The arena became a punk and metal-head
mecca as crowds of the misunderstood prepared to storm the doors and grab
a good spot in which to mosh, crowd 
surf or expose themselves. This was a night of sensory overload as
the crowd greeted the “Undead One,” Rob Zombie and his monster show, which
included punk rockers “The Damned” and “Sinisstar.” The Demon Speeding
tour is a full-blown, evil, raging beast – a total Zombie Extravaganza
that incorporates Zombie’s flair for lights, sound, video and pyrotechnics
to support the former White Zombie front man’s warped, macabre mind musings.
Fighting our way through the mass of concert
goers adorned in primarily black we missed the opening set from Sinisstar,
which actually started right on time (a first from my long list of concert
experiences). I was intrigued to see Sinisster since they got so much attention
a couple years ago when Geffen won a bidding war for them, with a seven
figure deal and they fell off the radar ever since. So we’ll have to wait
a bit longer for their album to come out to see if Geffen got it’s monies
worth!
On many levels the teaming up of the Damned
and Rob Zombie makes total sense, then again on other levels it makes no
sense. They both possess a gothic horror 
show quality about them as purveyors of A Clockwork Orange musical society.
Both present dark and somber overtones musically that sparks vivid nightmare
like pictures in the mind of their victims (a.k.a. fans). Despite all they
have in common, they seem to attract different audiences. Rob Zombie fans
worship at the alter of metal and The Damned are about as punk rock as
you can get. In fact, they were the very first punk band to release a record.
It’s true, their first single came out weeks before The Sex Pistols hit
the world between the eyes and started the punk revolution.
This schizophrenic combination on stage
produced a mixed reaction from the crowd, some fans were truly into The
Damned’s gothic punk rock, while others stood there dazed, not knowing
what to make of it. It was this mixed reaction that caused The Damned to
drop off the tour a few nights after this show. So we were lucky to catch
them when we did. For the ones who could appreciate The Damned’s straight
ahead punk performance it was an inspired experience, seeing them on a
big stage and taking full command. antiGUY who came along for the show
turned to me halfway through their set and joked, “I hope one of those
(derogatory term) from Blink-182 is here tonight to see what a real punk
band is all about!” (Blink-182 hails from Poway, just a short drive up
the freeway from Cox Arena).
A demonic mass was about to overtake the
Cox Arena. The characteristic skulls and robotic monsters were at home
on the dark smoky stage as leggy blonde 
dancers accentuated each ghoulish rhythm and bizarre silent videos alternately
gave glimpses of ED Wood stylized torture scenes and bizarre seduction.
The ringmaster of this multi media thrill ride is Zombie’s vivid and horrific
sub conscious. As the metal roll rumbles from Riggs (guitars) and
Blasko (bass) and crashes against Tempesta’s drum beats, you don’t know
which way to look as you are drinking it in. The sights, the sounds,
the atmosphere envelopes you in this dark world where such songs as “Bring
Her Down (to Crippletown)” and “House of a Thousand Corpses” lurk and live
in your fantasies. Besides cuts from his latest album, “The Sinister
Urge,” the scream team also favored the crowd with favorites from his debut
solo album “Hellbilly Deluxe” like “Dragula” and “Meet the Creeper.”
Rob held sway over the crowd from the first
note, but certain performances took the already wound up fans to new dizzying
heights, especially when Rob and the band launched into the old White Zombie
classic, "Thunder Kiss '65", the arena filled with a righteous roar and
only the full voltage spectacle on stage could drown out the deafening
screams of the crowd. Rob let the fans further into his demented mind and
imagination as he showed clips from his forthcoming film, “House of a Thousand
Corpses”, which he explained the MPAA originally gave an X-rating to because
it contained too much “sadistic violence”!
Just when you thought that the crowd couldn’t
be whipped up into a more intense “sadistic” frenzy, Rob 
jumped from the side of the stage and joined the crowd on the floor, who
stood their transfixed for a moment not believing that Rob Zombie was walking
among them as Rob asked into his wireless mic, “What the hell is going
on down here?” That seemed to break the trance and a few fans approached
Rob with high fives before he jumped back up on the stage to finish performing
“Sinister Urge” and leave the crowd screaming for more as the band left
the stage only to return minutes later with a pyrotechnic laced rendition
of “Dragula”.
As is always the case with Zombie, an artistic
showman, a night of fantasy and a heavy metal poultice for your pop star
headache. It will be interesting to see what he pulls out for this
year’s Ozzfest to bend your mind and warp your senses. Definitely
worth the price of a ticket!
Visit
the Official Rob Zombie website for sadistic fun
Purchase
Rob Zombie's music online!
Visit
the Official Damned website for latest on this legendary punk band
Purchase
The Damned music online!
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