I have seen a few concerts in my day and at this point in my life it has become increasingly tougher for me to be thoroughly entertained by most live performances. After seeing so many concerts, I have decided that there are essentially three ways a band can put on a really good live show: 1. Play super hard and enthusiastic, 2. Be really tight and accurate musically, 3. Have so much attitude and stage theatrics that it’s hard not to be mesmerized.
Rob Zombie’s performance falls under all of these categories. I have seen Mr. Zombie now three times and each time it has been addicting and awe inspiring. My fandom for all things Rob Zombie began back in Junior High when I discovered the extremely intense Astro-Creep: 2000, the second album from Zombie’s first band White Zombie. When I first bought this album I remember thinking that I was going to go to hell for listening to it and at the time thought it was some of the most evil sounding music I had ever heard. I have since become desensitized in my older age, but Astro-Creep still holds a special place in my heart. Since my initial journey into the darkness I have 
pretty much been obsessed with Rob Zombie, while his solo albums do not quite match the awesomeness of White Zombie, they are still very good. But, the thing that has put Rob Zombie on the upper echelon of coolness for me, are his movies which are super brutal, gory, and gritty He has honestly put out four of the best horror films in the past decade and in my opinion all new horror movies that come out are now compared to his.
Now to the point, I was super stoked when I saw that Zombie was going
to be playing USANA again this fall (he played around the same time and place two years ago with Alice Cooper. Awesome show.) But, this time he was bringing Marilyn Manson, which was an added bonus, because I had never seen Manson live.
I was honestly excited to see Manson. During my Junior High and early High School days Marilyn Manson had kind of held this dark curiosity with everyone, especially in Utah where he was famous for tearing up the Book of Mormon while on stage with Nine Inch Nails, because someone somehow banned him from opening up for NIN during that same show. Needless to say he was banned for even longer after that stunt. Recently Manson has been allowed back to Utah and according to Isaac, he put on a pretty good show back in 2008, but only after making the crowd wait for three hours for him to come on stage.
So my expectations where high but, I was wary that his show might be more shock and shenanigans than bad ass performance. But, what 
Manson and his band actually ended up producing was a tired watered down parody of what he used to be. Now don’t get me wrong the music was tight and the drums were loud, but it was obvious from the get go that the band was playing to a backing track and that Manson himself had lost a step.
While I did enjoy watching Manson parade around the stage dressed up as the Pope and hearing his inappropriate banter back and forth with the crowd, I was really hoping for something a lot darker and energetic. His performance might have been a bit limited due to the fact that that it was not a sole headlining slot for him, but while Manson’s voice was strong and spot on, he along with his band seemed really ambivalent about their show all together.
Next up was Rob Zombie and although I am a bit biased, his 
performance was by far and away the highlight of the evening. From the opening track “Jesus Frankenstein”, I could tell that the crowd and I were about to get one seriously energetic and theatrical show. While a lot of the songs, videos, and props were similar to his last show; it was still
thoroughly entertaining and no matter how old Zombie seems to get he is still able to run around, yell and swear at the crowd. He and his band were super solid throughout the set, with the highlight being the shredding and masterful guitar playing provided by Manson’s former guitarist John 5.
Zombie and his band seem like they really love what they are doing and were dedicated to putting on the best possible and engaging show
they could. Rob Zombie’s shows are like none other as far as theatrics go, I have never seen a show with as much fire, video and stage creatures as this. It seemed like every song had it’s own theme and giant dancing robot to accompany it, and while it would be super easy for Zombie and his band to hide behind all these gimmicks they are always in the
forefront running around and playing some solid groove / pop metal. Although, I was hoping that the band would have played a bit longer and incorporated more White Zombie songs into their set, this show was still very entertaining and a great way to kick off the month of October and get the Halloween vibe started. And for anyone out there that hasn’t had a chance to see Rob Zombie live, I highly recommend it. Even if your not a huge fan of his music, he will convert you into a fanatic by the time the show is over.
Side Note: It has come out in the past week that Manson is pissed at Zombie for supposedly cutting into his set time. Manson has taken to the stage during his set and called out Zombie, with Zombie in turn retaliating and calling Manson out. I could see why Manson is pissed because he is probably getting sick of being blown off the stage every night by Zombie. Manson has never been one to share attention with others and it is probably becoming apparent to him that he is clearly the inferior act on this tour. But, it is insanely kindergarten-ish for both to be ranting and threatening each other on stage. When they could just as easily throw down some fisticuffs backstage Celebrity Deathmatch style. I always wonder if stuff like this is a publicity stunt. Either way Manson needs to chill out and step his game up.
For more awesome videos of the show check out our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/BeardedGMusic/videos?flow=grid&view=0