The Forum
Los Angeles, CA
March 14, 1999
Updated: Wed Mar 17, 1999
Reviews
Variety (thanks Emmet):
Rock hits nadir with Hole, Manson combo
Marilyn Manson; Hole (Forum; 14,927 capacity; $35) By Troy J. Augusto
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Anticipated as an evening of high drama, this pairing of the most antagonistic and self-absorbed characters in all of pop music ultimately crashed and burned.
First, Hole chose to end its involvement in the two-week-old U.S. tour, which was supposed to run through the spring, with Sunday's Forum show, and second, an injury to Marilyn Manson 35 minutes into the gig has led to the postponement of at least three concerts.
Hole presented its music with more vigor and authority than in many of the band's past L.A. gigs, as the members worked hard to win over a partisan crowd of mostly male Manson supporters. ``You'll get your burning crosses,'' singer Courtney Love told the crowd, referring to one of Manson's stage stunts.
Indeed, a cross made of video screens bearing the band's name was set on fire following a sinister cover of the Eurythmics' ``Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).'' It elicited howls of pleasure from the young audience.
Manson, barely dressed in a see-through black nylon bodysuit, wandered about the stage on stilts during ``Mechanical Animals,'' the title track from his latest Interscope album. Perhaps he should have stayed on the stilts: on the next song, ``Rock Is Dead,'' Manson jumped from a side platform, appeared to trip over a piece of equipment and landed hard on the floor, where he remained in a fetal position while his bandmates finished the song.
An announcement of ``technical difficulties'' was made after about five minutes of darkness and silence; it was followed with, ``We will be unable to continue with the show due to a major injury to our artist,'' revealed later to be a sprained ankle. Shows this week in San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix, which supposedly were going to take place with only Manson and opener Monster Magnet on the bill, have now been postponed.
Sadly, none of those shows would feature Hole, who impressed with an aggressive, punk-tinged set of songs, mostly from the band's two DGC albums, highlighted by opener ``Violet'' and an encore performance of acoustic ``Northern Star,'' a tribute to Love's late husband, Nirvana singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain. A surprise acoustic version of the Beatles' ``You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'' suffered from Love's limited vocal skill.
The show was punctuated by the usual Love comments as she took aim at the media (repeatedly and cryptically urging the crowd to ``stop reading magazines'') and Manson, whose music she dismissed. ``I just don't want to deal,'' she said as a way to explain her band's exit from the tour.
Presented by Universal Concerts/Bill Silva/KROQ. Bands: (MM) Manson, Twiggy Ramirez, Ginger Fish, John 5, Pogo; (H) Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf de Mar, Patty Schemel (this MUST be a MISTAKE!). Reviewed March 14, 1999.
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