“Twins of Evil”
On October 17th, I finally got to experience a concert that has been on my bucket list for two years already – I got to see Marilyn Manson live. On top of that, I saw Rob Zombie perform the same night. As soon as I heard about the “Twins of Evil” tour, I knew I had to find a way to go to the show. Unfortunately, my friend who I’m used to going to concerts with moved upstate, so I found a way around convincing my boyfriend to come along (although the only music he really likes is RnB – quite a contrast to what he was used to).
The first time I actually heard of Marilyn Manson, I was still in elementary school. I remember him show up in a magazine, and his sole appearance was very intimidating. He was a complete contrast to what I was used to seeing – at least on a man. He had long hair, make up, very extravagant clothes – basically he seemed the definition of what the society thinks of at the word “freak”. Overall, I wasn’t particularly interested in hearing his music – until about two years ago. My best friend re-introduced me to him after showing me a few songs, which is when I realized the poetic quality of his songs. What surprised me most of all were the subtle political messages in some of his work, as well as his excellence in the art of painting. I quickly learned to appreciate his clever work – he used an image in order to gain attention, recognition, and generate shock that he then translated into a way to express his message, which could sometimes be no different than any other artist’s lyrics, and then other times be very passionately expressing concern or criticism of the society today. I even read his autobiography, which really dug deep into his mind and past, in order to explain why he presents himself the way he does.
When I left for the show, I knew I would never get close to the stage, so I decided not to bring my camera. Over time, I learned that bringing a camera to a concert distracts the audience from the true concert experience. It’s always better to go with least amount of things as possible – keys, metro card, and some money is enough. (Funnily enough, Rob Zombie, at one point, asked the audience to take one last picture of him and then put away their cellphones and enjoy the rest of the show.)
I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect of the show itself – I’ve never been to one similar to the Twins of Evil. Manson was the first one to perform, and he included both his better known and newer songs. I perceived him to be more poetic of the two, while Rob Zombie was more focused on the entire performance and entertaining the crowd. Although Manson’s part of the performance included a lot of play on lighting and confetti, Zombie included a series of rated-R material on the screens set above the stage, and even had a huge devil doll dancing around the stage. Although overall I have a preference towards Marilyn Manson, I did think that Rob Zombie put more effort and made a better show. Manson’s voice sounded a bit run-down which is something that was bothering me a bit throughout his performance, but I guess it’s something that should be blamed on the amount of drugs the man has taken throughout his life. Zombie seemed far more full of life (in contrast to his name), and really delivered from start to finish (he also had a great band of musician behind him, some of which were previously in Marilyn Manson before joining Rob Zombie, such as John 5 who is a truly amazing guitarist), keeping the crowd going until the very last second. Overall, I’m happy that I saw the show, as it was unforgettable and a type of show I really wasn’t used to – a sentiment my boyfriend agreed on. It was definitely something new and I don’t regret paying 80 bucks for it. I just hope Marilyn Manson depicts the energy he used to be full of next time he comes to New York.
Posted: October 24th, 2012 under Reviews.
