In the annals of music history, there is no act that is as well loved and equally as well hated as a parody band. People either love them or hate them with very little in between. Combining music with a definite comedic edge, artists such as Spinal Tap, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Tenacious D have been pushing boundaries and doing things so far out of the box that one would begin to question the very basic tenets of Euclidean Geometry. This past month, Charlotte-area music fans would experience a metal parody act like no other as the one and only Mac Sabbath made a stop at The Underground during their 2022 ‘Pop-Up Drive-Thru’ Tour.
The evening started with a band that I was unfamiliar with but would soon become a fan of. Lung is a two-piece cello-rock duo with classically trained Kate Wakefield on the electric cello and drummer Daisy Caplan behind the kit. The first thing I notice is the exquisite beauty of Kate’s cello. It’s elegant and sleek and would soon take us to the edge and back as the band began their short but mind-blowing set. Wakefield’s vocals are stellar with her opera background allowing her to resonate across the venue and Daisy is a whirwind of activity driving the pace. If you haven’t seen or heard Lung yet, be sure to check them out.
Next up on the agenda was Speedealer, a great combination of southern rock and speed metal. Think Skynyrd meets Overkill and you pretty much have Speedealer. The band does have an interesting back story as they originally were known as REO Speedealer until they were served a cease and desist order by REO Speedwagon which led to the name change. It doesn’t matter what they call themselves really because at the end of the day, these guys freaking rock. If “Losing My Shit,” doesn’t have you up off your arse and in the pits, then there’s something wrong with you my friend. If you’re a fan of blistering guitar at breakneck speed, be sure to take a listen to Speedealer. They are the real deal.
After a short break, the stage was finally set for the main event of the evening. A large Mac Sabbath banner hung at the rear of the stage and two enormous Ronald McDonald heads were on each side up on the top.
As you may infer from the name, Mac Sabbath does parodies of Black Sabbath tunes dressed up as characters from the world’s biggest fast food establishment. Before the band takes the stage, a warning is played speaking to the evils of the fast food industry before the band appears kicking things off with “Organic Funeral.” Let me introduce you to the members of the band: we have frontman and lead vocalist Ronald Osbourne, guitarist Slayer MacCheeze, bass guitarist Grimalice and drummer The Catburglar. One thing that comes to mind is the ability of Slayer and Grimalice to play so well in their enormous costumes is a feat in itself.
There are props everywhere as Ronald’s mic stand is a giant milkshake cup and during the set he mans a grill that actually smokes on command. Between songs, Ronald entertains the audience with a variety of stories and more puns than I could keep track of.
A few other characters also made appearances during the set including the lizard, and the moon man. Ronald had ketchup and mustard bottles filled with water that he would squirt into his mouth and at the crowd as the band played through classics like ‘Love Buns’ and ‘Sweet Beef’ and he even lit a frying pan on fire for the set closing ‘Frying Pan’. What a riot!
But there was still more to come… During the encore giant inflatable hamburgers were thrown out into the audience with Ronald Osbourne jumping on top of one to do a little crowdsurfing to finish out an epic night of metal comedy mania at the Underground.
If you’re looking for a great time and a little something different, get to a Mac Sabbath show stat! It was a blast! The only thing that could have made this night even better was if the scent of freshly cooked french fries was wafting through the air. Perhaps the band will find a way to incorporate Smell-o-vision into their next tour. Who knows? With Mac Sabbath anything can happen.
Which leaves me with one final thought: would you like some fries with that?
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos ©fiascokris/ Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs HERE.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.