Lillith Black's blog: "Monsters Down Below"

By Lillith Black (with Lexa Vonn)


Boston MA The House Of Blues 1-26-13


Thankfully, this Greyhound ride was relatively uneventful and short, but just long enough for me to catch a little bit of sleep. The cold however, was doing a number on my hands. Even with gloves and Hot Hands, they were starting to peel, ache, and my cuticles were splitting at the seams. Midway to Boston, I finally got my iPod charger to function long enough to be reminded that my couch surfing host wouldn't be home till after 5:30pm. Due to GH scheduling constraints, my bus wouldn't even be getting into Boston until 11:30/12:00pm, leaving me with almost no time to get ready. Thankfully, by now I am quite well versed in doing make-up on the fly with nothing but a compact and my make-up case. After investigating the loo situation at Southside Terminal, I concluded with the idea that it was going to be too busy to bother with. Having to think quickly, I raced past the ATM, down the escalators, and attempted to hurry the elevator to get me to the street level where I finally located a Dunkin Donuts about a block away. Buying a small coffee to earn myself some customer credibility, I took over the bathroom for the next 20 minutes. As I wrestled with my already overstuffed suitcase, I rushed to get dressed and performed a quick make-up job. I was contemplating plugging in my iron to straighten my hair, when I was interrupted by the staff and some guy looking for his wife.


As if I were Superman, I transformed my appearance from dirty biker to gothic stripper in minutes. Vinyl and corset clad, I kicked open the door and proclaimed, "I don't know where your wife is, buddy… but I sure ain't her!" With a few odd looks from the staff, I scurried across the street and raced back through the bus terminal to the fee ridden ATM where I proceeded to drain both of my accounts dry. I then hopped into the nearest taxi and was off to the venue! Once again, the cabbie didn't know where to go, and unlike my last tour which had extremely low cab rates, the going rates in these parts seemed to be in the $15-$20 range for a couple of miles. Thankfully, there were only 2-3 people waiting outside when I arrived. However, it was about 20 degrees outside and like most HOBs, no part of the venue was open until 1 hour before showtime. The added bonus of this wait was the sports arena across the street, which had an unending "test" announcement to keep me company while I waited for Lindsay, my groupie sidekick of the evening, to find me. Lindsay, who arrived after getting lost, agreed to let me put my stuff in her car. She also gave me a Revelations Bible page for my daily offering to Manson, as I had run out of gifts to give him. After a few hours, doors eventually opened and I followed Lindsay to the Meet & Greet area, where we ran into a few familiar faces from the MM community. Celebratory drinks were bought for all by Adam OD, a fan who has two last names- one that starts with 'O' and one that starts with 'D,' so Lexa has decided that his "Manson" name should be Adam OD.


(It is written and so it is. We're ALL stars in the Dope Show) - Lexa.







There was an authentic absinthe fountain in the Foundation Room at this HOB, but it was only used if you bought an entire bottle. Although I really wanted some, I didn't dare ask our gracious host to flip the bill for that. I was tempted to ask for a Screaming Nazi, but didn't want to push my luck since the drinks were being bought for me, so I politely ordered wine instead. Not long after we downed our drinks, Father emerged humbly smirking at the cheering and cat calling that his entrance provoked. Since I had long been out of things for him to sign, I asked him to draw a sketch for me in my sketch book when I approached him. He began scrawling something on the paper and gave me some brief advice on the issue I confided to him in my previous letter. When he returned my sketch book, I broke out giggling. He had sketched my boobs within a smiley face! "I liked seeing your boobs on the rail last night." I smiled and laughed and thanked him. To which he responded, "No, really I do." I answered bashfully, "Glad you liked it" as I enjoyed the moment of his kind flattery. I'm sure Manson has seen so many tits during his shows in all these years that he's immune to it by now, so I was really touched by his compliment. He's got a way of making everyone feel special. I love that about him.




