The skies were dark and threatening as fans awaited the Slipknot and Marilyn Manson show this past Tuesday evening at the PNC Music Pavillion in Charlotte. I didn’t feel a drop of rain fall from the sky but the lightning lit up the black sky above the venue putting on the best light show of the evening. Due to the proximity of the severe weather, the show had a short weather delay and opening band Of Mice and Men’s set was cut short. After about 45 minutes and the requisite boos and shouts from the audience, it was finally deemed safe to continue.
The lights dimmed and the music began as Marilyn Manson and his band began behind a black curtain. As the curtain dropped, plumes of smoke went off and Manson launched his hour long set with “Angel With The Scabbed Wings” with his back to the audience. There has been a lot of speculation about Manson’s health and mental status due to his unusual (even by Manson standards) behavior at some shows on this tour. But, this night he was on point, belting out all the fan favorites in top form in spite of the humid, sauna like evening. A Manson show isn’t just about the music though as he always goes all out with the theatrical aspect of the show. What was shocking to audiences 20 years ago has now become expected at a Manson show as he had his dagger microphone, walked on stilts, and burned the requisite Bible from his “pulpit.” His band was tight and his set went out without a hitch with the exception of one brief meltdown as Manson seemed annoyed with his stage crew and broke a microphone stand over his knee. It was an enjoyable show laden with all his hits. My only complaint was I would have liked to see more music from his last album “The Pale Emperor” in the setlist as I thought it was some of his best work ever. He closed out his portion of the evening with one of his biggest songs “The Beautiful People” as the fans screamed for more.
A tape played David Bowie’s “Fashion” just before the lights dimmed and the curtains opened to reveal the Slipknot stage set up. It has a real, creepy carnival type feel with strings of lights above, two ramps on each side of the massive drum kit and a huge video display at the rear of the stage. On each side were two towers for turntables and keyboardists and percussionists Chris Fehn and Shawn “Clown” Crahan had rotating kits on each side in the front. The video display was changing images as a tape of “Be Prepared for Hell” played before the band made their appearance and kicked off a solid set with “The Negative One.” The question on everyone’s mind was the health of frontman Corey Taylor who had recently undergone spinal surgery. Fans would soon discover that although his neckbrace somewhat limited his movement on stage, his vocals were not affected at all as he sounded as strong as ever. The band performs like a well oiled machine with guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson pounding out the riffs all night long. Of course, the visual at a Slipknot show are beyond compare with their matching jumpsuits, masks, and so much going on on the stage at once. Clown and Chris are always a sight to behold as they jumped, spun, and pounded the drums as their platforms ascended and descended while rotating around. While many bands have canceled their North Carolina shows to protest the controversial HB2 law aka the “Bathroom Bill,” Slipknot chose to handle it a different way. They partnered with Equality NC, an LGBTQ advocacy group, to provide fans information at the show and also giving fans an opportunity to register to vote. Taylor addressed the crowd about the issue stating that they would handle it like family, from the inside and that hopefully it wouldn’t be an issue the next time they came to play NC. He was brief and got quickly back to the music but his point was made. The band continued to rock the roof off the arena as they put on a show that blew everyone away.
Despite the earlier weather delay, the pulse of the Maggots could definitely be felt throughout the evening as both Slipknot and Marilyn Manson gave Charlotte rock fans an evening to remember.
Slipknot Set List:
The Negative One
Disasterpiece
Eyeless
Skeptic
Before I Forget
Killpop
Dead Memories
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
Pulse of the Maggots
Left Behind
The Devil In I
Wait and Bleed
(sic)
Encore:
Surfacing
Duality
Spit It Out
Marilyn Manson Set List:
Angel With the Scabbed Wings
Disposable Teens
No Reflection
mOBSCENE
Killing Strangers
Irresponsible Hate Anthem
The Dope Show
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Eurythmics Cover)
Antichrist Superstar
The Beautiful People
We would like to thank Kim Shiver from Livenation for her assistance in getting the credentials so we could review the show.
