Seeing a band that is themed after the iconic golden arches of McDonald’s was definitely not your regular Thursday night, but Mac Sabbath – along with 45 Grave, and Toys That Kill – certainly brought their A game to The Observatory in Santa Ana as they continued their US tour.
Toys That Kill, a punk rock band from San Pedro, started off the night with an electric performance which surely gave the audience a thrill. Their 45 minutes onstage blew by as the crowd started multiple mosh pits for the majority of their set.
Next up was the old school rock group from Los Angeles, 45 Grave, which gave off an astonishing nod to Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees. Witchy-vibe lead singer Dinah Cancer had impressive vocals that were soothing, but also completely badass and loud. Almost every song they performed – no matter how hard or soft – would bring about a mosh pit which stayed active the entire time. The band has been together since 1979 and put on an outstanding performance that I’m certain the audience will never forget. They prove they’ve still got it after all of these years!
You could feel the anticipation in the room as the giant Mac Sabbath banner went across and blocked the entirety of the stage. Everyone knew it was time once an eerie voice arose from the speakers as an introduction for the band: “I bring to you all… Mac Sabbath!” The banner was lifted and revealed the most bizarre, yet intriguing, band members anyone has ever seen: Grimalice, who played bass with iconic red and yellow stripes; Slayer MacCheeze on guitar; and the Catburglar on custom hamburger drums, shook the stage as they started an intro.
But someone was certainly missing. Shortly after, out comes Ronald Osbourne in a red and yellow straight jacket. The crowd roared with excitement.
There was a “Mac Sabbath worker” dressed in the classic uniform topped with a paper hat that came out and un-tied Ronald to unleash madness! All of this happened within five minutes; how could you not be drawn in?
As we looked at Ronald with his cup, paired with a straw mic stand, smoke machine BBQ, and Ronald McDonald heads on either side of the stage that would light up red and blow out smoke – we all knew this was going to be a kick-ass show.
About 10-15 minutes into their set, a lizard man emerged onto the stage and played the harmonica, which of course went along with a song titled “The Lizard.” The crowd’s energy was high and there was a mix of mosh pits and crowd surfing; Mac Sabbath had the audience in the palm of their hands.
There was a moment someone come out in a demonic-looking moon mask and played a kid’s size grand piano to parody Mac Tonight, the character from McDonald’s advertising in the ‘80s.
As the end approached, Grimalice switched to the famous golden arches “M” bass, which everyone went wild for.
They ended the set with a song called “Frying Pan,” which is a clear nod to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” The “worker” threw out two giant, inflatable hamburgers to the crowd. Of course no Mac Sabbath show would be complete without the classic “bite the head off a bat” stunt which of course was performed by Ronald (no fear – it was a stuffed bat!). It was an amazing way to end the set and the night.
As a whole, this band was entertaining, hysterical, and unique. Not to be “cheesy,” but the audience was definitely McLovin’ this astonishing show.