After some more drinking and a couple photos ensued, it was about time to head down to the venue. Spirits were running high for this performance and security was a bit disorganized with no one quite knowing which direction to go. The venue was already packed and there was a tiny little section at the front of the stage for VIP people, which was unusual. Still, I managed to get up front and prepare for my nightly rituals before the curtain dropped. Manson must've been in a good mood, as he was especially funny that night! One of the many lines used during the show was, "I hate bands named after cities, but I don't hate Boston." By the second song, "Disposable Teens," you could tell he was having a lot of fun prancing about the stage and rubbing his crotch against the microphone. At one point, he motioned to the stagehands for water, but they mistakingly kept giving him beer. He sang, "I won't take this beer" to the melody of the song. Quite a clever way to get what you need without interrupting the performance! As the song neared its end, he adds in "God Is Dead." He then disappears for a second, before bursting back onstage in his butchers uniform for "No Reflection," where he begins stabbing at random stage equipment with his knife microphone. As the fog swirls around the stage and he sips from his beer, he mock stabs himself and throws a few more crumpled newspapers our way. Before the song ends he says, "I realized a simple beautiful thing, all you need is a dick.."


(I wish I was there to reply, "That's what I'm talking about" in the tune of "Antichrist Superstar" ) - Lexa ;)


"The Dope Show" then begins and he does his Elvis impersonation and growls, "I need a fix because I am going down!" Half a birthday cake is thrown into the audience again and Manson then headed over towards Fred, pushes him, and exclaimed, "Are you sleeping, motherfucker?!" Fred doesn't react much to the taunting, but doesn't seem to miss a single bass note either. Manson then proceeds to sing about the discounts from the section of the newspaper he has just wiped his face with and playfully does a mock line of cocaine off of it. During "Slo-Mo-Tion," Manson toyed with a couple of bras that were thrown, slinging some of them from his laser guitar like trophies. One highly skilled girl managed to throw her bra directly onto the guitar to hang with the others, as if it were a carnival game. I had brought an extra bra with me that I was going to throw onstage, but it ended up getting forgotten in my suitcase due to the fact that my dressing room was a Dunkin Donuts bathroom.


(Note to girl with bra throwing skills: Next time you see Manson, demand a prize!) - Lexa


Cell phones were not borrowed from the crowd this time during "Personal Jesus." Instead, Manson prowled over to a nearby unsuspecting security guard, placed his hand on his shoulder and went into an Evangelical sermon. "Hallelujah! Let me put my hand onto your shoulder! Let me bless you, sir. You have been blessed by the healing power of our Lord and Savior… with the hand I masturbated with previously." When the snow that indicates the intro to "Coma White" began to fall, I felt my emotions welling up again. Manson is most definitely singing in my direction this time and makes an attempt to throw me his laser glove. Unfortunately, some assholes swoop in while it's still in the air, like some godforsaken birds of prey, swiping it right in front of my nose! I just about punch 'em to try and get it back with no luck.


(I remember getting thrown his wife beater tank top during "Tourniquet" on the Antichrist tour and the crowd ripping both me and the shirt to shreds. I still have a piece though, as the girl standing next to me was generous enough to split her half. We met 10 years later and she became one of the L.A. Plastics. RIP, Kristen M. :( We miss you. Okay, enough of this tearjerking… back to the review...) - Lexa





At last, we see the podium appear and it is clear that our Antichrist is almost here… and so is the end of the show, which is always a bittersweet moment cause you're so excited to hear the songs, but know it's ending soon. As "King Kill/Antichrist" begins, I resume my salute as Manson is screaming into his megaphone and climbing the podium. He's having a field day thrashing his multiple microphones about and begins planking the podium like some giant cat that is about to pounce. He even occasionally drapes himself across the top of the podium in yet more cat-like fashion. Mid-song he screams out, "Boston!" And as the song nears its end, he manically grins like the Cheshire Cat and blows kisses to the audience. There was no encore after the usual "Beautiful People" ending and from what we were told, he went straight back to the bus. HOB also turned into a night club almost directly after the show, so we were eager to bail. Lindsay and I quickly exited and discovered where the buses were, but didn't know which one was Manson's since he was using a different one this time.


After milling around a bit to see what the rest of our party was going to do and snapping a few group shots with Gina and Haz, we decided that it was time to head back. I was in dire need of sleep and too cold to be out in vinyl and a corset. It was a brisk walk back to her car where we finally warmed up before she dropped me off where all the taxis seemed to be lurking. I picked one at random that took me to my couch surfing location, which turned out to be a bit of a dump, but in a decent part of town. I forced myself to eat some trail mix and miso soup before getting a couple hours of sleep. In the morning, I awoke with quite a few dizzy spells. The next several hours were spent having hot and cold flashes on the back of a Greyhound bus. Turns out I got sick after all. I may have to upgrade my traveling style if I wanna live to make it to the next show.


-This message has been approved by Marilyn Manson