Marilyn Manson, with Ours
Monday, February 11
The Uptown Theater
By ANDREW MILLER
The January 9 return of bassist Twiggy Ramirez sent Marilyn Manson message boards scrolling, and the news promised dividends for casual fans. For example, given that Ramirez missed the recordings of the group’s indifferently received recent albums (2003’s The Golden Age of Grotesque and 2007’s Eat Me, Drink Me), it seemed unlikely that he’d be forced to learn all that material in a month, suggesting a set list heavy on early favorites. And this mostly tame-looking crowd, largely composed of working-age men and women who apparently lacked the motivation for goth dress-up after a long day at the job, probably wanted to hear the songs from their wild black-eyelinered teen years.
However, at this point in history, a significant percentage of Marilyn Manson concertgoers aren’t concerned with the group’s personnel machinations or new releases. They’re there to see creative, controversial imagery in a hard-rock world that’s increasingly embracing grunge-era visual minimalism. As these fans watched the darkened, curtain-shrouded stage for an interminable 80 minutes after opening act Ours finished, they were no doubt hoping the delay would translate into elaborate props and pyrotechnic displays. Finally, when the group appeared and engaged in inventive shadowplay before the curtain rose -- revealing Ramirez’s silhouette and hinting at a gigantic, knife-wielding Manson -- a compelling spectacle appeared imminent.
Photo by Anna-Marie Perry
Alas, Manson’s circus has lost its lions. When he appeared at 2001’s Ozzfest, his stage-show attractions (stilt-intensive costumes, a crucifix made of rifles) were not only impressive in their scope but also intriguingly abstract. At the Uptown, his visual manifestations were disappointingly literal. When a song featured the chant “Fight! Fight!,” the word appeared in block letters on the massive Lite-Brite backdrop. For “Dope Show,” the display rained colorful capsules, resembling a giant game of Dr.Mario. During “Heart-Shaped Glasses,” Manson donned the titular accessory.
Manson employed a few decent props and discarded them quickly. For the first few songs, he used a microphone that came to a sharp dagger point, swinging it in a windmill-stabbing motion. At the beginning of “Sweet Dreams,” he walked onto a blackened stage wearing a double-barreled miner’s hat. “Coma White” yielded pretty snow-machine precipitation, though that touch might have seemed seasonally overapt to fans about thirty minutes away from a frigid walk to their flurry-dusted vehicles.
Musically, Manson still packs some fire, especially during Antichrist Superstar selections such as “1996” and “Irresponsible Hate Anthem.” Physically, he just isn’t as scary as he once was, especially given the advent of YouTube access to Swedish black-metal bands. With his coy facial expressions and Blade Runner-style facial stripe, he resembles Karen O more than a demonic presence. Also, with the exception of people shocked by the word “fuck” and Christians who object to seeing a Bible waved disdainfully (but not desecrated), no one could have found this performance offensive, or even provocative.
Opening act Ours did manage to raise the audience’s ire, drawing smatterings of boos. The band’s chiming guitars and Jeff Buckley-conjuring vocals earned it a following in 2001 -- a crowd that’s since migrated to Muse. Ours hasn’t released an album since 2002, and Gnecco seems a bit rusty on the rock-star wardrobe (whereas Manson modeled leather pants, Gnecco sported a tightly zipped leather jacket). However, with his festive tambourine taps and acrobatic falsetto wailings, he managed to test the audience’s tolerance for flamboyance in ways even the gender-bending Manson has never dared.
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The so called writer of this article needs to change their disdainful journalistic lens. This article reeks with entitlement and disappointment when the nobody who wrote this was lucky to have seen the show at all. People live such shitty lives that they expect rock stars to make it all better and take them away and amaze them and when they fail to meet a predetermined expectation a bitter resentment comes from the number frowning in the audience. You might as well kill yourself, you're already dead.
The so called writer of this article needs to change their disdainful journalistic lens. This article reeks with entitlement and disappointment when the nobody who wrote this was lucky to have seen the show at all. People live such shitty lives that they expect rock stars to make it all better and take them away and amaze them and when they fail to meet a predetermined expectation a bitter resentment comes from the number frowning in the audience. You might as well kill yourself, you're already dead.
does anyone have a set list for this show? My sister and I went together and I want to make a cd of the songs played. If someone can help out that I would appreciate it.
Cdub: I actually liked Ours and enjoyed their set...You never know till you try it, maybe you could catch a few of their songs.
