Some might describe
Ozzy Osborne, the lead singer of
Black Sabbath as a clown. He wears make-up and makes us laugh. So a
Black Sabbath tribute band dressed as 1970's
McDonald's characters that alter the lyrics to fast food related themes seems like a logical evolution (maybe not). But the self-described drive thru metal tribute band would be a decent covers band without the famous golden arches references.
Mac Sabbath performs the songs well despite having large weird costumes to maneuver. But with the fast food association they are far more interesting.
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| Mac Sabbath |
When a yellow and red striped curtain was about to drop,
Frank Sinatra's Send in the Clowns started to play with haunting fun house laughter slowing building behind it. The curtain dropped to reveal
Ronald Osbourne on lead vocals,
Slayer Mac Cheeze on guitar,
Grimalice on bass, and the
Cat Burglar on the drums (seems like the names were slightly altered due to copyright infringement laws).
Mac Sabbath started strong with
More Ribs (War Pigs). It's about the harsh reality of the McRib only being available for a limited time (first world problem blues).
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| Ronald Osbourne and Grimalice |
Ronald Osbourne is like an old vaudeville comedian. The clown told jokes with an English accent (sounding more like
Dudley Moore than
Ozzy Osbourne) between epic songs about burgers, fries, and shakes. He told jokes about Cinnabon Jovi, Black King Diamond, and Bauhaus of Pancakes. If the joke didn't go well, the sound of crickets would be played. Just like the
Black Sabbath's front man,
Ronald Osbourne threatened to throw a bucket of water into the crowd. It ended up being confetti (I saw this done in the 1970's by the
Harlem Globetrotters). The childish antics make sense because there were young kids in the crowd up way past their bedtime. I was confused why youngsters would want to see fast food characters from the 1970's perform heavy metal songs from decades ago. But the kids seemed delighted. Maybe they were terrified. It's hard to tell.
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| Mac Sabbath |
After running though the classics
Frying Pan (Iron Man) and
Zipping Up the Uniform (
Symptom of the Universe)
, a few members of the crowd started to mosh. It made me wonder why the guys who have questionable hygiene like to slam their bodies into others with similar personal grooming habits. To cheer on the smelly bunch,
Mac Sabbath ended their set with
Pair-Of-Buns (Paranoid) by having the clown crowd surf. The mythical characters left the stage while house music played
Rock and Roll McDonald's making the crowd wondering what the hell just happened.
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| Lotus Gait - photo by Brett DeLockroy |
Lotus Gait a local Denver band that describes their music as dark black metal punk rock was one of the opening bands. Their music is fast paced with a large
Slayer influence. The all age show didn't stop them from playing their song
Down to F*ck. This had to make the parents who took their children to the show question some of their life choices. Bass player
Tim Hankison played impressively while keeping his long dreadlocks away from his fret board. Lead guitar player
Oliver Fox Renard seemed to have more fun than
Ronald Osborne with a permanent smile playing his Flying V. After taking several shots of some kind of clear alcohol, birthday boy drummer
David Schmidtline declared that he was sleeping in the parking lot.
Lotus Gait played an impressive version of
Twisted Sister 's Stay Hungry. During the introduction, singer
David Bartz announced that he might not remember all the words because of all the good drugs. Making it a cautionary tale for the youngsters in attendance.
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| Wake the Bat |
Wake the Bat started the night festivities. They are a local Denver trio of fifteen-year-old musicians fronted by twins
Alec and
Quinn Hudson.
Sam Stearman plays the drums. Forget the fact that they are young.
Wake the Bat is an impressive band. Bass player and singer
Alec Hudson is a cross between
Chuck D and
Zack de la Rocha.
Quinn Hudson's Afro is almost as remarkable as his guitar playing. They closed their set with a cover of
Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name. They would be a perfect opening band for next month's
The Prophets of Rage concert at
Red Rocks. Even the clown stated that
Wake the Bat gives him hope for the future of music.
See you at the next show. I will be the one stealing your fries.
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