Slipknot & Manson show cut short in Pittsburgh

by JJ Ulizio    

Manson photos by Josh Drespling
Fan photos submitted by Eric Robinson
Videos by Jason Nelson & JJ Ulizio
(c) 2016 Empire Extreme

On 07/30/16 I attended what I thought was going to be a great night of metal with friends. After arriving early and spending some time tailgating with friends in the parking lot of The First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA (just outside of Pittsburgh) we began our trek into the venue to catch the opening act.  Of Mice and Men from Costa Mesa, California was up first and were a pleasant surprise to my ears. Hard and heavy you could hear the riotous crowd screaming along with the music as the pummeled through their short set to plug their new album and to get the crowd warmed up for exalted shock rocker Marilyn Manson. I say exalted because contrary to some of the bad reviews he’s had recently of set mishaps and inebriation, to his fans it doesn’t matter. They seem to stand by him through thick and thin.  Like a cult, which he’s been blamed for starting before, if memory serves. It’s very easy to spot who was there to see him, and who was there to see Slipknot. But anyway, I digress.

After the brief break for set up and tear down between bands Manson came out in typical fashion, clad in black, with his usual back drops and anti-Christian themes that contributed to his controversial status early on in his career and assisting in his rise to fame. The crowd erupted when he opened with “Angel with the Scabbed Wings” from his 1996 breakout album Anti-Christ Superstar. After which they flowed right into his early 2000s radio hit, and a personal favorite of mine, “Disposable Teens.” The crowd chanted on and sang the lyrics as the storm clouds rolled in and the thunder erupted and echoed across the sky.

Thunder and lightning weren’t the only things coming from the sky as the rain began to fall, slow at first but progressively increased with each passing moment, softening the ground and soaking clothing, cell phones, and packs of cigarettes. The storm didn’t seem to bother the band nor the fans as Manson worked his way through another song or two before the music abruptly stopped and the band left the stage.

A power outage, in the Washington County area of Pennsylvania brought things to a screeching halt. It didn’t take long for fans in the lawn section to find entertainment for themselves while waiting for the music to continue. The rain had lasted long enough for the grass to become soft, and quickly after that it went from grass to sloppy mud. Drinks in hand fans began running from one end of the lawn section to another creating mudslides and people slid down the hill, knocking each other over like bowling pins. Someone even took me out. No hard feelings appeared to be had by any of the innocent bystanders being knocked over as fan after fan, all shapes and sizes, ages, and gender began running and sliding through the mud racing each other and knocking people over. Many smiles ensued for what seemed like an eternity while we all simultaneously waited for information on what the fate of the show was going to be.

The power went out at 7:50 PM. It wasn’t until 9:15 PM that an announcement was made cancelling the event, which prompted a short lived “fuck you” chant from the crowd. At approximately 10:10PM as the parking lot was attempting to clear out, the power came back on which seemed only to further agitate concert goers.

What was interesting to me was some of the comments floating around the event pages on Facebook and twitter not long after I returned home from the event. Rumors had already started circulating about fans calling Live Nation and being told that the event was to be rescheduled two nights later on 08/01/16. Word got to Slipknot vocalist about the rumor fairly quickly and he took to twitter immediately stating that they are working on rescheduling the event but it will NOT be on the August 1st date that was circling through the internet. Live Nation and Slipknot will announce when the date is rescheduled. All in all, not the evening that I planned on, but fun was had nonetheless. Of Mice and Men played and solid set, and from what I got to see of Manson he was on track for having a great set as well. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long to see him finish his set and Slipknots whole set. I’m sure someday we will be able to control the weather but until that day I guess we will just have to deal. HA-HA.

Marilyn Manson attempting to address the crowd after power failure.

Storm Footage during Manson’s set.

Mud Sliders in the lawn.

About Author

JJ Ulizio

JJ has been a contributing writer and huge asset to Empire and Empire Extreme since the very begining. He is always digging for new bands and has a true heart and desire to see the bands grow and succeed.

See author's posts