Nicholas Trikonis

Black Sabbath

At a concert, photographers are allocated to the area known as the snake pit, a narrow space that divides the band from the audience. This areas acts as a fulcrum of sorts. A good show needs the balance of energy between the performers and the audience. The crowd can’t ask for more than the band can give, and the band can’t give more than the crowd can take. Ozzy Osbourne’s concerts usually are attended by 100,000 people, an enormous demand on a man whose age and ills are commonly known. Offstage he’s plain human and susceptible to the same frailties as his peers. On stage, he’s untouchable, uninhibited by the confines of this world. Ozzy gives as much as a crowd can take. He’s found that ineffable thing the rest of us are still chasing. No doubt that each night is balanced from the fulcrum.