Concert Reviews

MAC SABBATH 10 YR ANNIVERSARY TOUR PITTSBURGH SHOW REVIEW

Published

10 months ago

May 5, 2025

A drummer who looks like a cross between Peter Criss in Kiss and the Hamburglar—a guitarist with a huge, cartoon-looking burger head featuring long, silver tusks—a bassist, quite literally, in a gigantic, slightly terrifying Grimace costume, and a singer sporting a yellow and red striped jumpsuit featuring long strips of fabric hanging from the arms, bright red hair, and a clown makeup look with an uncanny resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne. That’s the summary of what you’d see walking into Jergel’s on April 29 during Mac Sabbath’s show.

To explain Mac Sabbath, you need to know a little about this extraordinary band’s backstory. I spoke with Mike the Manager, the manager for this fast-food-themed act, who took the band from performing in restaurant basements to stages at festivals around the world. He gave us a bit of insight into where the group came from and how their relationship came to be.

After a period of owning an oddities shop, Mike was used to receiving strange phone calls requesting him to come see something that would change his life. When he got another one of these calls, which required him to meet at a local burger franchise (which shall remain anonymous), he would’ve never expected that statement would actually be true.

“It was like a fight club sort of secret situation where all these people from this organization were there and weren’t supposed to be there. They were all against the organization, even though they worked for it. Everybody was waiting for this red and yellow curtain, stuffed between packages of hamburger buns and boxes of condiments. Then, the curtain drops, and it’s these mutated mascots doing these Black Sabbath riffs and screaming about MSG and GMOs. It was like radical performance art.”

So, after years of playing small shows, the band went on to open for bands like Kiss and Mötley Crüe and even meet Ozzy, the Prince of Darkness, himself. If you’ve ever seen anything online about the band, you probably know their silly antics, but their live show is really beyond what you would expect. Rather than just presenting a concert, Mac Sabbath aims to create an experience that leaves you pondering the intentions of the government.

“It’s something you really have to experience live because it’s more like a play. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s an entire arc that you cannot appreciate by watching videos. There’s comedy, there’s magic, and then there’s also a social message. It’s very important for Ronald to keep it family-friendly to get the message to the kids because when a country is specifically poisoning its people on purpose, it starts with the children’s food. So everything Mac Sabbath does is tangible and appeals to the child in us all.”

And appeal to the child in us all they do. Like many others, I thought I knew what I was in for when arriving at the Mac Sabbath concert in Warrendale, PA. I figured I’d see a few “Fast Food” inspired characters making up Black Sabbath parodies much like Weird Al. Well, boy, was I wrong.

With two laser eyes, Ronald heads adorning each side of that red and yellow curtain Mike mentioned earlier, a crowd suddenly packs against the stage. What’s most interesting to me is I’ve never seen a crowd get so excited over a curtain drop. Immediately their vision clung to the stage as if they were children watching a cartoon show. And no wonder why; you’d be in a trance too if four fast-food mascot-looking musicians took the stage with ketchup and mustard bottles, flaming frying pans, chicken nuggets, larger-than-life straws, and a wacky cast of guest characters.

If you want to throw yourself into this adventure with Ronald Osbourne, the Catburglar, Grimalice, Slayer MacCheeze, think of the show as an alternate universe. This is an alternate universe where Ozzy Osbourne has a passion for the toxins of fast food and joins a cast of mascots to bring the man down from the inside. There is no Black Sabbath; there is only Mac Sabbath. And honestly? After hearing songs like Sweet Beef (Sweet Leaf), where ketchup and mustard (water) are squirted into the crowd’s mouth, or More Ribs (War Pigs), where a bucket of beer turns into confetti, I’m pretty okay with that universe.

Needless to say, if you want to understand this review in totality, you need to go to a Mac Sabbath show yourself. Between the characters and the music that’s familiar yet completely new, there are a lot of reasons to press full-send and buy that ticket. Even Ozzy’s seen Mac Sabbath, so why haven’t you?

About Author

Kylie Thomas

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Related Topics:Empire Extreme Mac Sabbath Pittsburgh

Concert Reviews

DARK WINTER TOUR:BALTIMORE SHOW REVIEW

Published

1 month ago

January 26, 2026

Ron

LORD OF THE LOST AND WEDNESDAY 13 CAME INTO BALTIMORE MARYLAND OR AS LORD OF THE LOST SINGER CHRIS HARMS CALLED IT BALTIMOST..

WEDNESDAY 13 opened and had a killer set. It’s tough when you have such a great spanning career to choose which songs to play, but Wednesday nailed it. From new to old, the band played a ton of great songs and got the crowd hyped and ready for a night of kick-ass music. When between band breaks,outside, I was outside and a guy who has never seen Wednesday 13 before was like “I’ve never seen an opening band, with so much energy and having the crowd pumped up like that before”. We got to see Wednesday throw out some plastic spiders from a Halloween pail,say… and this time his umbrella didn’t break when he performed “I Love to Say..Fuck”.

