Marilyn Manson 2/28/99

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Back in the day there were CD clubs like BMG and Columbia House where you could buy 1 CD and get 10 free. I was in the midst of doing one of these deals with Columbia House when I came across Marilyn Manson. The only album they had out was Portrait of an American Family. I noticed that it was produced by Trent Reznor and since I was a fan of Nine Inch Nails I figured it couldn’t be that bad. I got the album and it rocked. The band looks semi-freakish in the CD sleeve but nothing that would make one think twice, after all they are a rock band. Sometime after this is when the Smells Like Children EP came out and “Sweet Dreams” was getting played on MTV. Everyone freaked out because he cut himself, dressed weird, etc. The only thing that mattered to me was the music and it rocked. I bought Antichrist Superstar the day it came out and I only became a bigger fan after reading “The Long Hard Road Out of Hell.” For some reason I never got to see Marilyn Manson on the Antichrist Superstar tour, so when Mechanical Animals came out I knew I would get another chance when they went on tour for the album. That chance came on the opening night of the “Beautiful Monsters” tour in Spokane, Washington. Spokane is about a two hour drive from the Tri-Cities and I made the trip with Marvin, Roscoe, and Jason. We arrived in Spokane a few hours early and were bored so Marvin suggested we go get makeup just for the hell of it. I’m always in for costume time so I basically blacked out my eyes and had Roscoe draw a shock symbol on my forehead. It was still pretty cold outside but we braved the line in T-shirts, knowing how hot it would get inside. Outside of the arena had plenty of religious types protesting the show, which I thought was funny since all they really ended up doing was giving it more publicity. This tour featured Monster Magnet and Hole as the opening bands. I am not a fan of Monster Magnet so they were pretty much just filler with pyrotechnics. Then Hole came out really late. Courtney Love was in typical form – she showed us her tits and gave away a guitar to a female in the crowd. Besides that she would not shut the fuck up. She just kept talking and talking and eventually got hit in the head with a flying shoe, which caused her to break down in tears. I’m pretty sure all of her antics kept Marilyn Manson from going on stage until after midnight. The delay may have been a blessing in disguise because when they finally did take the stage they were fierce. I smoked a joint right before Manson came on and couldn’t move for the first two songs in. Their whole show was a spectacle and to this day sits as my #2 favorite concert of all time. Manson came out on the stage hoisted up on a cross made of TV’s which later burst into flames at the peak of “Rock Is Dead.” I was at the front of the stage during that song and when he sang the lyrics “shock is all in your head” he was looking right at me, which I thought was cool since I had the shock symbol on my forehead but it also weirded me out. Marilyn got onto giant stilts and creeped around the stage when they performed “Mechanical Animals.” During “Speed of Pain” massive confetti combined with proper lighting gave a great effect. During “I Don’t Like the Drugs” a huge Vegas style sign dropped down with the word “Drugs” lit up. I believe they closed with “Coma White” and Manson strapped on a flying V guitar, which is the only time I’ve ever actually seen him play guitar. By the end my mind was blown, my shirt was ripped, and we had a long drive ahead of us in the middle of the Washington night…

Sidenote: the tour only lasted eight more dates after this until Hole dropped off the tour…

Another perspective: http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/02/entertainment/ca-13021

 

One thought on “Marilyn Manson 2/28/99

  1. This was the first big concert I ever went to. I was in the front row too, I remember Twiggy spit on me haha! That’s amazing that youve kept this blog going all these year. Good times man!

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