The Tempest

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Dawn Bonner Music icon, Ozzy Osbourne still rocking in his 40-city 'Black Rain' concert tour.

Media Credit: Special to The Tempest/Lionel Hahn Rob Zombie in concert at the Stockton Arena and Oracle Arena in Oakland this week end.

Rock out with one of America's most enduring music icons, Ozzy Osbourne, in concert on Fri. Nov. 16 at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, or Sun. Nov. 18 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. To top it off, Rob Zombie is the front band for Osbourne.

The "Black Rain" CD was Osbourne's first release in six years and the "Black Rain-Special Edition" will be in stores on Nov. 20th, it is library worthy.

Andy Greene of Rolling Stone magazine said, "The strongest track, "Black Rain," is basically "War Pigs" updated to reflect the war in Iraq. It's a reminder of how good Ozzy can be when given decent subject matter and a spooky riff -- and a beacon of hope that next year's rumored Black Sabbath reunion could restore Ozzy's glory."

The first track, "I Don't Wanna Stop" has been number one for 20 weeks on the USA R&R Rock Chart. The second track on the CD is "Not Going Away," appropriately named since Osbourne started his career in the 70s and is still going strong in 2007.

One fan posted on Ozzy's site said, "Man the Ozzy Osbourne is rock-my-world and my crazy dad's world, to. I wonder if he can make a song about his family/band or one awesome fan like me and my dad because we love him. We have all of his CD's."

Osbourne has more fun offerings for fans, beside the 40-city concerts. For instance, you can bid on an autographed Les Paul guitar, enter a contest to win thanksgiving dinner with the Osbourne family and finally, Osbourne will be donating all the proceeds of his concert in LA on Nov. 30th to The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program.

For a sampling of what concert-goers will be hearing, visit his official site www.ozzy.com or www.myspace.com/ozzyosbourne. The heavy-metal tunes will stick in your head.

Rob Zombie has recently released his CD "Zombie Live" and will be performing the tracks during his first concert tour with Osbourne. Zombie has also etched his spot in rock music history. He first started as an assistant for the Pee Wee Herman show, moved on to rock star in the band White Zombie, then became a film maker for cult horror shows and is currently recording songs under his own name.

Jacob Hubner on the Zombie fansite says, "OK, it's out [CD]. It's brilliant! Just like the live show. The only thing missing is the band and 9 foot tall robots in your living room, car, or wherever you're playing the record. It's LOUD, it's GRITTY, it's ZOMBIE."

You can also bid on an autographed Fender Standard Stratocaster by Rob Zombie. He has donated the guitar so the proceeds will go to reforesting after the recent Southern California wildfires.

For more of Zombie or to listen to some of his sound tracks visit www.robzombie.com or www.myspace.com/robzombie.

If you were looking for something smashing to do this weekend, you now know where it will be happening:

• November 16, 2007: Stockton, CA @ Stockton Arena (with Rob Zombie) 248 West Fremont Street Stockton, CA 95203

• November 18, 2007: Oakland, CA @ ORACLE Arena (with Rob Zombie) 7000 Coliseum Way Oakland, CA 94621

Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com and other online sites.

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