With more costume changes than Britney Spears, Marilyn Manson returned to D.C. for the first time in more than a year Saturday night at the 9:30 club. Despite his history of clashes with the religious right and various political figures, the shock rocker had very little to say about the election or our president. In fact, Manson had little to say in general; he came to rock, not preach.
What Manson lacked in witty banter he made up in the quality and choice of his set list. Reaching as far back into his catalog as "Portrait of An American Family," he began the show with his creepy rendition of "The Rowing Song" from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," which then led into an extremely loud version of "Get Your Gunn" (also from "Portrait").
Manson played songs from all of his albums, but the ones most favored by the crowd were from his three best, "Smells Like Children," "Anti-Christ Superstar" and "Mechanical Animals." The loudest responses of the evening came when Manson delivered the songs that made him so famous (and controversial): his cover of the Eurhythmics' "Sweet Dreams" and "The Beautiful People." Other standout songs were "mOBSCENE," off the "Golden Age of the Grotesque" album, "Dope Show" and "Personal Jesus" - a cover of the Depeche Mode song.
However, a lot of the onstage antics that made Manson so hated and feared by some - ripping up copies of the Bible, cutting himself with broken glass, long rants against religion and walking around mostly nude - were absent from Saturday night's performance. There were no pyrotechnics, intricate lighting schemes or flashing images of Christ behind him; in fact, there wasn't much of what one might expect at a Marilyn Manson show. Though he did simulate masturbation a few times, and the good old stilts and arm braces were brought out for "Tourniquet," Manson mostly let the music speak for itself.
This is not to say that Manson has lost his touch as a showman; rather, he seemed more focused on delivering good rock music than shocking anybody in the crowd. This might have been for a very good reason: Rather than a sea of angst-ridden teens, the crowd was mostly made up of people in their 20s, who had presumably already gone through their angst phases. But there were some audience members of more advanced years who seemed to not quite have given up all that angst just yet. Most of the hardest moshers and interestingly dressed attendees were of the older age set.
The very diverse crowd (which is to say, lots of different kinds of white people) and Manson's tamer stage show are indicative of the way time changes people. But the trade-off in this situation is that Manson's performance, with its emphasis on music rather than shock value, was better than it has been in years. His voice sounded strong and clear, and the band, which is basically just a back-up at this point, played well without drowning him out. Let it be quite clear, however: The show was as loud as it could have possibly been without deafening everyone in attendance. Maybe just a few people.
With the current pop music scene, Marilyn Manson back on his stilts is a nice sight for sore eyes. Even if he is in slightly less shocking form, Manson can still kick Ryan Cabrerra's butt any day of the week. And who wouldn't pay to see that?
Eagle staff writer Alanna Schubach contributed to this review.
