Marilyn Manson

Aftershock 10/12/19

Larry departed first thing this morning and the rest of us woke up still a little buzzed from the day before. I wanted to get something in me before the hangover set in and sometimes beer does not always go down easy in this situation so when Ken said he was going to the store I requested a bottle of Jager or Fireball but because Ken is Ken we ended up with a bottle of both.

H09909 was the first band on the bill for the day that I wanted to check out based on me seeing the end of their set a few years back when they opened for Ministry. They were alright but for some reason we just were not feeling it.

Stone Temple Pilots was up next. The last time I saw Stone Temple Pilots was at this very festival four years ago with Chester Bennington singing. Fast forward to 2019 and now sadly both Chester and Scott Weiland are dead but the other guys in the band wanted to move on so I was naturally curious to see how well STP Version 3.0 would sound with the new singer Jeff Gutt. It turns out not so bad. Gutt’s voice is more suited to these songs than Chester’s ever was and he never seemed to try to imitate the massive personality that Scott was.

SETLIST: Down, Wicked Garden, Vasoline, Big Bang Baby, Big Empty, Plush, Interstate Love Song, Roll Me Under, Dead & Bloated, Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart, Sex Type Thing

Had it really been three years since I last saw Marilyn Manson? Yes and ironically enough it was when they opened for Slipknot. Since that last time they released the album Heaven Upside Down and dismissed Twiggy from the band due to rape allegations but even that was two years ago. This time Marilyn Manson himself seemed like he may have been a little drunk but that certainly did not stop him from tearing up the stage with a good mix of super aggressive songs like “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” and “Antichrist Superstar” with more accessible staples like “The Dope Show” and “The Beautiful People.”

SETLIST: Irresponsible Hate Anthem, This Is The New Shit, Rock Is Dead, The Dope Show, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Say10 (preceded by “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”), Antichrist Superstar, The Beautiful People

It was funny that Rob Zombie was billed as the headliner for the night right after Marilyn Manson since Zombie now has John5 playing guitar and Ginger Fish playing drums. I have seen Zombie several times and noticed that having these two guys as a part of his band seemed to rejuvenate Zombie to the level of energy he used to display when he was still in White Zombie and the early days of his solo records. “Electric Head, Part 2” was just the swift kick in the ass I needed and besides that familiar crushing riff in “Thunder Kiss ‘65” was easily my favorite moment of the set and possibly even day. Unlike the day before we all managed to stay together this time and get back to our hotel with enough time to shut it down so we could do it all over again one more time.

SETLIST: Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown, Superbeast, Living Dead Girl, More Human Than Human, Get Your Boots On! That’s the End of Rock and Roll, Electric Head, Part 2: The Ecstacy, In the Age of the Consecrated Vampire We All Get High, Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O., Pussy Liquor, Ddd, Thunder Kiss ’65, Helter Skelter, Dragula

Marilyn Manson/Slipknot 8/17/16

Scan

This show was originally supposed to be on June 15^th but it was rescheduled to August 17^th due to Corey Taylor recovering from surgery on his broken neck. Due to the rescheduling I went from going with potentially four or five other people to going by myself. Not the first time I’ve went to a concert by myself and I’m sure it will not be the last. Sure it is way cooler to go with people that you know and share an awesome moment together but when the band hits the stage I’m on another planet regardless of who if anyone is around me. Of Mice & Men opened the show but I was really going to see Marilyn Manson and Slipknot, even though I had just seen the two bands on the same bill at Aftershock back in October. I ended up arriving about 10 minutes prior to Marilyn Manson going on.

Due to multiple reasons I had not only a rare solo concert outing but also a rare sober concert outing. No beer, no green stuff. It was fitting that the moon was full on this particular night. The lawn was sparsely populated and the entire 3^rd Level Seating Section just below was virtually empty. Even so, because the show was not general admission no specific seat ticket = no seat.

Marilyn Manson came out with a furious version of “Angel With The Scabbed Wings.” I love that song. Marilyn Manson’s stage was relatively stripped down with essentially just a fixed backdrop and a lit up stained glass window sort of thing on both sides of the stage. This was the first time I have ever seen Marilyn Manson with two guitarists. It sounded great but still not as great as when John5 was guitarist (I am still bummed he left the band but am happy that I still get to watch him when I see Rob Zombie live). This set had its moments but it was not one of those fierce sets that I have been lucky enough to witness a few times. There was a comical moment where some of the ladies in the crowd threw bras on the stage to Twiggy, which he proudly hung from his mic stand.

