There was something special brewing at The Observatory in Santa Ana on Thursday night, Jan. 26. There was an excitement in the air and happy music fans of all walks of life hanging out with each other and talking about their favorite bands, grabbing drinks and buying merch.
At first glance, it looked like a typical night at a small show in Orange County — except there were clowns in the crowd.
Yes, clowns.
A dozen or so patrons were spotted donning brightly colored fits with red painted-on wide smiles — some were a little creepy while others were adorably playful. This was no ordinary show and that became apparent the second the curtain dropped and Mac Sabbath took the stage.
Coming all the way from Birminghamburger (well, really Los Angeles), Mac Sabbath is a parody metal band that primarily covers Black Sabbath songs with a fast-food lyrical twist. The crowd went wild when the quartet — vocalist Ronald Osbourne, guitarist Slayer MacCheeze, bassist Grimalice and drummer The Catburglar — took the stage in their ridiculously wonderful costumes that are reminiscent of characters created by fast-food giant McDonald’s. Each outfit is also a nod to metal icons including Slayer, Motörhead, Alice Cooper, Kiss and, of course, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne.
It’s the kind of thing you’d expect only to experience in a fever dream or while riding down a chocolate river on a boat with Willy Wonka.
It just doesn’t seem real.
But it is and it’s delicious fun.
All the gimmicks, costumes, giant floating hamburgers and using rubber chickens as instruments aside, these players crush it live. They’re masters of their craft, nailing each and every song. It’s difficult not to wonder how in the world Grimalice can even see, let alone play the bass with that costume on. It’s much more enjoyable if you give into the lore of Mac Sabbath and don’t logistically think about how Slayer MacCheeze doesn’t just topple over with that huge head.
The Black Sabbath song “Iron Man” was transformed into “Frying Pan,” with Ronald Osbourne sparking up pyro in a pan as he perfectly mimics the Prince of Darkness’ signature cackle, persistent clapping and in-your-face crowd interaction. The Catburglar, who wears cat makeup similar to onetime Kiss anchor Peter Criss, sang a few bars of “Bread” (a cover of Kiss’ ballad “Beth”) before the band launched into “Love Buns,” a play on “Love Gun.”
There was a cover of Motörhead’s “Killed by Death,” that became “Grilled by Death” and more Sabbath songs like “Chicken for the Slaves” (“Children of the Grave”) and the show closer “Pair-a-Buns” (“Paranoid”) dashed with Wesley Willis’ “Rock ‘N’ Roll McDonald’s.”
It’s all good, clean fun, too. Despite all of the dark, heavy metal overtones, there’s no foul language or violence in this show. Sure, there’s moshing and crowd surfing going on as the band plays the familiar music with lyrics hammering home its anti-corporate fast-food industry stance, but it was never vulgar. There were a few parents that brought out their little ones to rock out as well. It was way past their bedtime, but it looked like they were having a blast.
The between-song banter is also pretty epic as it’s filled with fantastic dad-joke-style puns as Osbourne spins the band’s story to the crowd, including its run-ins with bands like Cinnabon Jovi, rubbing elbows with Motörhead and Shoulders and Neil Peart Plus, while calling out Wendy Snider (Dee Snider) before playing “We’re Not Going to Shake Shack,” a spoof of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna take it.”
The audience cheered as the band took its final bow and promptly exited the stage. The house lights came up and the crew quickly began to disassemble the setup, which somehow made the entire evening feel like just a tasty dream.
Mac Sabbath
When: Thursday, Jan. 26
Where: The Observatory, Santa Ana
Next: 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27 at Pappy & Harriet’s, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown. $20 at pappyandharriets.com; 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 at Ventura Music Hall, 1888 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura. $23 at venturamusichall.com.
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