Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
April 15th 2015, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Formed in 2014, Los Angeles-based fast food themed Black Sabbath tribute/parody band Mac Sabbath have already generated a considerable amount of buzz in the mainstream media. Their concept of the band is indeed novel, turning heads and catching eyes and ears as soon as it is mentioned to anyone unfamiliar with it. Mac Sabbath have been playing actively in the local circuit, and last night on April 15th 2015, they performed at a completely packed Whisky-A-Go-Go. The combination of the visual theatrics, lyrical interpretations and musicianship was truly intriguing for a first-timer like myself, and I was most curious to discover whether this meal tastefully satisfied my appetite.
Prior to the headliners, there were four opening acts that played this show, the only one worth a mention being the third band in the lineup, LA-based progressive hard rock trio After who took the stage promptly at 9:30 and as it turned out, were musically the best band of the night. Their excellently self-improvised rendition of The Doors’ ‘Riders On The Storm’ is always a highlight and stood out on this occasion as well, but the band’s own original material sounded equally strong as the fullness of the sound generated by the three-piece lineup resonated the room impressively and showcased each member’s abilities. They proved that they belong on the big stage. They are simultaneously radio-friendly as well as progressive. After is all about pure talent.
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By 11 PM, the Whisky was as densely populated as it has been for any show in the recent past, and shortly after, the large yellow and red curtain engulfing the stage was taken down and it was time for Mac Sabbath to do their thing. Dressed as McDonaldland characters, Mac Sabbath comprises Ronald Osbourne on vocals, Slayer McCheese on guitar, Grimalice on bass and Catburglar on drums. Besides the immaculate costumes, plenty of stage props added to the theatrical value of the band’s live show, such as a fog machine shaped like a grill which Ronald would fire up every now and then, with a beef patty in a frying pan on top of it. The show was undeniably entertaining, well thought-out and largely took the focus away from the actual musicianship. But two or three songs into the set, once the novelty of the band wore off, one could pay more attention to their music and it created a totally contrasting impression in comparison to the theatrics.
Firstly, nearly all nine songs that constituted the set were played faster than their original tempo, which was off-putting for longtime Sabbath fans in the audience who’ve had these songs ingrained in every brain cell of theirs for years. Secondly, all the song titles and lyrics are modified to fast food themes, which is a creative twist, as ‘Sweet Beef’ which began with Ronald vomiting into a bucket instead of coughing, and then yelling ‘All Right Cow’ to replace Ozzy Osbourne’s signature fill-in vocal line, was probably the highlight of the set. That being said, as no one was familiar with these modified lyrics, it was hard to follow what the frontman was singing, and it created a clear distance between the band and the crowd. To make it worse, he was using heavy echo/delay distortion effects on his vocals and it became even harder to decipher him. He also had a lyric sheet up on stage and was reading from it constantly, although it’s not clear whether it was done as an attempt to make a mockery of Ozzy’s forgetfulness or he just seriously didn’t remember these new lyrics. It would be much better if Mac Sabbath would simply sing Black Sabbath songs straight with the original lyrics and only made slight modifications in chorus lines and titles instead of changing up the entire thing altogether.
Mac Sabbath’s rendition of these songs was much sloppier than the originals, and music fans in the audience were not able to appreciate them beyond the short-lived novelty of the visual aspect. Readers of this site would know extremely well that I’m as big of a fan of theatre-based rock as anyone on this planet, but the music always comes first and unless the band members are adept at playing their instruments, it honestly does not interest me. Mac Sabbath would be far more impressive if they played the tunes perfectly and then added everything else on top of it. Overall, it can be safely said that in its current state, Mac Sabbath is worth seeing only once, and is most certainly not for genuine Black Sabbath fans.
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Set List:
01. More Ribs
02. Chicken For The Slaves
03. Sweet Beef
04. * Hand Of Doom parody *
05. N.I.B.-ble
06. Lord Of The Swirl
07. Frying Pan
08. Cherries Are Fruits
09. Pair-a-buns