Marilyn Manson

[zero]

So I've been begging my boss for weeks if I could get tickets to the Marilyn Manson show that came to Cincinnati last night. I got a call about five days before from her saying she not only had tickets for me, but I was in charge of running the meet and greet for station winners.... what?!

My heart stopped for about two days, and when I recovered, I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Sure enough, a ticket for me and my girlfriend and yes, a meeting with Marilyn himself.

So fast forward (or rewind now) to yesterday, the day of the show. I was nervous as hell. I've been in the radio business for a little over a year now and I'm stunned by the amount of people who take their perks for granted. Anyone could have just as easily been given these tickets, I'm rather low on the totem pole at the station (keep in mind, tons of Manson fans at the station as well). But hey I lucked out and now I get to meet him. Of course since I was representing the station, I knew I had to keep my cool which was an visible problem I had while meeting Melissa Auf der Maur at the Curiosa Festival this year. I could only imagine how much I was going to mark out when meeting Marilyn fucking Manson.

Anyway, we arrive downtown about an hour before showtime at the beautiful Taft Theater. If you ever visit Cincinnati, try to see something at the Taft, it's such a wonderful theater. Can only hold about 2500 people and the sound is excellent so we were already looking forward to an amazing and very crowd-oriented show. When I get there, some of the radio station promotion people have a tent set up where fans can sign up to win a poster and upgrade their balcony tickets to floor tickets. Of course, the ones working there are giving me ten tons of shit since I get to watch the show and they have to stand outside in the cold then leave before Manson goes on to work the Halo 2 Release Party at Blockbuster. Yes, a Halo 2 release party... how sad is that? But hey, all they had to do was ask for tickets.

So we eventually go in and sit down and the opening act comes out. Some local band, I think their name was Shut The Fuck Up, Get Off the Stage, or You Fucking Suck because that's what the crowd kept chanting. Seriously, I'm not the type to rag on a local band opening up for a huge act because that's a tough role to be in. But these guys were committing a crime against humanity; Snow would have told these guys they sucked. Two lead singers, one would do the deep death metal voice, but it just sounded like he was burping, and the other one would do a high-pitched scream. Neither "sang" with any sort of rhythm to the music, but the music was all over the place as well. I've seen a lot of shitty local bands, but these guys took the cake.

They finally stopped playing and the fans got restless during the intermission. Manson was scheduled to go on at 9:15, but then 9:30 rolls around and he's still not on. Finally around 9:40 the lights go out and Manson plays an amazing set, going well over the scheduled 11 pm end to the concert. The Taft is owned by Clear Channel, the Death Star of radio, and for every minute you perform over 11 pm, it's a $1000 fine. Manson played for about 35 minutes over 11. Now, the delayed start could have been the Theater's fault, so he may not get the fine, but still I find that to be incredibly gracious to do for your fans. He played all the hits and even delved into the vault and played some old school stuff.

After the show, Manson's security led me and the winners to the meet and greet location backstage. We had to wait in this nice little catering area so Manson could get a shower and eat. But this drunk bitch just wouldn't stop complaining about having to wait, so security kindly asked her to stop complaining or leave. She chose to bitch out this large man, about 6'3" 280 pounds and storm out, giving me one of the most amusing moments of the evening. So when Manson's ready, we all line up and go in a few at a time, me and my girlfriend being last. He's a very cool guy; signed every autograph and shook every hand, briefly spoke with everyone. He was visibly wore out since he puts so much into every show and it was getting so late, but it's definitely my all-time greatest concert experience. So for you Manson fans out there, here's the rest of the tour dates if you're in the area, I highly suggest you make the trip.

11/9 Chicago, IL The Riviera Pre-sale begins 10/1 at 3PM local time

11/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant Pre-sale begins 9/29 at 3PM local time

11/12 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom Pre-sale begins 9/29 at 3PM local time

11/14 Detroit, MI State Theatre Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

11/15 Toronto, ONT Massey Hall Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

11/17 Montreal, QUE Metropolis Pre-sale begins 10/1 at 3PM local time

11/18 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom Pre-sale info not available at this time

11/20 Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

11/21 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

11/23 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom Pre-sale begins 10/1 at 3PM local time

11/26 Boston, MA Avalon Ballroom Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

11/27 Reading, PA Sovereign Center Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

11/29 Cleveland, OH House of Blues Pre-sale begins 9/29 at 3PM local time

11/30 Columbus, OH or Norfolk, VA Promowest Pavilion Pre-sale begins 10/5 at 3PM local time

12/2 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live Pre-sale info not available at this time

12/3 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues Pre-sale info not available at this time

12/4 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle Pre-sale info not available at this time

[GoGo Yubari]

That's pretty cool. I'm not a big fan of Manson but hey, good for you.

And I know all about shitty local bands opening on concerts. *Has painful memories of a band called Audio Learning Center almost ruining the Rasputina concert he went to.*

[The Hardcore Canuck]

Nice. You, my friend, are one luckey SOB.

[tristy]

Mind posting a setlist?

[MalaCloudy Black]

ARGH WHY DONT GOOD BANDS EVERY COME TO ARKANSAS.

Erm...good for you. Woo-hoo, we got Metallica in May. Couldn't afford that.

Van Halen? Clapton? me = poor.

[Pepsi]

Well I know what I'm doing 11/18

[zero]

Mind posting a setlist?

←

If I could find one, I would. My memory is good, but not that good. I could name a bunch of songs he played (not in order), but I couldn't remember everything.

[tristy]

Mind posting a setlist?

←

If I could find one, I would. My memory is good, but not that good. I could name a bunch of songs he played (not in order), but I couldn't remember everything.

←

[naiwf]

SHIT! Manson's playing Roseland on my mother's birthday/fraternity Thanksgiving dinner. Which person (people) do I want to disappoint, my mom, my "brothers", or myself? :'(

[zero]

Heh, name some songs then.

I want to know if he played anything out of the ordinary (IE his version of Highway To Hell or something).

Probably didn't, though.

←

I don't think he played anything too out of the ordinary, only covers he played were the big three: Sweet Dreams, Tainted Love, Personal Jesus. Off the top of my head, I know for a fact he played: Get Your Gunn, Beautiful People, mOBSCENE, (s)AINT, Golden Age of Grotesque, Tourniquet (complete with stilts), Antichrist Superstar, Dope Show, Great Big White World, Rock is Dead, Disposable Teens, and the Fight Song.

Admittedly, there were a few songs I didn't recognize since I just recently started getting back into Manson and I'm not entirely up to date on the older stuff. If I can find a full set list, I'll post it.