“The Best Gig I Ever Saw” is a weekly column that will see us ask a musician to chat about their favorite concert thus far. This week it’s Phil Rind of classic thrashers Sacred Reich…

Best show ever. Wow. I have been fortunate to see so many incredible concerts. I got to see early tours by Metallica, Slayer, Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses. We toured with Pantera, Danzig and Sepultura, and got to watch them every night at the peak of their powers. I’ve seen legends like Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Sting, Paul Simon, U2 and James Brown. I have witnessed electric sets by Jane’s Addiction, Tool, Pearl Jam, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden and Faith No More. I have seen the legends of the blues Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy and Clarence Gatemouth Brown. My first concert was Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules. I got to see the fucking Bad Brains! There are a lot of amazing concerts to choose from.

I finally chose one show I never thought I would see. It was 1992 and Ozzy was retiring. His final tour was dubbed No More Tours. On November 15 the show rolled into the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa. Black Sabbath with Dio was direct support on the tour. This night would be different. The original Black Sabbath lineup would be reunited. Dio didn’t want to be part of it, so Sabbath recruited the Metal God, Rob Halford to play with them in his place. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

But the real reason I was there was to see the original Black Sabbath. Sabbath is one of the greatest bands ever. I never thought I would see them live. Ozzy came out in his fringe shirt. He took center stage. He said “Bill Ward on drums, Geezer Butler on the bass, Tony Iommi on guitar, I am Ozzy Osbourne and WE ARE BLACK SABBATH” and they went right into “Black Sabbath.” Tears rolled down my face. It was overwhelming. They played “Faries Wear Boots,” “Iron Man” and ended with “Paranoid.” It was short and sweet and one of the most memorable gigs of my life.

Sacred Reich plays with GWAR at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 24 at the Belasco.

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