Mac Sabbath | 2024

10th Anniversary Tour at Crescent Ballroom

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I always thought Mac Sabbath was a band that you see once. Easy; one and done. I suspect it’s easy to dismiss the extremely serious genre of Fast Food Metal as comedy. Yet, if food-puns aren’t your bag, the band continues to bring amazing talent along with them. Playing at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ, Ronald and the band have yet to disappoint.

I was once told that Tennessee has an amazing music scene and, having never been, I mistook the statement for more traditional imagery. Flummox spat in the face of that mental image while their set was the aftercare to correct that misguided assumption. The vocal range of their lead vocals paired with a collection of effects build a complex discord of sounds; though starting with playing the classic Looney Toons melody should have adequately prepared my body for what was to come. Graciously weird and delightfully funny with a nerdcore thrash sound. If they didn’t hook me with the cover of the Max Rebo Band – along with well aimed shots at the rework of the original Star Wars Trilogy – it was their final song, “Trans Girls Need Guns,” that made Flummox an amazing start to the night and a new addition to my music hoard.

I have yet to stop chuckling at the clever style of Descartes A Kant (DAK). Performing a majority of tracks off their latest album, After Destruction, that plays on the nostalgia of late 70s futurism while takes an introspective peek into one’s self. After Destruction contains an emotional intelligence that fuels an introspective journey of expression. Learning that DAK is from Mexico helped me appreciate the use of English and Spanish subtitles paired with their visual elements. I had the pleasure of catching their sound-check before the show and already knew from that point these artists from Mexico City were good. It paled in comparison of Descartes A Kant’s stage presence and performance; seeing the cohesive story unfold during their set brought me back to some of the roots in music and how it makes you feel. Descartes A Kant, as their name suggests, makes you think without you noticing that you’re actively doing anything at all.

Then the orange-yellow and red banner came up that I was familiar with from when I had first seen Mac Sabbath at BLK Live five years ago. After events from that previous show and past experiences at the Crescent Ballroom, I knew to be cautious of the crowd. Though as the hamburger Gregorian chant filled the speakers, I felt my nostalgia preyed upon as Mac Sabbath was paying attention during that two weeks in the 90s where Gregorian chants were all the rage. Then the banner fell into my lap and slithered past the crowd to reveal the stage, the crowd was no longer my focus.

Seeing the four iconic faces take the stage, all dressed up, seemed out of place if it wasn’t for it being the band’s tenth anniversary. For the few unfamiliar with them, Mac Sabbath is Fast Food Metal with songs that may sound similar to a genre-defining metal band from the 70s. Though, don’t be paranoid, these songs are strictly involving meat and meat byproducts. Having witnessed their grill-side shenanigans before, I wasn’t sure what I could find that was new. That was until I found myself snickering at every pun served on a bun. Even the gags I was familiar with were just as good the second time around even without the benefit of mystery. Mac Sabbath is flame broiled chaos that the peek experience for their music is live.

The entire night was filled with humor, puns, and music that might have been loud enough. In spite of previous experience against the stage at the Crescent Ballroom, I wasn’t struggling against the crowd to simply enjoy the show. The venue itself felt like changes have been made over the years to manage the crowds. The only trouble I experienced during the show was from someone claiming to be Mac Sabbath’s official local photographer with an awkward request to smile and persistently hitting my wheelchair, shot after shot. But I guess that’s a step above watching the crowd breech the barrier at BLK Live.