Marilyn Manson re-energized
Marilyn Manson wore a new accessory at the sold-out Eagles Ballroom at the Rave Saturday — an orthopedic walking boot.
Last September, Manson was performing at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York when he attempted to climb a podium on stage brandishing two pistols, causing it to tip over and fall on him. The concert was cut short, Manson was sent to the hospital, and he postponed multiple dates of his fall tour, including the Milwaukee show scheduled for Oct. 1.
But a zealous Manson Saturday appeared unphased by the frightening ordeal — that same platform was still part of the backdrop. Nor was he terribly restricted, even dropping down to his knees on a few occasions. He stayed seated for only one song in its entirety — his signature cover of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — and, admittedly, the presentation, with Manson clutching a lone light, and two roadies in surgical scrubs staring motionless at him on either side, became a bit stagnant.
Otherwise, when he needed to get off his feet, Manson returned to a Gothic throne that was outfitted with moving wheels, and Manson seemed to have a lot of fun operating its joystick and roaming around.
Actually, Saturday’s show was a vast improvement over the last Manson show I saw at the Rave in 2013, when he performed a scant 66 minutes. His set went a full 90 Saturday — still not terribly long for an artist with 10 fulllength albums, but an improvement nonetheless.
Since that earlier show, he’s also had a bit of a bounce back, with two well-received albums, “The Pale Emperor” in 2015 and last year’s “Heaven Upside Down,” and in terms of mosh-pit appeal, some of those songs were as effective as any of the greatest hits.
Throughout the set’s 14 songs, Manson flowed from simmering snarl to screaming intensity with consistent conviction. And unlike that 2013 show, which squeezed in some unintentionally laughable costumes and underwhelming “edgy” set pieces and props, Manson Saturday wasn’t as hellbent on gimmicks and shock factor.
There was the platform and that throne, a large photo backdrop and theatrical lighting (largely white and red), and while the stage set-up was simpler compared to Manson’s show five years back, it was more effective.
The most shocking thing about Saturday’s show was seeing Manson’s soft side. About halfway through the set, he noticed a boy (age 12, perhaps) in the middle of the masses, and asked security to put him in the photo pit at the foot of the stage in front of the barricade, where he would be protected from any pushing.
But beyond protecting his young fan and granting him an unobstructed front-row seat, Manson gave him the mic to sing parts of “Revelation #12,” and then for the finale, brought him on stage to sing “The Beautiful People” by his side.
It was clear as Manson walked off the stage that the moment put a little spring in his step.