Marilyn Manson and Slipknot
Austin 360 Amphitheater
August 27
Of Mice and Men opened the show, but many people were just arriving and missed the high energy set. Marilyn Manson took the stage while the sun was still out, but thousands of fans were ready for the shockrocker from the ‘90s. With a band full of young misfit/Manson fan-looking blokes, Marilyn himself came out with short hair, looking like Levi the Poet with black hair.
It was loud, edgy and dark – just what I’d expect from MM, but not as intense, not as loud and not as dark. The tunes spanned his career and everyone has his/her favorites, but I came away wanting more. I wanted to hear two hours of tunes, like all of Eat Me, Drink Me, all of The Golden Age of Grotesque, “Tourniquet,” “Personal Jesus,” “You’re So Vain” and “Tainted Love,” but I digress … and I’m whining.
He did his show. He asked if anyone was on drugs. He got the crowd to briefly chant: “We love hate! We hate love!” He did his flaming Bible trick from his pulpit lectern. I tell ya, though, if he really wanted to be anti-religious he’d try that with the Koran. But he’s only so brave.
He did bring out several hits, though, like “Disposable Teens,” mOBSCENE,” “The Dope Show,” “Sweet Dreams” and “The Beautiful People.” It was the last night of a lengthy tour with Slipknot. He didn’t seem angry. It was a few notches better and heavier than “going through the motions,” but it lacked that killer instinct, that over the top dangerous edge that an amazing artist harnesses and unleashes on a rabid audience. I came away wishing I’d seen that. I got nostalgic scary-core. It leaves a little to be desired.
Other notable pieces of visual coolery were the brass knuckle-like microphone grip he used and the mic stand of orchids during the quasi romantic tune, “Coma White.” The short, hour-long set reached its peak about seven songs in, when they played the hypnotic “Dope Show,” although he acted a little gay with one of his bandmates, which was followed by his menacing cover of “Sweet Dreams.”
Manson still rocks. He’s got attitude, but it’s waning.
Slipknot came on and showed their creative blend of weirdness. Nine guys each take their stations and perform various tasks, like three drummers, on DJ and dancer, bassist, guitarists, a keyboardist/turntablist and a singer.
With the two additional percussionists on hydraulic risers on stage left and right, a giant horizontal riser behind and above the drummer, ramps and all the effects a band could want, Slipknot is quite a sight to behold. It’s intense and crazy – just the way they dialed it up when they formed a little over a quarter-decade ago.
Fans got what they came for – tunes from their debut (“Wait and Bleed”), Iowa (“The Heretic Anthem”), Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) with “Pulse of the Maggots” (you’ll never guess what images were on the video screens during this one, All Hope is Gone (“Psychosocial”) and 5: The Gray Chapter (“The Negative One”). “The Heretic Anthem” was introduced as a special song for the band, the endearing Iowa album and the way Texas has always loved and supported the band of mask-wearing metallians.
The band spent itself for the audience and the screaming crowd returned the energy, ratcheting the show up several notches. The band finished with “(sic),” but no one thought it was over. For encores, they played “Surfacing,” “Duality” and brought things full circle with the anthem “Spit it Out,” from the self-titled debut album.
It was a Slipknot show – mayhem, metal, energy and lots of spinning, jumping and moshing. The security was busy all night, pulling surfers over the barricades and trying to keep people from getting hurt. Job well done.
–Review and photos by Doug Van Pelt. Edited by Teresa Turnage-Simon.
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