Marilyn Manson’s Halloween show left the crowd with mixed feelings

“This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.”

Marilyn Manson’s Heaven Upside Down Tour was scheduled to stop by the Hard Rock Live in Orlando in Universal’s CityWalk on All Hallow’s Eve, which meant it was a show I wasn’t going to miss.

The show was set to start at 8 so after parking and getting through the park’s security we arrived at the venue around 7:30. The efficiency of the venue employees getting everybody through a second set of security and into the venue was incredible. I think we were on line for a total of 10 minutes before we were let into the venue.

The first band to take the stage was HO99O9, and I have to say I was not a fan. They’re bass was so loud that it shook the entire venue and made it hard to breathe. The imbalance of their sound levels also made it difficult to hear the rest of the elements of the song. The vocals couldn’t be heard and in the rare moments that they could be, it was nearly impossible to understand what they were saying. While their set was only a half hour long, it felt so much longer because of how difficult the vibrations made it to breathe.

However, while I may not have been a fan of their set or their music, I will say that I did like their message. To summarize, it was pretty much about doing what you love and not letting anybody else’s opinions or judgements get in the way.

Next up was Marilyn Manson. Before he had even taken the stage he was already pulling a reaction from the crowd; because he was playing the commercial for Meow Cat Food, over and over and over again. This commercial had to have played at least ten or eleven times in a row. At first I found it funny that at a Marilyn Manson concert an ad for cat food was playing, but after a while everybody started to grow annoyed. Which only made the start of his set that much better because everybody was not only excited to see him, but they were relieved that the cat food commercial wasn’t playing anymore.

Right off the bat it was clear to tell that Manson wasn’t okay. He was wobbly and unstable but that didn’t come as a shock since he has been known to perform under the influence. He was still putting on a great show. When he played songs like “The Dope Show”, “This Is The New Sh*t”, and “The Beautiful People” the energy coming off the stage and from the crowd was incredible. It felt like everything you would expect when attending a Marilyn Manson show, minus the insane theatrics.

Throughout his set, though, he kept took about four or five long breaks where the band would leave with him and the stage would be completely black.

At around 10:20 that night he started playing “The Beautiful People” which meant he was playing it in the middle of his set or he was about to leave to do an encore. After he finished the song he left the stage again, meaning he was about to do his encore.

After what appeared to be him falling off the tall podium he performs on and playing his cover of “Cry Little Sister”, he abruptly ended the show. I caught a glimpse of the set list as we were leaving and it was clear that he still had about four or five songs left of the set, considering he was supposed to play until 11:00 but ended the show just after 10:30.

Most people left there with mixed feelings. When I asked my friend, who I attended the show with, how she felt after leaving, she said:

“I was happy and amazed because it was Marilyn Manson but also left longing and a bit unsatisfied.”

While it was still an amazing show because the songs he did perform he put his all into, it felt like we were cheated of the rest of the performance. Most of his main songs that fans come to hear live were cut from the set and when the lights came on we found ourselves asking if it was really over.

Honestly, I was expecting more from Manson, especially considering it was a sold out show on Halloween night. He is known for his theatrics and transporting his crowd into an entirely new world during his shows; but there wasn’t much of either. He still put on a good show but the bar wasn’t met for the expectations that came with it.

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