If any of you are Marilyn Manson fans, you'll know his latest album Eat Me, Drink Me was, well, disappointing. Granted, he was going through a suicidal depression, but from a musical standpoint anyone who's been listening to Manson knows that this deviation from metal was frustrating, boring, and quite frankly uninteresting. BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

All of those criticisms were also visible in Manson's live shows last summer. While still exciting to watch as is the nature of a Marilyn Manson concert, any old school fan could tell he wasn't all in it, and the set list was mediocre at best. BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

As of this tour, Manson's bassist/guitarist from as far back as their roots of playing Florida clubs as The Spooky Kids and as recently as the album Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death) Twiggy Ramirez has rejoined the group, to the extreme pleasure of his fans, myself included. (I mean, I DID name my hedgehog after Twiggy )

It's quite clear that the reunion of the two is a happy one. Twiggy seems to have kicked Manson back into gear and they're rocking like never before. Manson seemed much happier on stage last night at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle than he had last summer, and his set list returned to his days of old.

Joining the masses on the floor, as is my tradition for ANY good show, I was getting crushed well before the house lights had even been turned down in preparation for Manson's entrance. There was a vibe in the crowd that hadn't been present in years, an excitement for the show that would be considered insane by most.

And then it began. A curtain was drawn over the stage, black and emblazoned with a blood red "MM" as the music of Bauhaus came out of the sound system. Slowly the silhouette of Manson could be seen as he crept toward the front of the stage. He was wielding a microphone made to look like a butcher's knife. Then the curtain dropped. And hell was unleashed.

Much to the chagrin of the myriad of Christian protesters outside of the venue, I might add.

The show was absolutely AMAZING. It was truly Manson at his best, showing the true fans that they need not worry--he's still the Antichrist Superstar we've all come to love.

The set list was, dare I say, perfect? No, perhaps not perfect, but the man can only fit so many songs into an hour and a half. This was truly a show for the fans. Only a few singles were played (he even opted NOT to play "The Beautiful People" which is quite unheard of), only two songs from his newest album, and the rest required a thorough knowledge of the band's discography to recognize. Hell, he played almost every song I've ever said "Man, I wish he still played that live" about.

There was plenty of love between Manson and Twiggy. Well, Manson style love. You know, grabbing Twiggy's head and shoving it into his crotch. That kind of love. But these are the things fans should remember! If you were lucky enough to see The Spooky Kids live, or have just read Manson's autobiography, you'll remember Nancy was kept in a cage under Pogo's keyboard. Their love is dysfunctional, but it's love nonetheless.

And now, a few highlights from the show:

• Manson brought back many of his old costumes, including the Dope Hat, which he wore during "The Dope Show"
• During "Heart Shaped Glasses" a robotic version of his present girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood came on stage, which he proceeded to dismember, then decapitate, and sing to
• The big light board was back, flashing 15 foot tall iterations of words such as "drugs" "sex" "corruption" "f***" and so on at a pace just too fast to be able to focus on. Also, during "The Dope Show" it displayed a shower of pills
• A blizzard of black confetti was shot onto the crowd during "Rock Is Dead" that was so dense it looked like we'd been plagued by locusts
• During "Coma White" the crowd, as well as Manson, was coated in faux snow flakes while the theatre was lit completely blue. Very cool to witness
• Some good old Bible burning went down during the title track of Antichrist Superstar
• Also during "Antichrist Superstar" Manson grabbed a video camera from one of the people hired to film the show and proceeded to smash it to bits
• Lots of bare Manson ass
  

Here's the set list to the best of my memory. I'm not sure on the order except for the first and last songs, and I may be missing a track or two, but this is as good as I can do for you:

Cruci-Fiction in Space
Disposable Teens
Irresponsible Hate Anthem
The Love Song
Great Big White World
mOBSCENE
If I Was Your Vampire
Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Rock 'n' Roll Nigger
Tourniquet
Little Horn
The Dope Show
Rock is Dead
1996
Coma White
Antichrist Superstar

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the photos I took at the show! FYI, for the not-so-Manson-savvy, any image that ISN'T of Manson is of Twiggy, and any with two people in them are, you guessed it, Manson and Twiggy!



















All Photos Taken By, and Article Written By: Luis Urroz

This post was last modified: 02-19-2008 05:14 PM by happynoodleboy.

