This was the first time Mac Sabbath played in Kalamazoo, Michigan, so many people there only had a vague idea of what to expect (My girlfriend among them.).
Thanks to road construction and a detour that took us at least five miles out of the way, we missed the first opening act, Spaceman Bob, but did get there in time to see the second band – Tejon Street Corner Thieves.
They played a fun set of dark country, alt-folk, and psychobilly about subjects like drinking whiskey, unprotected sex, and curses upon enemies.
The buzz for Mac Sabbath was strong by the time they came on stage in tuxedos to celebrate their tenth anniversary as a band.
They soon shed the tuxedos and proceeded to shred through a fun set of “drive-thru metal” including songs like “Chicken for the Slaves” and “Organic Funeral.”
The crowd was instantly in on the jokes (“We’re not going to play anything by Pantera Bread.” / “There is some other drive-thru metal we like. International Bauhaus of Pancakes. They have a song called ‘Taco Bela Lugosi’s Dead.’ It’s pretty good.”) and the rock. I don’t know how many others got the Roy Orbison / Blue Velvet reference, but I love it every time they do it, as well as the Catburglar‘s time to step down from the drum set and sing “Bread” – a riff on KISS‘ “Beth.”
“I haven’t laughed this hard since I first saw Gwar,” said a man behind me. A lot of people were like him, loving the gags and the constant jokes about Cake. Another fun, new bit was them playing an “Iron Maidenny’s” song about a fish sandwich called “The Grouper” that included lead singer Ronny Osborne having a sword fight with a man in a military uniform and fish mask.
They ended with the powerhouse duo of “Pair-a-Buns” and “Frying Pan,” getting a rousing send-off from the crowd.
Mac Sabbath’s fun stage show makes it easy to overlook how good they are as musicians. Slayer McCheese can shred a guitar and make it look easy, while Grimalice puts down bass licks that can rumble an entire building.
There’s rumor that Mac Sabbath might be retiring after this tour, so don’t miss out on seeing them while you have the chance.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]
[Thanks to Annie at Adrenaline PR for the press pass!]
