Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, The Hu and Orgy @ Darien Lake PAC, Darien, NY 8-30-26

What this summer needed was a good kick in the ass and Darien Lake PAC provided that this past Sunday night. Rob Zombie, Marilyn Mansona, The Hu and Orgy provided that kick. A whopping 15,000 plus crowd came to see the Freaks on Parade tour. This is the 4^th installment where both Zombie and Mason have teamed together to tour and the first since 2019.

First up was electronic rock band Orgy. Orgy hasn’t released a full-length album in over 20 years. Instead, they been following the more modern approach of releasing an occasional single here and there over the last decade or so. The band is still led by co-founder and vocalist Jay Gordon. Their 30-minute set consisted of both originals and a few covers scattered in. They ended up finding the show with the New Order song (which they made even more popular) in “Blue Monday.” They incorporated Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Roun” (Like a Record) into it giving it a cool but yet different perspective to the classic song.

Up next was a band from Mongolia called “The Hu.” The band only consists of 4 members, but the band had an additional 4 extra musicians on stage to help fill out their sound. Their 8 song 40-minute set consisted of mostly songs from their latest effort ‘Hun,” that was released in July. Even though they sing in their native tongue, their brand of folk metal went over extremely well with the audience. With 3 studio efforts now under their belts, let’s see what comes of this band going forward.

In the 3^rd slot was Marilyn Manson. Manson has faced a lot of legal battles over the last few years and has not done any public press in quite a while. Even though he is trying to keep a low profile, he continues to unleash new music. He just released ‘One Assassination Under God-Chapter 2’ on August 14, 2026. He opened the show with Exit Wound,” off his latest effort. He told the crowd to hold up their phones to make a beautiful constellation for the song “ ‘Great Big Wide World.” You can tell something was different from Manson right off the bat as he was very focused. He was also very physically fit. In past years, Manson’s shows have shown a high level of erratic behavior. You would never know what you would get. That was not the case on this night. Manson and his band were locked in and delivered on songs like “Front Towards Enemy” and “The Dope Show.” The lights were dimmed as he held a handheld light by his head as he sang The Eurythmics song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” He closed with the crowd pleaser ‘Beautiful People.” Manson has taken the time to get sober, and it shows. One of the best rocks shows that I have seen this year.

Closing the show was the theatrical and energetic Rob Zombie. Zombie also has released new music. His 8^th studio record ‘The Great Satan’ was released back in February of this year. Zombie also had some lineup changes recently as both original members Mike Riggs (guitar) and Blasko (bass) are back in the fold. They are rounded out by newcomer Ryan Goff on drums. If anyone has seen a Zombie show in the past knows of the ever amount of changing stage props. This show was no different. The stage had a 15-foot platform riser with the word ZOMBIE sprawled across it. Zombie stayed on that platform while delivering the opening song “F.T.W. 84.” There were two giant inflatable Satan creatures on each side of the stage. His wife Sherri came out at the beginning of “House of 1000 Corpses” to help get the crowd into it. A white snowstorm of confetti rained down as well. Zombie didn’t stop moving and the theatrics didn’t stop coming. That also included a good amount of pyro being shot off here and there throughout the set. Zombie is known to ensure everything, but the kitchen sink is used for his shows, and that was the case for this show too. Zombie gave everything and he continues to give the audience what they want. Which is to be overly entertained.

To the naysayers, judging by the crowd attendance this past Sunday night, you can be assured that rock is alive and well in Western New York!

Rob Zombie setlist:

F.T.W. 84

Tarantula

Superbeast

The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)

More Human Than Human (White Zombie song)

Scum of the Earth

Well, Everybody’s Fucking a UFO

Living Dead Girl/Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine snippet -James Brown cover)

Heathen Days

Feel So Numb