Mechanical Animals Tour

Mechanical Animals
Tour by Marilyn Manson
Associated album	Mechanical Animals
Start date	October 25, 1998
End date	January 31, 1999
Shows	52 (planned)
Marilyn Manson tour chronology
Dead to the World (1996-1997) Mechanical Animals (1998-1999) Beautiful Monsters (1999)

Mechanical Animals was a worldwide tour by the band Marilyn Manson in support of their third LP album Mechanical Animals, released on September 15, 1998. The tour extended from late 1998^[1] to early 1999 and was recorded in 1998 for the VHS-format God is in the TV which was released on November 2, 1999.

The Mechanical Animals European Festival Tour was supposed to be the first leg of the tour. This particular leg of the tour consisted of 6 dates to be played at various European festivals planned as the debut of follow-up material to Antichrist Superstar two months before the release of Mechanical Animals. This leg of the tour spanned from June 25, 1998 until July 12, 1999.

Reportedly, drummer Ginger Fish became ill with mononucleosis. This led the band to cancel the entire summer European leg and postpone the beginning of the tour to October 25, 1998.

Beginning on October 25, 1998 and lasting until January 31, 1999, the "Mechanical Animals Tour" included two legs spanning a Fall to Winter World Tour in Europe, Japan, and North America and a 6 show headlining stint at the Big Day Out tour in Australia.^[2] In total, the band completed 46 shows out of the 52 originally planned.

Background

After declining a headlining slot at the failing Lollapalooza summer music festival (along with numerous other bands) in early 1998 due to delays in Mechanical Animals' release, the band launched the first of their own headlining tours in support of the album.^[3] The tour was originally intended to begin on June 25, 1998 with a series of 6 festival dates in Europe lasting until July 12, 1998.^[4] However, drummer Ginger Fish became ill with mononucleosis, leading to the cancellation of the entire summer European leg and the postponement of the beginning of the tour to October 25, 1998 in Lawrence, Kansas.^[4]

Performance and show themes

With this being the first leg of the tour, the stage show was minimal compared to later legs of the tour

Incidents

As with the band's preceding 1997 world tour, Dead to the World, the Mechanical Animals Tour met with heavy resistance from civic and religious leaders. The first of these protests occurred on October 19, 1998. A month before a planned performance at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York, local activists began calling for a cancellation of the engagement. According to Associated Press, then-Syracuse Mayor Roy Bernardi attempted to block the venue's permit, citing a "moral obligation to the people of Syracuse", without specifying any reason for his objections. Onondaga County officials also attempted to extort the Landmark into halting the event by threatening to withhold $30,000 in county funds earmarked for the venue, prompting the venue's bookers to consider dropping the show altogether. Despite this, representatives for the Landmark started selling tickets on the day it was planned and the performance took place on the arranged date and venue.^[5]

North American set list

1. The Reflecting God
2. Great Big White World
3. Cake and Sodomy
4. Posthuman
5. Mechanical Animals
6. I Want to Disappear
7. Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
8. The Speed of Pain
9. Rock is Dead
10. The Dope Show
11. Lunchbox
12. User Friendly
13. I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)
14. Rock 'n' Roll Nigger
15. The Beautiful People
16. Irresponsible Hate Anthem

European/Asian set list

1. Inauguration of the Mechanical Christ
2. The Reflecting God
3. Great Big White World
4. Cake and Sodomy
5. Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
6. Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes
7. Rock is Dead
8. The Dope Show
9. Lunchbox
10. I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)
11. Rock 'n' Roll Nigger
12. The Beautiful People

Broadcasts & Recordings

Various shows were recorded on the tour but there is no specific information about which dates. A Short 40 minute film was released on VHS entitled 'God Is In The TV' following the band on Tour, however It only contains short live clips from various shows. Widely heralded as Mansons Best Tour, the bands 2012 comeback has sparked interest for the release of an uninterrupted live DVD from this tour. It is however not known if the full recordings briefly shown in the documentary 'God Is In The TV' are available. The only full live recordings available are, PRO SHOT recording of their BIG DAY OUT performance In Sydney on 23 January 1999 which is of mediocre video quality, and a RARE partial recording of a concert In Detroit on the 16th of November 1998, which also Includes an unedited promotional Interview.

Tour dates

Lineup

Marilyn Manson

• Marilyn Manson: Vocals
• John5: Guitar
• Twiggy Ramirez: Bass
• Madonna Wayne Gacy: Keyboards
• Ginger Fish: Drums

Reception

Critical reception

Music critic Tim Finn of the The Kansas City Star commented that, overall, the show was "far less a spectacle than the Antichrist Superstar tour."^[1]

References