Rock concerts have become an endangered species these days - guitar amps keep getting smaller and so do the audiences. But last Wednesday, Hole and Marilyn Manson rocked the mullets off an almost packed house at the Key Arena.

At the start of Manson's set, the faux Paul from the Wonder Years was hydraulically lifted onto the stage on a cross made of TV sets. Manson looked like a gay road warrior - he wore a mesh body suit with feathery shoulder pads and a g-string. At the end of the first song, he pointed at the cross and it burst into flames. Manson then changed into a silver outfit, but he must have felt too covered up because he kept dropping his trousers to show off his buns. And let me tell you, he has nice buns.

During the next song he attached stilts to his legs and moved around the stage like those giant walking animals from the Dark Crystal. Then he dressed up like a neo-fascist and ripped the pages out of a Bible. It was shocking.

Whenever Manson walked near the front of the stage he was attacked by volleys of spit. I doubt the security guards were prepared for this kind of crowd participation.

Manson is also very pro-drug. He gave a speech about how he prayed to God asking for advice about drugs and God responded, "Marilyn Manson, Jesus Christ invented cocaine." You heard it here first folks. I'm sure when this news gets out it will turn the religious community upside-down.

Courtney Love, on the proverbial other hand, is the people's rock star. Even though Love is perceived by the world to be an obnoxious primadonna, anyone that sees her live knows that she's still one of us. She communicates with the crowd instead of just yelling rock clichés at them. Someone threw a flannel on-stage and she laughed and said, "Come on, its 1999. Get over it." She even invited two people from the front row onstage to watch.

At the concert, Love announced that she was sick of L.A. and would be moving back to Seattle. Personally, I think we could use a few more people like Courtney Love. I'm tired of Dale Chihuly and Susan Powter being our biggest local celebrities. Seattle is slowly transforming from a rock 'n' roll hot spot to the nerd capitol of the world. Maybe Love can liven things up a bit.
 
 
 

Jason Boyd
The Daily, March 11, 1999