Marilyn Manson

There's two ways you can approach this gig from the former God of the Underworld, The King of the Debased and the man who still has to spend three hours removing his make-up before going to sleep each night. On the one hand, Marilyn Manson is a consummate performer. He knows exactly what his black-clad, pierced, alienated audience want and he delivers it in earnest. He swears gratuitously, he smashes things about, he spits drinks on people, he screams about sex, death, suicide and all those other things they don't show you on 'Hi-5.'

The music is entertaining in parts, painful in others, and pointless in a few more. Honest to god, there are a few songs which sound like having radio static fed through a blender with the girl from Texas Chainsaw Massacre screaming over the top - that tuneful. What's most revealing about this gig is that Manson hasn't actually produced anything remotely satisfying musically for years. As an artist and social critic, he's brilliant. But as a band, Marilyn Manson are kind of like Korn, Limp Bizkit and all those other bands huge in the 1990s who just refuse to die.

And here's the other way you can look at it; Manson is a spoilt child with far too much money and not enough ideas. It's funny to see someone throw a mic stand around, but as a musician, seeing and hearing five actual microphones being smashed on the floor in succession makes you wince. One hopes Manson actually owns all the gear he so wilfully destroys, because for an intelligent guy, he really has not an ounce of respect for anyone; not his fellow band members, his tech-guys or the minions who rush to clean up after his blazes of destruction every 3 seconds. Yeah, it's all part of the act. We all know from 'Bowling For Columbine' and 'The O'Reilly Factor' that Manson isn't actually nuts at all, but rather very smart and with a deliberately provocative modus operandi. However, he's not shocking anymore.

His songs - the ones that are decent - have become canonised and are no longer confrontational. The Beautiful People, Mobscene and The Dope Show are about as scary as a Nirvana B-side these days. When that happens, it's usually time to hang up the lipstick and do something productive with your life. But Manson ploughs, taking his band of movie-star/serial killers with him and nearly two decades after he began, there are still enough jaded kids to fill any venue he wants to play.

Take from it what you will. For my money, I'd prefer to see him hosting a music talk show.

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