There’s much excitement in the air tonight as six thousand people pack the corridors of the Entertainment Centre waiting for the doors to open (which eventually happens almost an hour late). The Spazzys, supporting Marilyn Manson on his fourth tour of Australia, open with a string of recognisable songs from their album, as well as a few new ones. Of course, the crowd has come to see one man in particular, but the Spazzys take it all with good humour (trying to elicit a response with statements such as ‘This next song’s called My Parents Don’t Understand Me so I’m Going to My Room to Cut Myself’).

After a long wait (and the smoke machines continually filling the room), Marilyn Manson graces the stage, opening with the track I am Your Vampire from his latest album. No less than four tracks from the latest release are played throughout the night, including Heart-Shaped Glasses (which is greeted with much excitement from the audience).

Although a lot of focus was given to the new album, followers of Manson’s older music were not left disappointed. Something was played from every album, with a surprisingly high number of songs coming from Antichrist Superstar, including the title track (played out in the usual style complete with altar and bible), single Tourniquet, and The Reflecting God (a regular inclusion in the set list since the Dead to the World live video of 1998).

The almost ‘greatest hits’ style show also included singles The Dope Show and Rock is Dead from Mechanical Animals, Disposable Teens and Fight Song from Holy Wood, and mOBSCENE from The Golden Age of Grotesque. Also included was old favourite Sweet Dreams which, instead of the usual outro, ended with elements of Lunchbox (from the debut 1994 release Portrait of an American Family). Predictably, the evening was capped off with the song that catapulted Manson into fame in 1997, The Beautiful People.

Although some of the magic has been lost since the departure of long-time band members (with only long-serving drummer Ginger Fish remaining), Manson still manages to put on an entertaining performance with more than enough theatrics to hold one’s attention for 75+ minutes. Having seen Manson twice in my younger days (way back when I would have been inclined to call myself a fan), I can confidently say that he still possesses the ability to captivate the masses, whether or not you follow his music or not. If anything, it’s pretty good fun.