BY MAURICE NUNEZ | Go Venue Magazine
Last time Mac Sabbath played in Southern California, they were at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California. That was back in December of last year. I had such a good time that I had to jump on the opportunity to see them again this time around. There’s really no reason to ever make the drive out to Riverside, but when I heard Mac Sabbath was playing, I had to make the hour plus drive to the Inland Empire. This time they were playing at The Concert Lounge in Riverside, California. This was my first time at this venue. I arrived early to find out the venue is on the 2nd floor, but is actually connected to a really good Pizza restaurant downstairs. Great place to catch a nice meal and drinks before the show.
If you are not familiar with Mac Sabbath, let me give you a little background. Here is a note from their manager, Mike Odd. This tells the story of the red headed Ronald Osborne and crew…
“It was the Year of Our Lord 2013, and I was devouring a cheeseburger in a Chatsworth, CA franchise of a certain multinational fast food conglomerate which shall remain nameless. A crazed skull face painted, dirt-bag, clown sat down beside me. This Skeletor reject of Uriah Heap introduced himself as Ronald Osborne and was familiar with my work. I was informed that Ronald, Slayer Mac Cheeze, Grimalice, and the Cat Burglar, were performing secret rock shows in the bunker-like basements of the local restaurants. But the time had come, he said, to bring drive-thru metal up from the “underground,” and he asked if I would consider becoming the manager. BAM! Abruptly we were thrown to the sidewalk. (Apparently the daytime manager was not informed of this activity) I looked over at Ronald, watched him brush off the sodium chloride and GMO remnants of my UN happy meal. Before I knew it, I was in a burger stand bomb shelter, witnessing Black Sabbath music, hilarious fast food lyrics, smoldering clown heads with laser eyes, a giant purple gumdrop bass player, and Tony Iommi with a giant cheeseburger head. I was confused, amazed and can’t ever remember feeling so………happy!”
Oh boy was Riverside in for a treat! The band hit the stage around 10pm. On guitar they had Slayer MacCheeze, Grimalice on bass, the Catburgler on drums, and Ronald Osbourne on vocals. The show got started when the crazed redheaded Ronald Osborne took the stage in a strait jacket. Ronald was ready to get things cooking, literally! He had a grill setup up in front of his mic stand, which looks like a fast food cup with the mic stand looking like a straw. Tonight the band played songs like “More Ribs,” “Chicken For The Slaves,” “N.I.B.B.L.E,” “Sweet Beef,” “Pair-A-Buns” among others. The crowd loved the crazy antics of tonight’s show. Ronald Osborne knows how to capture the fans and sounds just like a crazed Ozzy Osbourne. And don’t be fooled, they are not promoting fast food, but warning you of the dangers of it instead!
They will be on tour so be sure to check them out: Mac Sabbath Tour 2019.
All images © Maurice Nunez
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