s. This is enough gear to cause sterility in the weak and make gear geeks like myself squeal with glee. When these guys play down the street, they must need a semi. One look around at the straight outa Dazed and Confused crowd, and thinking about the alcohol that must have been ingested, I was excited to see rock, and hoping shit was gonna get outa hand. Being a spectator to anarchy is a favorite pastime of mine.

When the S.C. boys pushed through( Ozzy nearly knocked me down ) and took the stage, the room filled with smoke, flashing lights, and air raid sirens. Ozzy took the mic and screamed " ALCOHOOOOOOOOL ! LET ME SEE YOUR FUCKING ALCOHOL IN THE AIR ! "  I really just wanted to drink mine, so i opted not to . Everyone else did it. They started playing, and it was just like seeing Sabbath- 70,s coked out era looking Sabbath, but still a great visual, and they played..right on . Verbatim. Ozzy sounded a little haggered towards the end, but who wouldnt ? The real Ozzy is much fatter , surely.

They played all my personal faves, and ended with "paranoid" as written in unwritten lawbooks.

All this was just what I needed to get my rocks off sufficiently and raise my self- image. I really enjoyed the drunk women who decided they were going to treat everyone to their shapely figures and choreographed dance moves while onstage with the band. Also , props to the really drunk guy who stood right in front the whole set, then when he finally started to get into it , his pal grabs his shirt as he crashed nose-first into the light tripod, nearly knocking it down inches from me, hitting an apparently comatose dude who didnt even flinch in the face of near doom. You , sir, are of a dying breed that will always provide me with smiles and stories.

Now ive decided to quit this original band crap and join a cover band. Anyone need a Malcom Young ? How bout a Keith Moon ? I can get fat and be Bun E Carlos, or fatter and do the complete Bill Stevenson trip. Who,s with me ?