January 1999 – From the safe distance of a TV screen or magazine page, words like “repulsive,” “offensive,” even “demonic,” would suffice to describe Marilyn Manson. But up close, one-word descriptions are inadequate.

On October 26, the infamous shock rocker and his band opened their fall tour at Memorial Hall in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. To witness the event first hand, I found myself in an unholy netherworld whose inhabitants had come to bring their worship to the self-proclaimed “god of [expletive deleted].”

From the outside, Memorial Hall is an unremarkable aging concrete edifice that in years past could have been a civic center or community theater. Seating capacity is around 3,200, less than one might expect to launch the “Dope Show” tour.

Inside, just beyond a lobby and concession stands, concrete ramps take concert goers down to a stage level “mosh pit” – no seating – or up to one of two balconies. Besides sparsely padded seats, the interior is mostly metal and concrete. Exposed rivets along the balcony apron give an appearance of cold indestructibility.

I arrived ten minutes before the advertised show time of 8 p.m. and followed my ticket assignment to the first balcony, section C, third row, aisle seat. In old jeans and a sweatshirt, I would have been invisible at a Grateful Dead concert, but here I might as well have worn a tuxedo. I faced the stage at about a 45 degree angle, less than three feet above ground zero, maybe 25 yards from the stage.

The presence of an obviously middle-aged boomer among the largely black-clad, face-painted, body-pierced, under-25 audience is quickly the source of snickering, pointing and mild offense. “Hey, are you a Marilyn Manson fan?” a teenage girl from three seats down asked skeptically.

“I’m just curious. Wanted to see this for myself. Is that OK?” I answered.

Before she could respond the teenage girl in the long black dress and a black and red cat-in-the-hat hat sitting in front of me excitedly offered, “Mister, you gonna see one h--- of a show tonight.”

Three rows above and to the right a muscular 20-year-old skin-head taunted a foe in the mosh pit. They exchanged obscene gestures and threats for several minutes, frequently throwing both arms in the air and brandishing the devil’s trident – a hand signal in which index and little finger stand at attention. Others joined in the macho-fest in what appeared to be a preconcert psych-up. Security guards tensed.

The lights dimmed and a no-name warm up band ground unintelligibly for about an hour, only hinting at the thunderous potential of the sound system. The audience seemed generally unimpressed. Many passed the time drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and marijuana joints. A teenage boy on my row borrowed some money from the girl next to me, promised to pay it back and bought some pot from a boy behind us. The air was thick with marijuana smoke. Security and police ignored the obvious.

The show within the show
During the 30 minutes that it took the stage crew to break down the opening act’s equipment and set up Manson’s stage, the audience put on its own show. In the middle on an aisle in the first balcony, a teenage girl took center stage when she began to coyly play with her halter top string. Like heat-seeking missiles it took only moments for every male member of the audience within eye-shot of the girl to hone in on their target.

A half dozen hell-raisers in the third balcony led chants of “Take it off! Take it off!” She required little prompting to perform the inevitable. She unfastened her halter in the front, exposed herself, did a quick shimmy and retreated into the darkness of the balcony landing.

Not to be upstaged, a female trio in the upper balcony reprised the performance, stretching their time in the spotlight to about 10 minutes. Then they gave the audience what it wanted in perfect timing with the first thunderous chords of Manson’s initial assault.

The main attraction
The faithful on the floor pressed toward the stage awaiting the appearance of the former “Anti-Christ Superstar.” Donning his new “glam rock” look, Manson emerged from the shadows in what The Kansas City Star called “a glittery teal body suit with two big portholes: One in front revealing his sequined thong underwear and the other in back revealing his buttocks.” The newspaper described his hair as “rampant-chic, a blend of Edward Scissorhands and Jennifer Aniston.”

The sound was battlefield loud with a huge low-end boost on the pounding bass drum that overwhelmed the other instruments – bass, guitar and synthesizer.

To the uninitiated the song lyrics were just so much ravings. But the horde mouthed every word. Refrains including the f-word and other profanities could be distinguished frequently.

I could hold my ground in Section C for only two songs before running for cover on the balcony landing near a concession stand. I watched the remaining show from the safer high ground.