About halfway through their set I did notice something that would change the course of my evening. There is a wide walkway that separates the lawn and the 300 section. To enter the 300 section you must present your ticket stub to the security guard manning the stairway. What I witnessed was a drunk guy going halfway between the nearest two guards and jumping over the rail to get into the section. He got away with it and I thought it was genius so after thinking it over for a minute and rationalizing it by telling myself the worst that could happen is getting kicked out and robbed of seeing a few bands I have seen many times before I stole his move. The upside outweighed the downside. So right after the band started playing “Sweet Dreams” I made my way down to the walkway and after a quick look around to make sure no security was near (you can see them coming a mile away in their bright red t-shirts) I was up and over in a flash and went down to the front of the section and grabbed a seat. It probably helped that I was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans (a trick I learned from unsuccessfully trying to sneak into Soma wearing a bright white t-shirt). “Hey a guy just jumped over! He has brown hair and was wearing a black shirt and jeans.” Gee thanks guy you just described nearly everyone here…I digress. Marilyn Manson is always awesome but it was a little weird seeing them open for someone. I’ve seen them on festivals where they were not the headliner but this was different. Different but still awesome. Marilyn did his stilt-walking during “Sweet Dreams,” they played “Coma White” which I have only seen them play one other time and they played a ferocious version of “Antichrist Superstar.”

MARILYN MANSON SETLIST: “Angel With The Scabbed Wings,” “Disposable Teens,” “No Reflection,” “mOBSCENE,” “ Cupid Carries A Gun,” “Irresponsible Hate Anthem,” “The Dope Show,” “Sweet Dreams,” Antichrist Superstar,” “Coma White,” “The Beautiful People”

When Slipknot came out they quickly made me realize why Marilyn Manson was the opener. Slipknot is so goddamn loud and full of frenetic energy that you cannot help but go as nuts as the NINE dudes on stage. After “Be Prepared for Hell” played through the speakers the band hit the stage for an absolutely intense version of “The Negative One.” Hell of an entrance and they never let up the relentlessness of their attack the entire time. Corey Taylor is a great salesman. He is always telling the crowd how much they are appreciated. You cannot help but like a guy that keeps telling you how much he likes you. “Eyeless” was fantastic, “Killpop” lost some of its mysterious power and “Psychosocial” was played way faster than on the album. “Left Behind” was also another personal favorite. This band has come back in a HUGE way with the newest album and like they used to say in McDonald’s commercials “I’m lovin’ it.”

SLIPKNOT SETLIST: “The Negative One,” “ Disasterpiece,” “ Eyeless,” “Skeptic,” “Before I Forget,” “Killpop,” “Dead Memories,” “The Heretic Anthem,” “Psychosocial,” “Pulse of the Maggots,” “Left Behind,” “The Devil In I,” “Wait and Bleed,” “(sic),” “Surfacing,” “Duality,” “Spit It Out”

P.S…As evidenced by the video I saw, apparently after Marilyn Manson performed he found a karaoke bar in downtown San Diego and sang “I’m 18” by Alice Cooper and “Holy Grail” by Jay Z. Lucky bastards in that bar. Watch Here

Aftershock 10/24/15

After such a good time two years ago at this event we could not help ourselves and holy crap what a lineup! Same crew as 2013 (Marvin, Ken, Bob and I) and the addition of Joe in from Portland, but unlike last time we actually knew that Marvin was coming. This time the venue was at a place called Gibson Ranch instead of Discovery Park and we were able to “camp.” The plan was for Marvin to drive out from Salt Lake City and meet up with Bob who would already be in the Bay Area due to attending the 49ers/Seahawks game for Thursday Night Football and then meet up with Ken, Joe and I who were flying in on Saturday morning. Since all of us were flying Marvin was in charge of bringing tents, sleeping bags, etc. After we all met at a Walmart on the way to load up on supplies (mostly alcohol) we were on our way. The first band any of us cared about was Suicidal Tendencies, scheduled to be on at 2 pm, since we had missed them earlier in the year at Epicenter. Since our flight landed at 10 am we figured we had plenty of time to get settled but all the little things add up and we now found ourselves waiting in a long line of cars to get into the place and more specifically the campground. Very poor organization caused us to wait in our car (a rented super small shitbox of a Mazda) for what seemed like forever before we could get “escorted” to our campsite. By the time we got to the campsite and set up tents, etc. it was about 2. We quickly decided that we did not care all that much about Suicidal Tendencies after all. In our defense we could hear them perfectly from where we were. We were trying to save money by drinking at the camp spot but Helmet was up at 2:30 and attendance was non-negotiable. After some quick work of beers we went in and Helmet greeted us with all the songs you would want them to play (mostly from Meantime, Betty and Aftertaste). Next up was P.O.D. who continue to surprise me with each passing time I see them. Then we had to find our way to the “fourth” stage, which Clutch was playing at for some damn reason. Clutch was touring for the excellent new album Psychic Warfare. I made a bet with Joe that they would not play anything from their first three albums and I was right. It did not matter because they have so many good songs to choose from otherwise. More beers and back to one of the main stages for Seether. I believe by this time most of us had gotten separated from each other and when there is a concentration of that many people in one place cell signals do not work. I believe at this point I was just with Bob and some gal came out of nowhere and would not leave us alone. We finally shook her and watched Breaking Benjamin which was pretty alright.