I will see you in Houston.
I think it will be better to catch a few
beers just outside the door at the HardRock
while ours is on or whatever.
_(")_
I'm going to MM concert on March 2nd here in Hou. Is Ours even worth showing up for? If not, how late should I arrive to watch Manson alone. For everyone (Mr. Miller), who is looking for his OLD visuals, I got a pill that will let you see flying purple pigs at the house. If your looking for kick ass music and an Artist who could care less what you think, I'll see ya at the show.
Get sic Maggots!
i think what andrew meant is that the show was going to end in 30 minutes -- that the song came thirty minutes from the set ending.
Hmm...that 30 minute walk to the car from the Uptown seems a bit much, unless you mean you walked to the Uptown from your house (?). I'd guess 30 minutes would put you somewhere south of the Plaza, east of Troost (yikes!) or somewhere across the State Line....or downtown. I give up--Where'd you park, Andrew?
I'm about to see MM in concert on the 29th and I was wondering if anyone knew how early i should get there to get a good spot by the stage...
B-that is exactly what happened. Apparently the bodyguards didn't even see who did it, it happened so fast. I think Manson should've stopped the music and called the sonofabitch out. Let the crowd decide what to do to the asshole.
Also--Timbo--I did not say I was offended by "Rock and Roll Nigger." On the contrary: I thought it was one of the best songs of the night. Please learn to read.
Actually, Timbo, I believe Mr. Manson would be all for Andrew Miller's right to free speech, and you should too.
Douchebag.
I seen MM twice this year, in Chicago w/Slayer and in St. Louis on Feb. 10, my opinion is that you will never see a better concert now and in the last ten years, why you ask, MM, I assure you, deeply believes what he is singing and that makes him the best artist out there. A BAD MM CONCERT IS 100 TIMES BETTER THAN A GOOD "WHOEVER CONCERT
MM reunification with Twiggy is the best think that could happen to Heavy Metal when everyone else sounds exactly the same as each other. MM doesn't sing to be in the top 10, he sings to send a message and that message is F*ck U Andrew Miller and what you think. And to Will, his cover of "Rock and Roll Nigger" is awesome, if you don't like it, vote for Islamic Canidate Barrack HUSSEIN Obama for president. He assures racism will end if you vote for him.
Miller--not a bad review. You're right about the lack of props--this was Manson stripped down. The first leg was all theatre; the KC crowd only saw this on the stellar rendition of "Antichrist Superstar." The Bible should have caught fire--must have been a defective burning Bible! As to offensiveness--the songs "1996" and "Little Horn" I would consider offensive to a great many true Christians. But by far the most "offensive" song played was "Rock and Roll Nigger"--as Finn noted in his review.
Did anyone catch up close what happened at the end? It looked like he got hit in the face when he was getting into the crowd and got pretty mad, throwing his microphone and storming off. The band finished, but he never came back out.
I saw Marilyn Manson at the Orpheum in Minneapolis back in 2004 and I have to say that this show was so much better than that one. I think the review was a little negative (and inaccurately so) for the show. MM might not be as much about shock value right now with everything that's been going on with him personally, but he is still one hell of a showman.
And I'm pretty sure that the bible was meant to go up in flames...it did in other shows from this tour so there must have been some malfunction.
I saw Marilyn Manson at the Orpheum in Minneapolis back in 2004 and I have to say that this show was so much better than that one. I think the review was a little negative (and inaccurately so) for the show. MM might not be as much about shock value right now with everything that's been going on with him personally, but he is still one hell of a showman.
And I'm pretty sure that the bible was meant to go up in flames...it did in other shows from this tour so there must have been some malfunction.
I saw Marilyn Manson at the Orpheum in Minneapolis back in 2004 and I have to say that this show was so much better than that one. I think the review was a little negative (and inaccurately so) for the show. MM might not be as much about shock value right now with everything that's been going on with him personally, but he is still one hell of a showman.
And I'm pretty sure that the bible was meant to go up in flames...it did in other shows from this tour so there must have been some malfunction.
I don't know...weird he's gotten the old crew back together after such a shitty last record...did you really have to walk to your car 30 minutes away from the uptown? That seems insane. I live in Brooklyn. Marilyn Manson was playing in the Manhattan after work on Tuesday and Wednesday...train ride is like, an hour home. Where do you park if you have to walk a half-hour to the uptown?
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