Concert Review: Marilyn Manson Verizon Wireless Ampitheater 10/05/12

I have been a fan of Marilyn Manson for a very long time. I saw, then, them at Mississippi Nights on the Smells Like Children Tour in 1995, at least I think it was 1995. Well, in the seventeen long years since that show, the them has morphed into a him. At that point, there were two replacement members in the band already, Twiggy Ramirez and Ginger Fish.

Now there are no original members in the band, and only Marilyn and Twiggy have the band's iconic Serial Killer and Sex Symbol names, but Mr. Manson is still making music, and apparently still touring. As I had the opportunity to see his show at the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater, I definitely made sure I was there.

Now, let me say, this was a Twins of Evil Tour date with Rob Zombie, but I did not stay for the Zombie set. This was the only time I have ever been cold in St. Louis's premier outdoor concert venue. About a year before this show, I saw mc chris in Columbia, MO and it was a hundred degrees that day. This year, it was about 38 and hailing. While we were finishing our very healthy meal before heading into the show, pea sized chunks of hail started pelting my windshield in the middle of a frigid torrential downpour.

Review: "God Told Me To" by John 5

God Told Me To

Once I started playing guitar again, I rediscovered my love of a few things: death metal, instrumental guitar, and Guitar World. This John 5 album really touches on all of those things.

He plays bone crunching metal, all of his solo records are instrumental, and I read about this album in Guitar World.

John 5 is more than just a virtuoso guitar player. He is one of the most important players of our time, but almost no one has heard of him. His two most prominent gigs are as a sideman for Rob Zombie (current) and Marilyn Manson (past).

He has also recorded two albums with David Lee Roth under his given name John Lowery. He's recorded an album with Rob Halford and more. I know this makes him sound like he's a metal guitarist and nothing more, but he's also recorded for KD Lang, and many others. As a young player, his goal was to be a session player California. Well he's achieved that and more.

Review: "Born Villain" by Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson is back this year with "Born Villain." I don't know why precisely, but I bought it. I'm not the biggest fan of his (formerly theirs) anymore. Before this album, I only had "Portrait of an American Family" and "Lest We Forget." I hadn't listened to an entire studio album since the debut record.

Aside from Mr. Manson, the entire band was different on the current release than that one. Twiggy Ramirez, who was a member of the band when "Portrait of an American Family" was released, but not when it was recorded is playing guitar on this album, apart from that, he had also spent time away from the band. On a side note, I always think back to Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster" documentary when we was auditioning for the spot that Jason Newsted had recently abdicated and I really liked the way he sounded playing "For Whom the Bell Tolls," but I digress. It is rather strange seeing that the majority of the line up on this album doesn't have the sex symbol/serial killer stage name. I suppose now, what was once a band, is truly a solo singer and his back up band...