Our original plan was to get an eighth of pot to bring but when that did not work out we settled for two decent sized joints. This meant we had to ration one for this day and one for the next day, which meant we had to strategically time ignition. For me this was the moment: Marilyn Manson was coming on. I had seen him many times but he is always splendid and now he had another excellent album out; The Pale Emperor. This set is one I have only seen him play a few times and can only be described as fierce. Not a lot of talking, every song just ripped you a new one and then he was gone. This version of his band is the tightest I think I have seen since the departure of John 5. I was tripping out because I could not tell if Twiggy was on the stage or not. If not it sure as hell looked like him.

Next up was Slipknot. I REALLY like their new album .5 The Gray Chapter so I was really excited to see them as well. By this point I was a little drunk and stoned but holy fuck did these guys rock. After finding our way back to the campground Bob and I were greeted by our missing buddies for a nightcap. Marvin informed me the previous day that he forgot one of the sleeping bags so I shoved a pillow and blanket in my carry on (talent) and planned on just sleeping in the reclined seat of our rental car. This is easy when you are drunk. Joe ended up sleeping in the passenger seat because we were up forever talking and laughing our heads off since I do not get to see him very often anymore. Today was a good day.

Marilyn Manson 5/29/13

I Just saw Marilyn Manson back on February 20th but these guys are pretty up there for me so there is no way I was not going to walk out my back door to see them play in my yard. I will go see this band as many times as I possibly can. Apparently this show was only two nights before they officially joined up with Alice Cooper for a co-headlining tour deemed the Masters of Madness/Shock Therapy Tour, which is a bummer because it would have been cool to see Alice Cooper. Woe is me…

Marilyn Manson always opens their albums and shows with a strong song and tonight was no exception when they opened with “Angel With the Scabbed Wings.” Killer. The majority of the setlist was the same as back in February but the addition of “Angel With the Scabbed Wings,” “Little Horn,” “Great Big White World” and “This Is the New Shit” completely changed the dynamics of this performance. This time we got the impassioned intensity and grit the previous show fell slightly short on.

SETLIST: Angel With the Scabbed Wings, Disposable Teens, No Reflection, Little Horn, The Dope Show, Rock Is Dead, Great Big White World, Personal Jesus, mOBSCENE, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Hey, Cruel World, This Is the New Shit, Irresponsible Hate Anthem, The Beautiful People

Marilyn Manson 2/20/13

It had been about three and a half years since I last saw Marilyn Manson in San Bernardino at the Mayhem Festival so I was pretty giddy to see them again. I convinced Bob to go with me to see them at City National Grove of Anaheim, which is adjacent to Angel Stadium.

After a sandwich from Subway and a quick toke it was in to see the opener Butcher Babies, which sounded interesting on paper because they have two singers and both are ex-Playmates. They were not the worst looking women I have ever seen and there is something hot about a woman that likes rock and roll but this just did not work for me. They kept doing this synchronized head twirl thing and it was just too much cheese.

Marilyn Manson was touring for the superb album Born Villain that was released about 10 months before this. I was floored from the start when they decided to open with my favorite track off the album “Hey, Cruel World.” Another highlight for me was “Coma White.” Marilyn seemed to put the most vocal effort into that song and the fake snow falling was a nice touch. This band is always reinventing the music and the live show so each time really is a different experience. There were all the typical costume changes that come with a Marilyn Manson show and overall this show was awesome but just not as intense as some of the other times I have seen them.

