Marilyn Manson – Metaldays Festival – Tolmin, Slovenia – July 24, 2017
Marilyn Manson put on a performance that reminded me that I am no longer 15, but I stuck around to see what I liked exactly as a teenager. The crowd (at least the people right in front of me) were in their late teens or early 20s and they rocked out to every song. Some of the classic songs were played at full blast, of course, but Manson’s stage performance made me realize just how awkward some of his acts really are – including touching himself on stage, or turning around to stick his behind into our faces – plus, the attractiveness and the physical appeal, if any, just aren’t there anymore, and the make-up or tight clothing can’t hide it. His slender edginess vanished a couple of decades ago, and now it appears to be a bit of a middle-aged crisis than a rebellion. While I did stay for the scheduled 1.5 hour show, my time was cut short by 30 minutes – during one of the songs, he walked off stage, didn’t return, and the band stopped playing. It was a very abrupt end to a massive headlining performance, and considering his band’s name was the first logo on every bill and t-shirt, I don’t think it fared well with the festival organizers or tour management (unless they requested him to leave the stage, which personally I believe to be unlikely). Regardless of it all, the sound quality was excellent, and the band in its entirety put on an excellent performance.
