Review: Mac Sabbath

Mac Sabbath at Meow Wolf's Fancy Town. Photo by Kristian Haynes.

Less than a minute after the curtain dropped from posts topped with proprietary clown heads, fixed with piercing laser eyes, the band launched their epic introduction to the stage - I loudly and unironically exclaimed, "I'm lovin' it!!"

Giant soft drinks, pyrotechnic grills, menacing moons of the late night cravings, enormous inflatable cheeseburgers tossed amongst the crowd, sword fights with the Fish Filet Swamp Monster, meat cleavers used as percussion instruments, and dousing the crowd in water squirted from ketchup and mustard bottles were only a few of the antics employed by the Los Angeles based Mac Sabbath as they made their stop in Santa Fe for their 10th Anniversary tour, which they announced will be their final run. 

Meow Wolf's Fancy Town proved the perfect venue for a sold-out house of attendees hanging on every note and word spoken by the prophet Ronald Osborne, who made the ultimate sacrifice to time travel from the past with his gang of Monsanto Mutants (Slayer MacCheeze, Grimalice, and the Cat Burglar) to warn us of the dangers of genetically modified foods and generic and boring music. One last dive in the ball pit before they hang up their greasy hats, and I couldn't imagine a more epic and entertaining stage show to put a lid on the decade they spent selflessly warning us of the evils afoot. 

Mac Sabbath at Meow Wolf's Fancy Town. Photo by Kristian Haynes.

Parodying the iconic music of Black Sabbath with lyrics re-imagined to convey the message Ronald Osborne has entrusted to deliver to the masses are big clown shoes to fill, and they did so flawlessly. 

Ronald made frequent crowd-pleasing puns about competing fast food bands such as Chik Fil AC/DC (who never play shows on Sundays) and Pantera Bread, to name a couple of the comedic banter sandwiched between captivating (and horrifying) songs such as "Sweet Beef," "Frying Pan," and "Pair-a-Buns." If I hadn't given up fast food and GMOs 2 years ago, I would certainly be doing so now. 

Their message is loud and clear. What we consume as a society matters, and as long as we remain unaware, we have a super-sized problem. If committing to the bit is what it takes to wake us up, Mac Sabbath does this with their endlessly whimsical theatrical performance, gruesome wit, and "tried and true" Rock n' Roll.

Mac Sabbath's 10th Anniversary Tour with special guests Tejon Street Corner Thieves & Spaceman Bob is an AMP Concerts event. https://www.ampconcerts.org/