There is a point in One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 where the language of survival finally becomes the language of retaliation. “The Arsonist” is that point. The song is not simply about having survived an attempt to destroy you. It is about what happens afterward, when the person who has been burned decides that the fire did not finish him and that the scars it left behind have become part of his strength. Manson himself described the song as the moment when the narrative of the two chapters “crystallizes into a battle stance,” and, referring to the painting he created for it, said that the “burned scar tissue” had formed into armor. That description gets very close to the heart of the song. The fire has not disappeared. It has changed him. The title is important because Manson does not call the song The Survivor or The Victim . He calls it "The Arsonist." An arsonist deliberately starts a fire, and this changes the entire perspective of the song. The speaker is no...
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| Photo courtesy of Lisa from The Manson Cases |
Here is my promised concert review.
This was Marilyn Manson's third show of the tour, the second supporting Five Finger Death Punch. The setlist included all twelve songs performed on August 2nd in Hershey, Pennsylvania, except at this show the new single "As Sick As The Secrets Within" was added after "The Dope Show", like it was on August 3rd in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was also the day the new music video for the song hit one million plays on YouTube.
This was Manson's first Amphitheatre show of the tour. The advantage of an Amphitheatre is that they are designed to produce a great sound from a given performance, especially if you are in the seated area which is covered above you. With that being said, Manson's vocals really sounded great at this show, and the band was clear, strong and tight.
This was Marilyn Manson's third show of the tour, the second supporting Five Finger Death Punch. The setlist included all twelve songs performed on August 2nd in Hershey, Pennsylvania, except at this show the new single "As Sick As The Secrets Within" was added after "The Dope Show", like it was on August 3rd in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was also the day the new music video for the song hit one million plays on YouTube.
This was Manson's first Amphitheatre show of the tour. The advantage of an Amphitheatre is that they are designed to produce a great sound from a given performance, especially if you are in the seated area which is covered above you. With that being said, Manson's vocals really sounded great at this show, and the band was clear, strong and tight.
On a personal note, because I've been suffering through some pretty bad back pain the past few months from an injury a long time ago, I was not able to stand through most of the show, so I had to sit and watch it on the side stage monitor after the third song. And the pain combined with the oppressively humid weather was making me a bit nauseous and physically uncomfortable.
Despite these personal setbacks, I could tell Manson and the band are progressively getting more comfortable in their live performance this tour, and noticeably were having a great time. And though I couldn't see everything on the stage, the energy from the band was clearly high and the crowd was electrified. Where I was sitting most of the people were there for Five Finger Death Punch, but throughout Manson's set they stood up, cheered and were overall very receptive.
One particular introductory line from Manson which was new during this show was before he sang "Disposable Teens": "The last time they tried to kill me, I made a record called Holy Wood".
Despite these personal setbacks, I could tell Manson and the band are progressively getting more comfortable in their live performance this tour, and noticeably were having a great time. And though I couldn't see everything on the stage, the energy from the band was clearly high and the crowd was electrified. Where I was sitting most of the people were there for Five Finger Death Punch, but throughout Manson's set they stood up, cheered and were overall very receptive.
One particular introductory line from Manson which was new during this show was before he sang "Disposable Teens": "The last time they tried to kill me, I made a record called Holy Wood".
Overall, in case you had your doubts, I haven't heard Manson sound this
great in a long time, and though the band plays only for about 50
minutes, this is a tour that should not be missed.
As an added
personal note, I met up with Lisa from The Manson Cases, since we were
seated next to each other, and we both had the exciting opportunity to meet with
Manson and Lindsay after the show. They were both very kind and hospitable and grateful,
and you can tell Manson is very happy to be making music again and
performing live on the stage. It was a dream come true to finally meet him.
Lindsay even offered me the setlist Manson had taped to his mirror, and Manson was kind enough to sign it for me with his lipstick.