The whole apocalyptic scene was a remarkable, soul-disturbing, three-dimensional picture of evil in full stereo. Perched on a three-foot riser at the edge of the stage, Manson writhed and jerked, mesmerizing his followers in a vicious dance of wickedness. In the midst of their celebration the congregation seemed to be ready and willing to act on any edict issued by their god.

During one song he rubbed his bare bottom suggestively. Later he simulated sex with an imaginary partner. The crowd approved. The police stood stone-faced.

Built into the two platforms that supported the drummer and keyboard player, a half dozen television monitors displayed static – a symbolic reminder of Manson’s nihilism, the belief in the meaninglessness of existence. 

During “Mechanical Animals,” another Nietzschean reference, Manson stalked around the stage on a huge set of stilts, made to resemble leg braces a polio victim might wear. He balanced himself with a pair of six-foot crutches. Attempting to explain the theme of the Mechanical Animals (the new album and the song), Rolling Stone magazine wrote that it’s about a man beginning to feel emotion and “looking for the thing he needs to make himself whole.”

Gone were his earlier Bible-ripping, Christian bashing antics. But near the end of the performance he ranted about protesters at a show the night before, telling the crowd that he retaliated by “suck[ing] every one of their [expletive deleted].” The crowd cheered in degenerate approval.

Enough is enough and I had had it.

The cool, clean air outside the hall was an oasis – both to my lungs and spirit.

A group of five Christians handed out yellow flyers to willing takers while a Bodisatva disciple gave away books.

The Christians and I talked about the kids inside, the tragedy of hopelessness, the blatant rebellion against the true God and Manson’s part in the whole thing.

During the conversation, one of the Christians pointed out a young father standing about 20 yards away under a huge hardwood tree, his arms were folded across his chest as he stared at the front of Memorial Hall. He had told them he was waiting on his daughter to come out, they said.

Soon police threatened to arrest the Christians if they didn’t move their operation off the property. They reluctantly relocated across the street as I moved to the sidewalk to hail a taxi.

When none were available, my attention was again drawn to the young father. He was alone, silent and motionless. Perhaps he remembered hugging his little girl and holding her next to his heart. 

I wonder who has a  hold of her heart now.  

When Marilyn Manson comes to your town…or your child’s bedroom
“Marilyn Manson is coming to our town. How can we get him banned?” the voice on the other end of the phone asked.

The short answer: You probably can’t, at least not based on the content of his presentation. Sorry for the bad news.

Now the good news: A Marilyn Manson concert can be a blessing in disguise to the extent that it causes Christians to rethink how their families, churches and communities are handling the onslaught of godless forms of entertainment.

Here are a list of suggested strategies:

Strategy #1: Educate yourself and others about Manson – not just his stage antics and offensive language, but the godless philosophy. Be ready to speak to the issue on the basis of ideas, not just behavior.

Be accurate. To maintain credibility, you must have the story straight. Ignore unsubstantiated rumors.

With city officials, concert promoters, venue operators and others, be reasonable. Armed with accurate information, you will neither minimize nor overreact. Maintain credibility so that future appeals will be heard. Few public officials want to hear that the sky is falling. Trust God for the outcome.

Strategy #2: Work with city officials to organize a broad-based citizen’s oversight committee that pre-screens acts coming to your town. The committee could provide accurate information to decision makers about performances before contracts are signed and venues are rented.

Local police will likely appreciate avoiding situations that are beyond their security and law enforcement capabilities.

Strategy #3: Strongly appeal to city officials to enforce the law. It seems to have become common practice in some communities that concert drug use and public nudity are overlooked by law enforcement. A strong argument can be made that if a concert will likely draw a crowd where illegal activities are inevitably going to take place at a level at which police are overwhelmed and cannot enforce the law, the concert should not be allowed.

Strategy #4: Although Christian groups may want to be present on the night of the concert to make a public stand for righteousness, find ways to minister to unchurched kids in your community the other 364 days of the year. Develop a ministry through your church or support the efforts of para-church ministries like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life and Campus Crusade. See if one of these groups or a similar one is already at work in your community. Support their work with prayer, finances and time.

Strategy #5: Make opportunities to build relationships with kids who are into the “industrial” scene. Be willing to build relationships that communicate and demonstrate God’s love and mercy in your own life. At the same time, pray for the opportunity to offer the hope found only in Christ. With God’s leading, be ready to share the gospel with both boldness and humility.