Slipknot with Marilyn Manson and Of Mice & Men at the Air Canada Centre

Photos by Katrina Wong Shue

There are certain events and occasions where you can tell by the uniformity of the attendants, that these there is a connection deeper than the events itself that is shared between the creators and the audience. Certain Rock and almost all Metal concerts have that specific characteristic. At a Metal show, you’re part of a tribe that cares about one thing and one thing only, and that’s Metal music. From all backgrounds and cultures, languages and beliefs, they all get together as a clan and celebrate life with their mosh-pitting and headbanging to their favorite music. The experience is so powerful that the impact goes beyond a one-night experience, rather a defining element in their culture and values.

Some may argue that Rock and Metal are either already dead or dying. Even if that’s the case, it only makes Rock and Metal bands more valuable to their fans, specially if they’re already legends. Two of those legends were back in Toronto to perform for the packed venue at Molson Amphitheatre. Starting at 7:30PM was Marilyn Manson, the second act of the show and the opening act for Slipknot. Marilyn Manson, a philosopher , artist, musician, and poet, has been one of the most controversial figures of our generation. All the reason for not missing him live, for he is bold and proud to express his most brutally honest opinion about religion, politics, power, sex, violence, and god himself through light and sound, rhythms and melodies, for the crowd who worship the man as a legend, and the legend as a god.

The fantastically fashionable Mr. Manson went through some of his greatest works, starting with Angel With the Scabbed Wings and continued with Disposable Teens, No Reflection, mOBSCENE, Deep Six, This Is The New Shit, The Dope Show, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Antichrist Superstar, and my personal favorite, The Beautiful People. Marilyn Manson gave his best and the beautiful people in the audience received it with open ears and hearts, cheers and applauses, leading the way for the night’s headliner, Slipknot.

Starting with David Bowie’s Fashion, and Be Prepared for Hell, the gates of hell opened to so one the heaviest and most entertaining bands of our time, following the footsteps of Canadian greats such as Neil Young and Rush by stepping on the same legendary Canadian stage as them, Slipknot began their extremely well performed setlist. Though it was my second time seeing Slipknot, I felt the exact same energy that I felt when I saw them first. The sense of belonging to the tribe that performs with the band the ritualistic party that is buzzed by the frequency of the Metal masked men on the stage, through a halo of marijuana smoke. Slipknot started with The Negative one and continued with some of their bests, including Disasterpiece, Skeptic, Killpop, Psychosocial, Left Behind, Wait and Bleed, and (sic) which was followed by Surfacing, Duality, and Spit It Out for Encore.

A wonderful show and a wonderful crowed at a wonderful venue!