Ozzfest

September 8

A A A Comments (0) By Mikael Wood Thursday, Sep 5 2002

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September 8

Smirnoff Music Centre

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And so the summer-concert season winds to its slow denouement with Ozzy Osbourne's traveling freak show setting up shop at the Smirnoff Music Centre on Sunday for 14 hours of occasionally devil-worshiping, more often simply loud live entertainment. The show boasts its usual share of filler--Seether, Ill Niño, Switched, Chevelle, Mushroomhead, Hatebreed and Adema, for starters--but Ozzy's also roped in a handful of acts worth braving the natural and man-made elements for. Arrive early for pop-metal Goliath Andrew W.K., who'll gallop onstage at 9:20 a.m. for his 20-minute set; I Get Wet, his much-maligned debut, is still the year's best excuse to wear a lamp shade on your head. Long Island emo-thrashers Glassjaw got stuck with a before-lunch time slot, too, but their strangely appealing Worship and Tribute suggests an effective wake-up call might be in store. Armenian-American Los Angelenos the Apex Theory are probably the most genre-specific band on Ozzfest this year: Their recent Topsy-Turvy showcases a perfectly formed nü-metal band, one equally in thrall to Staind-style whining and Limp Bizkit-modeled crunch. They've got nothing on sub-headliners System of a Down, to whom they're endlessly compared for shallow but ultimately justifiable reasons, but SOAD can't compete with the hyperbole they've had shoveled their way since last year's Toxicity, either, so they're probably about even. Tommy Lee's dumb ass will make an ostensibly musical appearance, too, and P.O.D. will attempt once again to inspire the youth of the nation. Oh, and if you're still there when it gets dark, Mr. Osbourne himself will shut the whole thing down. No more tears!