Monday, March 3, 2008

Concert Review: Marilyn Manson at House of Blues Friday February 29

By Kenneth Smith of 2K7 Photography

In the midst of a week that has truly brought (or will be bringing) some high profile folks to Dallas (Presidential hopefuls and the bigger-than-Jesus Jonas Brothers), Marilyn Manson and pseudo-original "Spooky Kid" Twiggy Ramirez brought the "Rape of the World 2008" tour to a sold-out House of Blues on Friday February 29, proving that regardless of everything else going on, these guys can still draw a crowd without even trying.

Long-time Manson fans were very much looking forward to seeing the triumphant return of almost-original bassist Twiggy Ramirez who left the band in 2002 and has since most notably played in Tool front-man Maynard James Keenan's side-project "A Perfect Circle". Having been over five years since the creative duo (Manson & Ramirez) shared a stage; it was definitely a big deal.

Taking the stage at around 10:00 pm (despite a 9:15 scheduled set time) to the Dallas fans screams, the eerie lyrics of the opening track (Cruci-Fiction in Space) echoed through the venue. "This is evolution, the monkey, the man, and then the gun, if Christ was in Texas, the hammer, the sickle, the only son.." were the perfect opening lines that were almost drowned out by the anxious fans yells and singing. More loud cheers were drawn after the song when Manson announced that he was here for 4 friends; "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, Drugs, and more Drugs". As the show progressed it seemed apparent that though the set list certainly contained songs that weren't part of the normal tour repertoire, gone were many of the props/costume changes/extras that most had come to expect. Oddly enough, it didn't seem to matter at all.

During "The Love Song", multiple words (president, failure, church, sex, sin, priest, obey, worship) could be seen flashing quickly on the huge LED screen that was used as the backdrop for most of the set. As the band began playing one of their biggest hits, a cover of the Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", the crowd was louder then it had been all night. Manson slowly crawled toward the fans as the song progressed before hugging Twiggy as he (Twiggy) surprisingly ripped off the wig that he had apparently been wearing, revealing a very short hair style.

The night progressed with multiple other live rarities before the easily noticeable music for "The Dope Show" (another huge hit) began. As usual, giant letters flashed behind the band spelling out D R U G S, and the lyrics in the second verse were changed to "…Drugs, they say, are made in fucking Dallas!" Another usual part of the show also made its return during the next 2 songs. Confetti was blasted into the air during "Rock is Dead" and fake snow fell during "Coma White". After announcing that there was "only one way to end this" the band played "1996", from the "Antichrist Superstar" album and the entire venue loudly chanted the chorus, "Anti people now you've gone too far. Here's your Antichrist Superstar!"

As could be expected, it wasn't actually the end of the show. Following some "Manson" chanting from the crowd and about 3 or 4 minutes, the band re-emerged onto a stage now adorned with the traditional "shock" banners (displaying the red and black shock-symbols) covering the LED screen and a podium at the front of the stage. Manson was now in a red and black suit and blew kisses at the fans as he held a (fake) flaming-bible into the air as they played "Antichrist Superstar". The podium was then removed and the show was closed with the biggest hit of all "The Beautiful People", after which, Manson exited the stage by simply dropping the microphone and pulling down some drums as he walked away.

Though not as visually entertaining as previous Manson shows and lacking the Anti-Manson protesters outside that we have all come to love, I found myself still completely feeling as if nothing had been lost. I have seen this band perform live somewhere around 5 or 6 times over the course of about 9 years and had always thought that the theatrics, props and general appearance of Manson himself was what made a Marilyn Manson show so good. After Friday night, I realize that even without all of the extras, this band still puts on a stellar show that I simply cannot bring myself to miss.

Pegasus News content partner - 2K7 Photography

This story was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.

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• Arts > Popular Music > Experimental / Avante-Garde
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