SETLIST: Hey, Cruel World, Disposable Teens, The Love Song, No Reflection, mOBSCENE, The Dope Show, Slo-Mo-Tion, Rock Is Dead, Personal Jesus, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Coma White, King Kill 33, Antichrist Superstar, The Beautiful People, Irresponsible Hate Anthem

Mayhem Festival 7/12/09

So there were quite a few bands at this festival but the only ones we cared about were Slayer and Marilyn Manson. I made my first trip to the San Manuel Amphitheater with Jason, Larry, and Christi. We had to travel the two hours because this was as close as the festival came to us. It’s probably a good thing that the bands we wanted to see didn’t play until the end of the show because we were all decently hung over from the Saturday before. Jason drove and I was drinking beers the whole time. I never really got drunk but definitely felt the effects the next day. So we hung out in the parking lot for about an hour before heading in. Good timing. Killswitch Engage was just getting on so we had time to get an $11 beer, etc. Apparently somebody got shanked at the show because this is a ghetto type area. Then it got dark and out came Slayer. People that like Slayer LOVE Slayer, namely Nicole, who bought tickets to this show when I did but then we had a falling out because of me meeting and falling for Ingrid. I never really liked Tom Araya’s voice but have slowly gotten more into Slayer as the years progress mostly because of the Seasons in the Abyss album.

The real reason I was here was Marilyn Manson. I found somebody nearby willing to share a joint with me and I was off. They opened with “We’re From America” and that whipped me into a frenzy. It was cool to see them play “Little Horn” because I don’t think I had ever seen them play that song in all the times I had seen them before. They played the very electric version of “Four Rusted Horses” and that was also pretty badass but I think this was a turning point in the show. The only other new song they played was “Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon.” They ended with “The Beautiful People” and just like that after exactly an hour they were gone. No encore. I guess that’s what you get when you see him at a festival. After the long ride back home and a shitty night’s sleep I woke up with sore neck and back muscles from crazy head banging. I must have had a good time…

Marilyn Manson 8/25/07

Marilyn Manson was touring for Eat Me, Drink Me that had just been released less than three months before this show. I went with Donna, a girl I had been seeing since the beginning of the year with a white contact in one of my eyes leftover from my previous year’s vampire Halloween costume. I remember this show being General Admission (my favorite) because we sat in a seat for Slayer and went down to the floor for Marilyn Manson. Tim Skold had moved from bass to take over lead guitar duties for this tour. It was not the same as seeing Twiggy and John 5 but was an upgrade from the last time I had seen Marilyn Manson in L.A.

This was apparently a time period where Marilyn Manson was especially taken with Lewis Carroll. He reportedly began to make a movie called Phantasmagoria: The Visons of Lewis Carroll where he was to play Mr. Carroll around this time but scrapped it due to the emotional drain it was having on his psyche. The Alice In Wonderland influence on the album/show was evident throughout this show, especially when they played “Are You the Rabbit?” (my favorite song on the new album) and brought a giant chair out onstage. Unrelated but this may have also been the first time I saw the “knife microphone.”

SETLIST: If I Was Your Vampire, Disposable Teens, mOBSCENE, Are You the Rabbit?, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)/Lunchbox, Just a Car Crash Away, Heart-Shaped Glasses, Rock Is Dead, The Dope Show, Putting Holes in Happiness, The Fight Song, The Reflecting God, Antichrist Superstar, The Beautiful People

Marilyn Manson 12/19/04

I had not seen Marilyn Manson since the previous summer at Ozzfest and had only been to Los Angeles one time since moving to San Diego eight months prior. I did not learn about this show until the 11^th hour, but never miss a chance to see one of my favorite bands, which was touring for their Lest We Forget – The Best Of album that had been released on September 28th. There was only one song on the album I did not already have, a cover of “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode, but I had to buy the album for it since I did not have a good computer to steal it. I hated when bands did that but at least this album came with a nice booklet and a DVD of several of their music videos.

I ended up being the winning bidder on a pair of tickets from eBay and lightly twisted Marvin’s arm into driving us up to L.A. for this, the second of a three night stand for Manson. The Wiltern is a cool little theater in the Koreatown area of L.A. that holds 2,300 people when it is configured for a standing room only crowd such as this show. I get really excited when concerts are general admission because of the freedom you have to move about where you want. One thing I was not excited about was the departure of guitarist John 5 since the last time I saw Marilyn Manson. Filling in was a guy named Mark Chaussee, who joined for this tour. I liked the experience of going to see Marilyn Manson in L.A. at the last minute but rank this as one of my least favorite times seeing the band and I think Mark had a lot to do with it. He is a great guitar player that played the songs well from a technical standpoint but his playing just seemed to lack that “it” factor. Maybe that had something to do with his departure from the band after this tour…

MMa

Ozzfest 7/12/03

This was the first time Ozzfest was held at the White River Amphitheatre instead of the Gorge. This venue opened about a month before this show so I think the promoters were trying to drive business to it. The promoters probably figured that a large majority of the people who went to concerts at the Gorge were from Seattle anyway so why not move the concert closer to Seattle. The problem is that there is no comparing to the Gorge, especially with a cookie-cutter amphitheatre such as this. I went with my cousin Earl who at the time lived nearby in Renton.