The rest of the photos I took:

This post was last modified: 02-19-2008 05:14 PM by happynoodleboy.

But... why? This was our 13,000th thread and its about this freak!

*sigh*

I hate you, Manson. Go and die.

And I hate you, LMX. I hate you.

In all seriousness, though, have you ever given his music a chance? Have you ever listened to any of his songs? Your opinion on this "freak" might change.

This post was last modified: 02-19-2008 05:22 PM by happynoodleboy.

I have heard a couple and heard nothing of interest. And I very much doubt hearing more of it would further my interest. My sister is a fan of him... I don't see why.

this guy scares me...
no offense noodle, but i never cared much for that style of music

I didn't like him since one of his video's gave me a nightmare..

aww, all this Manson hate

At least tell me what you thought of the article?

It was a good concert review, of that there is no doubt. I just disagree with anything and everything being positive about Manson.

dear god..burning bibles D:

It's a statement of irony, cloud

The album Antichrist Superstar is not literally saying Manson is the Antichrist, but rather that there is inherently some evil, or a "sinner" if you will, in all of us, and trying to deny this is futile--HUMANITY is the Antichrist.

So Manson is trying to be deep? Cute. But I'm sure there are other ways of reaching simliar points.

Muse are a band that present some interesting ideas, but they don't burn bibles to put them across.

I won't doubt Manson has meaning in some of his songs, but does need to seek such attention whilst doing so? Or is just him being a disgusting show pony?

but I'm catholic..and in my religion..I dont think burning bibles are right XD.

hence why I ask for forgiveness for doing anything antichrist-ful anyday.

Oh, wait, you're seriously Catholic?...

And LMX, it's only being a "show pony" as much as any other performer. Manson's shows just happen to be much more theatrical than most other concerts. I think you only say this because the example you're given is that he's burning a bible. Would you say the same thing about when he comes out on stage wearing 15 foot stilts and a crazy helmet with lights on it? Probably not. It's just a FUN THEATRICAL show.

People seriously need to get off their high horses about Manson and realize that it CAN BE COOL to watch a guy do outlandish things for his PERFORMANCE.

And trust me, he isn't seeking attention or anything--he's just that into his shows. Seriously, he exerts himself so much during his sets that he has to go off stage to be administered oxygen every few songs, and often collapses after shows.

i dont like how there's so much manson hate in a concert thread for him...the bible burning thing ok, and although you ask for forgiveness there's still that sinner in you that needs to ask for that forgiveness; that's what he's pointing out, because we're not perfectly sin-free.

personally, i love his concerts. i'm not a huge fan of his, but he's got some music that i enjoy and he entertains me. just because he's not up there singing love songs with neon colors doesn't mean that he's this terrible creepy scary guy that doesnt put his heart into the music and meanings behind his songs. sure, he seems scary and can be quite frightening at times, but he's amazingly smart and talented (aside from the whole depression/suicide bit), and very dedicated. it may not be the talent you like, but its talent nontheless. idk what it is, but there's this edge to the darker music that i hear that really gets my blood pumping. while muse is good for a bit of energy and fun, the darker sounds really get me pumped. it's a different type of energy, and i guess i can understand why it might take some getting accustomed to if you're not used to it...but thats no reason to shut him down and tell him to die...

i loved your concert review. it talked about all the aspects that you'd look for. made me happy to know that he's back on track, too. <3 Twiggy ^^

This post was last modified: 02-23-2008 01:25 PM by ...i.

LOL I remember he was on Jay leno singing some halloween song at halloween, then at the end of the show Jay did his usual 'go over to the singer and shake hands', then marylin kissed him on the cheek and it left a huge lipstick mark..

hes a freak of nature

I REMEMBER!

He ABSOLUTELY ruined "This is Halloween" from Nightmare Before Christmas. It was like rape, and the song was the victim.

Why do you think I'm against burning bibles..

You're my new best friend What do you think of the pictures? Those were SO hard to take from the floor--I was getting tossed around like a rag doll

And that cover of "This Is Halloween" is AWESOME. You're nuts, LMX.

This post was last modified: 02-27-2008 03:32 AM by happynoodleboy.

The original version is superior to Manson's. HELL even Panic's version was better... and their's was boring.