As the house light’s cut out, David Bowie’s “Fashion” was pumping through the house PA, riling up the crowd at the sold-out show at the House of Blues on February 12 – before the solid-black curtain dropped in front of the stage that revealed Marilyn Manson and his bandmates. In support of their latest release, Heaven Upside Down, Manson and Co., drenched in either blue lights or strobe lights – tore into the blistering “Reflecting God” and the hypnotic “Deep Six”. The crowd, mostly dressed in black from head to toe, went all in – as they sang along with Manson while waving their devil horns in the air.
Ultimately, Manson was a man of few words. Clad in black and facepaint, he and his band brought less shock and more rock as they churned out one industrial, glam-infused, hard-rock punch to the gut after another. Under the strobes and in front of a mixed-media backdrop, Manson delighted his fans with favorites that included the unnerving “mOBSCENE” while circling the stage in a motorized wheelchair. Later, for the first wardrobe change, Manson wore a full-length, black-feathered overcoat, which he removed mid-song before lighting up and playfully smoked a cigarette (or was it a joint?) during the sarcastic “Dope Show”. His fans enjoyed every nuance of the act. Manson was later seen swinging a hand-held lamp, the size of a beer mug over and around his head during a captivating cover of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” which demonstrated that his vocal abilities have not suffered over the years. After chugging through the end of the regular set, that include the call and response “Say 10” and the “Nobodies”, Manson literally dropped the mic and slipped offstage.
Fans had patiently waited through the three-minute break, for the climactic encore of Manson’s biggest hit, “The Beautiful People”. Mid-song, Manson stopped the music to ask the audience, “Boston. Are you ready to fuck shit up?” His question was met with a resounding round of cheers and applause. From there, Manson whipped his band back into a scorching reprise of “People” before leaving the stage for the last time. Clearly recovering from his unfortunate stage-prop mishap last year and his broken leg, Manson worked through any discomfort and rallied for another fun romp in Beantown.
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Read some reviews of his lackluster show @ The Paramount in NY . Was a major letdown.