Marilyn Manson – Myth – Maplewood MN – January 31st 2018

Marilyn Manson brought his Heaven Upside Down tour to The Myth in Maplewood, Minnesota on January 31, 2018.  It was a cold welcoming, with temperatures well below zero, but that didn’t seem to phase the sold out crowd.  I remember Manson once spoke in an interview about how much the Midwest loves him, and heavy metal in general, and this was certainly the case that night.

To preface, Manson did a meet and greet package earlier in the day and I thought that what he did was pretty cool.  Rather than having something signed or taking a photo with people with their phones, he had Polaroids taken with people and would then sign their Polaroid.  I love this concept.  Not only because it’s just a lot more fun than what has now become a traditional way of doing meet and greets, but those Polaroids with Manson in them give us the feel of when he first toured.  It looks like the ’90s in the photos, due to the lower quality of film, back when all of this started.

I’m a huge Manson fan.  I loved following him around in the ’90s and early 2000’s.  However, I’m not going to lie and say I love everything he has ever created because I don’t.  If you know Manson, you know that his albums certainly have different feels to them.  I love the “Portrait of an American Family” sound, as well as everything released up to “The High End of Low”, despite how much his sound changed between those albums.  Hearing him sing “Get Your Gunn” live is such a treat to me.  It sounds so raw.  However, anyone who has followed him knows that not only do those albums sound different, his live shows have changed.

Now, I’m not going to be one of those jerks that doesn’t recognize that age doesn’t take it’s toll.  I long for those Manson shows where he is just all over the place on stilts and running around like a crazy man all over the stage.  But that’s just not what we’re going to see these days.  That doesn’t mean this show didn’t rock, because for what it was, it really did.  Manson had recently been hurt onstage and was in a wheelchair for a number of previous performances.  He had a boot on at the concert and still did a wonderful job.  He came onstage dressed in a suit with his well known white makeup, opening with “The Reflecting God”.  I’m still of the belief that “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” is the best Manson song to open his shows with (it’s so energetic), so this was a bit different.  The show was a mix of songs from the new album, as well as his past.  “Lunchbox” was on his written setlist, but the didn’t play it, unfortunately.  He’s reached that point where he has enough albums that he’s just not going to play enough at shows for people because there is just too much work to cover.

This show was far better than many of the shows he has done in Minnesota in the last few years, in my opinion.  It says a lot to me when a performer is injured and is able to still pull off a good show, rather than use it as an excuse.  His first encore was “The Nobodies”, the song about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.  If you didn’t know that little fact, go back and listen to the lyrics again.  You’ll see why I consider it a terribly sad song to use as an encore.  I’m not a fan of downers as encores, regardless of how much I actually love this song.  To brighten it up a bit and let everyone leave on a high note, he, of course, played “The Beautiful People”.

If Manson decided to continue to tour for years to come, I hope he ups it a little bit.  He did a great job at this show, but those of us who watched him for years know he can do way better.  Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable show and Minnesota is eager to see him again.