Manson's Minions

The sold-out February 25 Marilyn Manson show at House of Blues had its share of weirdness. A few couples dressed in leather S&M outfits. Many in the crowd dressed like Marilyn Manson, looking like raccoons with black all over their eyes. One drunk guy without a shirt walked into a brass rail and then stood there punching it hard five times.

The weirdest incident occurred after Manson’s “Beautiful People” encore. Throughout the show, he tore off parts of his clothing and threw them into the crowd. He also wiped sweat off his face with towels that he’d toss to audience members. When he finished “Beautiful People,” he threw the microphone into the crowd. A tall guy (around 6´4˝) caught it.

I was surprised to see a security guy go up to him a few minutes later, as people were filing out, and say, “I need the microphone back.” The tall guy smiled and said, “I don’t have it.” The security guard called for backup. My friend, who used to work at House of Blues, told me, “That’s not House of Blues security; they work for Marilyn Manson.”

The sound guy, who was standing nearby, chimed in, “I saw him give it to another guy who ran out of here.” At that point, security personnel numbered around five. One staff person said, “Why would you give it to someone else?” One of them said, “We’re going to take you back there and search you, so you better just give it to us.” Tall guy said, “I told you, I don’t have it.” A different security guy said, “That’s a $300 piece of equipment, and you aren’t leaving until we get it back.” They then started walking him toward the back of the venue, one staff person holding him by the arm.

About 15 minutes later, I heard someone ask one of the security guys, “Why are you so sweaty?” He said, “I had to get a microphone back from someone.”