The Twins of Evil Tour kicked off their Atlanta, GA show promptly at 7:00 p.m. at Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheatre. The crowd was out in full force, with a lot of good energy and were pretty excited to watch the spectacle of two titans of horror rock: Marilyn Manson & Rob Zombie.
When opening act DJ Starscream (Sid Wilson of Slipknot) walked out on stage wearing a full Transformers mask, along with two guys in faceplates and hoodies, we knew we were in for a treat. Except, we weren’t… by the time the opening act was done, any energy in the crowd had been completely sapped. As we watched restlessly, Wilson spent the better part of an hour fiddling with his equipment and looking progressively more confused. I’m not sure if he was having actual technical problems or just a basic unfamiliarity with his gear. Either way, it was a lackluster performance and a huge disappointment to anyone who bought their tickets when DJ J Devil (Jonathan Davis of Korn) was initially holding that spot.
Next up was Marilyn Manson who gave an adequately entertaining performance, running through a predictable list of his better known material and making wardrobe changes after each song. When not dry humping the risers, he occasionally got close enough to the crowd to touch a few hands and hold the mic out for some audience participation.
Initially, it felt like the crowd was more into the performance than Manson himself, though he seemed to warm up a bit about halfway into the set as the song’s energy picked up. I’m not sure what chemicals were coursing through his veins that night, but he seemed fairly amused and in good spirits, often chuckling to himself while delivering his chatter to the crowd. Whatever the case, he’s still a parody of excess, and a victim of his own success. Once he finally hits maximum density, and he’s not far off, we’ll all nod knowingly when he Elvis’ on his obsidian crapper.
Demonstrating the true difference between merely “being entertaining,” and being a “professional motherfucking entertainer,” Rob Zombie stormed the stage dressed for battle and took the crowd by the balls, unleashing a sonic and visual assault of all his greatest songs.
Here are some badass pictures of Zombie taken by RockRevolt™ Photo Editor, Josh Rienecke, who captured exactly what I’m talking about Rob’s performance perfectly here…
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The entire stage was a tribute to monster movies, Halloween and vintage era horror, with multiple video monitors cycling incredibly imagery during the entire set. Zombie ran, jumped, gyrated and threw a few kicks that would have made Chuck Norris proud. He never fucking stopped, for 15 straight songs, through multiple huge set pieces… he just kept going and going and going like a zombified Energizer Bunny!
Review: Chris Williams, Journalist – RockRevolt™Magazine
Photos: Josh Rienecke, Photo Editor – RockRevolt™Magazine
ZOMBIE SETLIST 1. Jesus Frankenstein 2. Superbeast 3. Meet the Creeper 4. Living Dead Girl 5. More Human Than Human 6. Mars Needs Women 7. Drum Solo 8. Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy) 9. Sick Bubble-Gum 10. Scum of the Earth 11. Pussy Liquor 12. Thunder Kiss ’65 13. Guitar Solo 14. School’s Out 15. Dragula MANSON SETLIST 1. Hey, Cruel World… 2. Disposable Teens 3. The Love Song 4. No Reflection 5. MOBSCENE 6. The Dope Show 7. Slo-Mo-Tion 8. Rock Is Dead 9. Personal Jesus 10. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) 11. Coma White 12. King Kill 33° 13. Antichrist Superstar 14. The Beautiful People