Lord of the Lost came to Baltimore last year and was super amazing and such a great show that I was excited to see them again. They did have a member of the band missing; their bassist was taking time away from the band to focus on his own mental health, which I applaud because in a world of music and entertainment we lose too many people who are afraid or ashamed to work on their mental health. This was the first day of the tour, and not knowing what song was gonna be played was kinda thrilling, but I knew that at one point that Wednesday 13 would come back on stage and play “I Hate People” which is the latest single from Lord of the Lost. The band sounded amazing, and I loved their cover of “She’s Got the Look.”

Overall this was a great day for music and such a great show. Go out and check it when they come to your city and just enjoy seeing live music.

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Concert Reviews

Let’s go back to 2000’s Ozzfest with Darkest Hour, Bleeding Through and God Forbid.

Published

3 months ago

December 19, 2025

Ron

DC’s Hometown Hero’s Darkest Hour came to the Filmore in silver spring Maryland to celebrate 30 years and not only did they kick some ass the made us go back in time to a killer lineup of bands.

God Forbid celebrating the anniversary of “Constitution of Treason” opened up the show and got the crowd rowdy. It’s been years since I’ve seen God Forbid but I remember all those tours and ozzfests when they played and always kicked so much ass. The band still sounds great and singer Byron Davis still looks and sounds amazing. We got to hear songs like “The End of the world” “The lonely dead” and “under this flag”.

Bleeding Through was next up and they were celebrating the anniversary of “The Truth” and throwing a few extra songs from previous albums and new material. Brandan still puts on a hell of a show and always finds a way to hurt himself at shows I’ve seen him perform. In Pittsburgh years ago he stepped on a water bottle and fucked up his ankle and 2 seconds into this show he almost fell straight off the stage. But that didn’t stop him from getting off the stage jumping in the crowd and killing such a great set. Then you add bad ass keyboardist Marta to the mix and this is why I’ve always loved this band. We got to hear songs like “Love in slow motion” , “Line in the sand” and “Love lost in a hail of gunfire “ the crowd went crazy.

It’s been years since I’ve seen Darkest Hour too, I always remember those tours and seeing them with so many kick ass bands, it’s crazy to think they they have been together for 30 years and still bring it to the stage. I loved the energy and fun the band has on stage, loved the intro from a guy in a tux and also loved that the fans were engaged the whole set. I got to hear some great tunes like “The Sadist Nation”, “ Sound the surrender” and “Knife in a safe room”.

This small 3 date tour was great and put me back into the days when I was younger and listened to some great metal.

About Author

Ron

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Concert Reviews

All Time Low: EVERYBODYS TALKING TOUR

Published

3 months ago

November 30, 2025

Kylie Thomas

The appropriately named “Everybody’s Talking” tour from All Time Low featuring Mayday Parade, Four Year Strong, and The Paradox was one of true pop-punk nostalgia. The stop over at UPMC Events Center on November 19 was a must for any fan of the year 2005. Being able to see some of the top names in this genre all with a room full of old-school emo kids is a blessing on its own.

Opening the show first was newer band The Paradox, a mix of core pop-punk anger and modern hip hop nuances. Think heavy riffs over more melodic vocals that float over top.

Four Year Strong, a band more on the hardcore side, follows this up with a pit for the ages. It’s a time for moshing to begin as the members take the audience through years of heavy breakdowns. These guys are a throwback for the ones who always went to Warped Tour.

The third opener, Mayday Parade has the power to pull together an entire crowd just by playing their hits “Jersey” and “Jamie All Over.” This band has been around the scene for a long time and there’s no doubt you’ve heard a song or two of theirs on the radio. Their energy is infectious from singer Derek Sanders to guitarist Brooks Betts and all the rest, too.

At the end of the day though, it’s obvious this crowd is here to see all eras of All Time Low come to life. After 22 years together, there are many layers to this band but their set manages to hit on them all. Whether you’re there for the songs from the beginning years like “Time-Bomb” or brand new ones like “SUCKERPUNCH,” you’re bound to hear something you like. One of the best parts of an All Time Low concert though is the party vibe. Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Zack Merrick, and Rian Dawson all carry an energy that’s similar to walking down Fremont Street in Vegas. It’s all flashy lights, big personalities, and good times. But, don’t be led astray, there are tender moments as well. It all creates a story of love and heartbreak alongside the highs and lows of life.

The “Everybody’s Talking” tour from All Time Low is one that chronicles their history. It’s a show that reminds audiences of their place in pop-punk and a chance for these audience to disappear back to high school again when all that mattered was eyeliner, CDs, and hair dye.