By Jamie Dull<\/p>\n
Monday, September 12th, 2016 the House of Blues Chicago was taken over in the tastiest\u00a0fashion possible. Mac Sabbath headlined the show joined by Clownvis Presley and The\u00a0Hamburglars, dubbed “The Clown Power Tour”. This show was beyond fun. Some might even say it was downright delicious.<\/p>\n
The show opened up with a set from Clownvis Presley. Yes, a clown based Elvis tribute.\u00a0The crowd seemed to really dig what he was doing. His outfit was headtotoe\u00a0details. A giant\u00a0pompadour, purple jumpsuit with sparkles, a big red clown\u00a0nose, and the voice of Elvis. Very entertaining.<\/p>\n
The second band to perform were the Hamburglars. All band members dressed as the\u00a0famous cartoon character known for his thieving hamburger ways. They were a high energy\u00a0band, perfect to play right before Mac Sabbath. They performed a variety of covers including\u00a0\u2018Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap\u2019 by AC\/DC (hilariously dubbed \u201cBurger, please. Done with\u00a0cheese\u201d) and \u2018Rebel Rebel\u2019 by David Bowie, with the lyrics changed to \u201cRobble Robble\u201d, which\u00a0seemed to be the most popular line for their lead hamburglar to sing throughout the whole show.\u00a0In fact, he would sing that almost exclusively rather than the actual lyrics to the songs they were\u00a0playing. And it still kicked ass. I specifically remember their drummer looking a lot like Adam\u00a0Sandler back behind the kit in the popular movie Airheads. And at times the band sounded like\u00a0famous Washington D.C. punk rockers Bad Brains. They got the crowd all riled up for Mac\u00a0Sabbath. A very cool opening band indeed.<\/p>\n
Then came time for the headliner. Mac Sabbath. I went into this show with low\u00a0expectations and very little knowledge of what I might see. I\u2019m a longtime Black Sabbath fan\u00a0and appreciate humor in music so I knew I\u2019d see something fun. But I didn\u2019t want to do too\u00a0much research before hand. I wanted to be surprised. And I was.\u00a0Mac Sabbath hit the stage donning their expertly tailored costumes which looked like fast\u00a0food meets Gwar. They came out swinging, opening with \u201cWar Pigs\u201d AKA “More Ribs”. All of the lyrics to every\u00a0song were changed to fit their act.\u00a0Their drummer, named The Catburglar (he wore face paint that resembled\u00a0Peter Criss of KISS – Peter Crispy) was extremely tight and powerful.<\/p>\n
I think my favorite aspect of their show\u00a0was how spot on they were with the integrity of the actual songs. They made sure to keep the\u00a0original sound, style, and song form in tact. Their drummer and 8′ tall purple crazed bass player, Grimalice, were unbelievably\u00a0tight. Super skilled and very proper. Song tempos and dynamics were nearly perfect. Ronald\u00a0Osbourne, their fast food clown front man even spoke with a British accent and utilized the same\u00a0mannerisms as the Prince of Darkness himself, hunched over, walking back and forth across the\u00a0stage, doing the frog jump, clapping and interacting with the crowd. Lead guitarist, Slayer MacCheeze stool stoic with purple striped pants, flowing cape shirt and 3 foot hamburger head with\u00a0googly\u00a0eyes and giant horns. They did their homework. And probably ate some\u00a0burgers and fries while doing it.<\/p>\n
Throughout the night Ronald Osbourne would engage with the crowd in between songs.\u00a0He continued to mention other fictional \u201cDrivethru\u00a0Metal\u201d acts that could potentially share the\u00a0stage with them on tour. Some of them were so funny that they could be comedy gold. As golden\u00a0as the arches themselves. Some of my favorites were Cinnabon Jovi, Gwarby\u2019s, Great\u00a0Whitecastle, Burger King Diamond, Twisted Sizzler, Dairy Queensryche and Chicago\u2019s famous\u00a0Blue Cheese Brothers. My absolute favorite theoretical food band mentioned in the show has to\u00a0be Spinal Tapplebees. Please, someone, start all of these bands.<\/p>\n
At one point in the night they played \u201cSweet Meat\u201d, a tasty take on Sabbath\u2019s \u201cSweet\u00a0Leaf\u201d. Rather than performing the famous cough at the beginning of the song, the crowd was\u00a0treated to the sound of vomit. And as they jammed out Ronald Osbourne started tossing\u00a0cheeseburger wrappers all over the stage as well as squirting his classic condiments in his and front row fans mouths. And of course after the song they had their janitor tech\u00a0come out and mop all of them up.<\/p>\n
As the evening progressed the crowd became more and more invested in the show. There\u00a0were a few hardcore Sabbath fans watching the show that clearly didn\u2019t know what they were\u00a0going to see, and were too hardcore to appreciate it (which was hilarious to me). But there were\u00a0also tons of Sabbath fans there that absolutely loved the concept and stage show. Plus hearing\u00a0these songs in a live setting, performed very, very well is always a treat. This show was true fun.<\/p>\n
The audience was treated to a hilarious concept. One which I hope catches on. I\u2019d go see them\u00a0again and again. I recommend taking your friends to see these guys anytime they come to town.\u00a0You too can participate in the \u201cOrganic Funeral\u201d.<\/p>\n
For more on Mac Sabbath including the current tour, click here<\/a><\/p>\n