Massachusetts-born rocker Rob Zombie and Ohio-native shockstar Marilyn Manson brought their joint outing, Twins of Evil: Hell Never Dies Tour 2019, to Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Sunday night.
Manson, born as Brian Hugh Warner, was the first of the pair to take over the stage, kicking things off with “Angel With the Scabbed Wings” from his 1996 album Antichrist Superstar. His vocals started off solid as he traipsed around the stage, his face adorned with multicoloured makeup and glitter.
The Pale Emperor ‘s movements were typical of shows passed, writhing and erratic, but something seemed off. He looked unsteady on his feet moving about between the shadows and lights.
The lighting was a hyperactive display of white strobes and red accents, making for a delightful sensory overload.
As the set rolled on, lyrics seemed to disappear from songs. Manson’s cleverly created stage persona seemed more chaotic than usual. He didn’t seem to be in complete control.
Hit songs The Dope Show and Antichrist Superstar garnered an intense reaction from the crowd and their venue-wide sing-along drowned out the fledgling voice of the infamous singer.
The final song of the set was “The Beautiful People”. Manson stepped down from the stage and leaned into the receptive fans, he turned the mic towards them to capture their united sound as he commanded them with his pumping fists. Marilyn returned to the stage but as he looked unsteady, his hand clutched his head. He spoke into the mic, “That was the worst head ever”. That was it, he departed the stage.
It was unclear if he had been injured but it seemed like he cut the set short. Hopefully, all is well with The Pale Emperor, but part of me wondered if the departure had more to do with his unsteady canter throughout the set.
Marilyn Manson Setlist Angel With the Scabbed Wings This Is the New Shit Rock Is Dead The Nobodies The Dope Show Kill4Me If I Was Your Vampire / Say10 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Eurythmics cover) Drum Solo Antichrist Superstar The Beautiful People
Rob Zombie took the reigns shortly after.
Zombie stepped on to the platform with John 5 on guitar, Piggy D on bass, and Ginger Fish on drums.
They started their set with “Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown” from Rob’s 2003 album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. The crowd was elated, they screamed out the lyrics in unison. The energy in the venue went from zero to ten in a split second. This was a more intense beginning, each member had diesel flowing through in their veins as they put it all out there from the getgo.
The lighting for this set was another bevy of strobes but favored the red and green spectrums. It an eerie mood and was matched with an onslaught of sinister imagery flashing across multiple large screens making up the backdrop.
Rob jumped and danced and head-banged along the front of the stage on three long risers. The amount of energy this man possessed was invigorating. Piggy D and John 5 were more static in their positioning but their energies were focussed on firing up and down their fretboards.
In all, their set was the true highlight of the night. It was solid from beginning to end and showcased the abilities of each of its members all while being both visually stunning and completely captivating.
It was an impressive display, one that I had missed seeing. I in retrospect the last time I’d seen Rob Zombie was when he played the Pacific Coliseum back in May of 2010 with Alice Cooper. Based on this most recent performance and the reaction from the audience, I think it’s safe to say that Vancouver wants them to return sooner rather than later.
Thank you to both bands and their teams for a wonderful night out.
Rob Zombie Setlist Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown Superbeast Living Dead Girl More Human Than Human (White Zombie song) Get Your Boots On! That’s the End of Rock and Roll In the Age of the Consecrated Vampire We All Get High Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O. Pussy Liquor Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy) Thunder Kiss ’65 (White Zombie song) Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover) Helter Skelter (The Beatles cover)
