Gig review: Marilyn Manson @ Academy 1, Manchester (From Blackpool Citizen)

Gig review: Marilyn Manson @ Academy 1, Manchester

5:25pm Thursday 17th December 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

MUSIC’S self-confessed anti-hero came, entertained and went without delivering the shock factor we have come to love/hate at his concerts.

The shock and controversy was most definitely missing from Marilyn Manson’s gig at the Academy this week.

The American industrial rockers are in the middle of their first UK tour since the release of The High End Of Low earlier this year.

Despite his absence from the music scene in recent years, Manson’s popularity has not faded, with demand leading to a second London show being announced as part of the tour.

Maybe he is fed up of being blamed for the world’s ills, or has come to realise that years of angering the “righteous” has achieved his ultimate PR goal.

Or is there anything left he can do to shock? The protests only a few years ago would seem outdated today. Would Manson ever be able to generate such an outcry again or would he simply be transformed into a figure of ridicule?

So whatever the reason, what he didn’t fail to do was deliver a spectacular theatrical stage show, proving his career as an entertainer is far from over.

Judging by the ages of the crowd, his popularity is growing, considering the industrial rockers have been away from the scene for a while.

And he didn’t stop: shouting out Sweet Dreams, The Dope Show and many more.

He didn’t disappoint, with his many costume changes. He left fans, who like the singer were more sedate, wanting more.

Manson today is a little cooler, more of an entertainer rather than a figure of controversy, but still someone who has it in him to flip out, scream the tunes, play the showman and rouse the crowd.

The promoters promised a vivid stage show would be a highly entertaining, audio-visual experience and it was.

Saiqa Chaudhari

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)