ULTIMATE OZZY, ALL GLITZ AND GLITTER

In recent years, Ozzy Osbourne has emerged as a controversial rock figure. News reports of at least one death and several injuries related to his weekend concerts at Long Beach Arena can only intensify that situation.

Those incidents may seem at odds with Osbourne’s actual performance. The glitzy trappings Saturday night included stunning state-of-the-art lighting and four big video screens that displayed Osbourne’s nonstop cheerleader antics.

Even with all the audio-visual overload, the performance still managed to be boring. Things got a bit more exciting when Osbourne tore into the Black Sabbath classic “Iron Man.” But that was too little too late.

Metallica opened with a set of frantic, bruising metal--definitely a hard act to follow.