Before they were on my radar Chevelle played the Ozzfest I attended the previous summer, but because they were not on my radar this was my first time actually seeing them. All it took for me to like this band was to hear “The Red” one time from the Wonder What’s Next album that they were touring behind. I remember being highly impressed that it was just three guys on a stark stage rocking out.

Disturbed was still touring for the album Believe and continued where they left off the last time I had seen them with Korn. I believe it was during Disturbed’s set that people up in the lawn section where I was at began throwing water bottles toward the stage for no apparent reason. The bottles got nowhere near the stage and were hitting people that were closer to the stage downhill. It was fucked up but it was probably more fucked up when I started laughing uncontrollably when the people downhill started throwing the bottles back (uphill). Poor people with better seats…

This was the fourth time I had the pleasure of seeing Marilyn Manson. They were touring for The Golden Age of Grotesque that had been released just a few months prior to this show. Both the album and performance gave a heavy nod to 30’s vaudeville and burlesque mixed in with the usual Manson stage antics. Sadly this would be the last time I would see the band with John 5.

Marilyn Manson is a tough act to follow but Korn held their own. Much better than the last time I had seen them with Disturbed. They were still touring for Untouchables but were much tighter this time. I also remember walking through an exhibit that Jonathan Davis had set up in a trailer earlier in the day. The exhibit was basically a freak show with many serial killer artifacts.

I would tell you I remember Ozzy at this show but I really have zero recollection of seeing him here. I know we stayed for the entire show but my mind is drawing a blank. As previously stated I am not all that into solo Ozzy versus Black Sabbath so this does not entirely surprise me.

David Draiman, the lead singer in the Heavy Metal rock group Disturbed, performs at Ozzfest 2003 in Devore, California, late July 5, 2003. Twenty bands on two stages performed during the all-day outdoor concert 60 miles east of Los Angeles, California. REUTERS/Jim Ruymen JR – RTR73L

Ozzfest 6/25/01

You can’t tell from the pictures but the Gorge literally had one gigantic black cloud hanging over it for most of the day. It was the strangest thing because everywhere else within sight around the Gorge was a perfectly clear and sunny day. All I really remember about Taproot was that the entire band was clad in all-white outfits. Maybe I just wasn’t that excited about seeing them since I had already seen them twice in the prior year. I was however excited about The Union Underground because of the kick ass show they put on in Portland. I waited for them to go on stage before I sparked up a joint and directly after this the first ray of sunshine poked its head through the nasty clouds. It was a stoner moment worthy of the books. Marijuana aside, these guys were on the mark that day. “Revolution Man” was about as epic as they could’ve been. Next up on the second stage was Mudvayne. I still didn’t know that much of them but they were all painted up in costume and put on a pretty intense show. Moving on to the main stage was Crazy Town. I learned about them at a bus stop in Portland. On the bench was sitting a cassette single. All it said on the cover was “Who the fuck is Crazy Town?” I took it home and it turned out to be the songs “Toxic” and “Darkside.” I ended up buying the album based on this but they turned out to be the only songs I liked on the album, even though “Butterfly” turned out to be a commercial hit. They weren’t that great. They reminded me of a shittier version of Limp Bizkit. Disturbed followed and David Draiman was carried out on stage in a cage. It was novel but this is Ozzfest. They seemed to lose some of the explosiveness they had displayed a year prior on the second stage but nonetheless rocked. After they were done was the first time I got to see Linkin Park. I heard the song “One Step Closer” on KUFO late one night after I first moved to Portland and bought the album Hybrid Theory. They were a good mix of heavy and soft. I don’t remember anything about Papa Roach playing but know they were there. Slipknot was insanity. They graduated from the second to the first stage since I saw them at Ozzfest ’99. They were about a month away from releasing their second album Iowa but I’m pretty sure they played some of that album live. Then came the real reason I was here: Marilyn Manson. I had just seen them at the beginning of the year, on acid no less, but based on the past two times I had seen them and everything else I knew about them I knew they wouldn’t disappoint. And they didn’t. The guitarist John5 was painted up like the joker and besides tearing through their heaviest material they put a new spectacle to the test. During “Cruci-Fiction In Space” Marilyn kept getting hoisted higher and higher into the air until he was damn near the top of the rafters (see photo). The illusion was outstanding thanks to the cape he wore that disguised the actual hoist. This was the first and only time I ever saw them do that. Then to close the show was Black Sabbath. Never in a million years did I ever think that I would get to see them even once, but twice? It had been a few years since seeing them the first time but they didn’t miss a step. The set was short and concise but left everyone in the crowd feeling satisfied.