Basement Duets: Tom and Louie sing the Best of Chaka Khan. Available at your local Walgreens and Rockbottom for 17 cents.

Oh Louie, my dear friend from Queens. He rocks for so many reasons, but I'm trying to keep this concise. So suffice it to say that one of the justifications for his rock-ness was that he got me a ticket to Ozzfest. One of these days I'll get around to penning a paean to the Giddy Greek Guitar God of Greater Astoria, but not today. Not today.

The big selling points for going to this year's Ozzfest, for me, were three acts that were billed to perform: Rob Zombie, who I've been a rabid fan of since '94; Iron Maiden, whose performance prowess and cacaphonous catalog of music is reknowned far and wide; and finally and most chiefly, Black Sabbath, the god fathers of metal, themselves. I've missed out on their reunions for the last 6 years, and I was damned if I'd miss it again this year. Of course, this is Black Sabbath, so I guess I'd be damned, even if I did go. Them being the Heralds of Satan, and all.

And oh man... I did not miss out.

Ain't that right, Ozzy?