Review and photos by Robert McDonald
Smashing Pumpkins photos HERE
Marilyn Manson photos HERE
Fans of 90’s music were treated to two of the decade’s biggest names when Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins performed Tuesday at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston. As you can image, this was an interesting pairing that seemed related only by their need to promote a new album.
Marilyn Manson performed first, entering a fog-filled stage, silhouetted with his back to the audience and bookended by large stained glass facades, opening with the electric “Deep Six” from his new album. His set brought all of the energy, props and set changes you would expect and included the usual references to sex, drugs and religion. Highlights included Marilyn Manson wielding a dagger-shaped microphone, stalking the stage in 15-foot stilts during “Sweet Dreams” and rising up to an elevated pulpit wrapped in an American flag during the cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”. For those who came to hear the classics, they were satisfied with hits like “The Dope Show” and “The Beautiful People”. All-in-all a fun performance, but what started with fury, ended with a disappointing whimper with the melodic “Coma White” encore.
Marilyn Manson’s encore might have been an attempt to gently ease the crowd into the second set from Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins. In contrast to the harsh Marilyn Manson stage sets, Billy performed on a broad stage highlighted by flowing white sheets hanging strategically from the ceiling and subtle colored lighting. The ambience was a perfect complement for the band’s set list, which was which seemed a stark contrast to the high-energy first act. Don’t get me wrong I though the band was dead on and Billy’s voice was strong during the 18 song set, but once he got past the hits such “Cherub Rock”, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” and “Tonight, Tonight” the show was dominated by a mix of deep, moody, lesser known songs from later albums. Highlights of the show for me, was Billy’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” followed by “1979” and the encore, “Today”.
All-in-all it was a great night of music from a couple of superstars from the 90’s, but I do wonder if I would have left more satisfied if the order of the acts been reversed.
Marilyn Manson and the Smashing Pumpkins at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion – Boston
