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JAY CRIDLINAfter complaints from an Aug. 18 show, the Ford Amphitheatre turned down Ozzy's amplifiers and put up a temporary noise barrier.
TAMPA - It appears the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission has done something a lifetime of hard living could not: Silence Ozzy Osbourne.
The legendary rocker's Ozzfest concert Thursday at the Ford Amphitheatre was much quieter than other recent concerts, EPC officials said Friday.
The EPC received only two complaints about Ozzfest, compared to more than 50 after an Aug. 18 show by Linkin Park, Korn and Snoop Dogg.
The difference? Before Thursday's show began, amphitheater officials turned down the amplifiers of Osbourne's band Black Sabbath by as much as 30 decibels. They also installed a temporary noise barrier along the venue's periphery on the state fairgrounds and tilted upper-level speakers down toward the audience.
"Black Sabbath is not a quiet band, but the amphitheater did a very good job dealing with the sound," said Sterlin Woodard, assistant director of the EPC's air management division.
Ozzfest had a few sporadic spikes above the county's prescribed decibel limit. EPC officials monitored noise levels in six nearby neighborhoods. Crowd noise caused the EPC's readings to spike in the Kings Forest Park subdivision, just southwest of the fairgrounds; an intermittent bass line did the same in the Woodlawn subdivision, near Sligh Avenue and U.S. 301.
Some residents said they were impressed with what turned out to be an unexpectedly soft heavy metal concert.
"I was aware of it, but it wasn't bad at all," said John Bell, who lives in south Temple Terrace. "Since the other occasion, it has gotten a lot more reasonable."
That doesn't mean the debate is over.
Amphitheater owner Clear Channel and the fairgrounds still face an EPC citation for the volume of earlier concerts. The EPC said if no permanent corrective measures are taken, the amphitheater must turn down the volume of musicians' amplifiers and ensure that all concerts end by 10 p.m.
Since the amphitheater opened in July, the EPC has received nearly 100 complaints from residents of neighborhoods as far away as Temple Terrace.
On Aug. 18, the EPC recorded the amphitheater's highest noise levels yet - nearly 20 decibels over the limit in the nearby Staley Estates subdivision - during the Linkin Park concert. On a smaller scale, that's about the difference between normal conversation and a running vacuum cleaner. Noise levels were nearly as loud during an Aug. 24 concert by classic rockers Boston.
Woodard said the amphitheater is on the right track, but the EPC will monitor upcoming concerts by Sting and Toby Keith.
"Until this thing is over, we'll probably be keeping a real close eye on everything," Woodard said.
Jay Cridlin can be reached at 813 661-2442 or cridlin@sptimes.com