Marilyn Manson hit London's Brixton Academy last night for a one-off show in the wake of the Sonisphere festival cancellation. Gigwise went along to check it out...
Marilyn Manson fans are easy to spot. The road outside Brixton tube station is full to the brim with people in black lipstick. Always a figure that polarises opinion, the people who love Marilyn Manson REALLY love Marilyn Manson, and they're out in force.
Inside the venue, Italian goth-metal stalwarts Lacuna Coil have got everything nice and warm, with their own brand of crowd-pleasing dual-vocalled melodic metal.
As they make their exit, a huge black curtain is hoisted in front of the stage, complete with floodlights beaming down from on high. The intrigue grows - until sharp bursts of light throw the immediately recognisable silhouette of Twiggy Ramirez onto the black fabric. With a crash, the curtain falls to reveal... A very modest stage set.
The band hammer through a setlist heavy with tracks from this year's new album "Born Villain" - and they're greeted by a sea of mobile phones held aloft. If you want to see what it was like, check YouTube - because presumably there are going to be a lot of bad videos up there today.
Disposable Teens gets the first big crowd reaction, and it seems like the band have decided to let the music do the talking. The costume changes, the set pieces and the stage dressing all seem relatively subdued. The music, however, is tight - and Manson is in fine voice.
The material is a split between the new album, and the Antichrist / Animals / Holy Wood trilogy, and it all sounds fantastic. The drums are pounding, the guitars abrasive, and the new songs stand up very well alongside the old classics. We get the Manson cover versions of Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus' and Eurythmic's 'Sweet Dreams' - and the crowd are into every second.
And then, with a shattering version of 'The Beautiful People', it's all over.
It's a solid show, but the sedate staging is a shame. Marilyn Manson is all about the experience - the costumes, the stage sets, the effects, the pyro. Tonight's show is good - but it doesn't quite have the "wow" factor we've seen from the band before.
