What greeted us as we got ready for the last band of the festival, Marilyn Manson, was the Black Stage completely covered by a large curtain.
Instantly, this got me thinking of what kind of stage equipment they were hiding behind it, and thoughts went out images from shows I had seen recorded on the Antichrist Superstar tour which included stilts and other elaborate things. Try and guess my disappointment as it turned out the only thing the curtain was hiding, was the fact that some of the musicians, including Mr. Manson himself, was wearing hats.
Was this all the shock-rocker had been reduced to, I thought to myself…

No, as it turned out it wasn’t.
Marilyn Manson’s music has not meant anything to me for the longest time, so it was exclusively the show I had shown up for; and little by little show actually revealed itself. Not as one complete story, but rather as individual short stories with each song. Like the time he made fun of his own stardom in The Dope Show as he was followed around by large spotlights on the stage, or when he was placed inside a giant plastic cage and confetti rained down from the ceiling. Another fun feature came towards the end of the show, as Manson and guitarist Twiggy Ramirez (a.k.a. Jeordie White) changed instruments with each other.
I could go on, but a better and more interesting way to experience such a show would be to try and see it if it comes by somewhere in your vicinity.

It was clear to see that this was one of the most anticipated shows for the entire festival, as we finally got a taste of the extreme pressure of people the likes I hadn’t felt all day. Even the adjacent bridge was filled to the brim with people wanting to get a glimpse of the show. A good reference as to how wild it was, was when I could feel the ground beneath my feet move as everyone jumped along to the music.
Although a lot of music has been released by the band, it was still the old classics like Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) and the ending song The Beautiful People which got the best response.

After getting over my initial disappointment and the fact that I didn’t know that many of the songs, the show actually began to grow a little on me. I still feel that the charismatic frontman is a bit of a joke (the man had to have two helpers dry him of and give him oxygen between each and every song), but as a band and a live-act they can be entertaining when they want to.