- November 21, 1998 - San Jose Events Center - San Jose, CA
- The horror of it all has come to San Jose. Rob Zombie stomped into town on Nov. 11 to bring his Hellbelly Deluxe tour to the churning masses, returning all that made rock 'n' roll holy in the past. If we ever wondered what happened to the big shows, the entertainment, the bone-crunching sounds of what rock 'n' roll used to be, wonder no more as Rob Zombie delivered the charisma that made concert-going such a fun event.
- In this day and age of big-screen viewing and televised concerts that leave no desire for anyone to leave their house let alone their couch, there is finally a reason to "be there" in person. Rob Zombie has brought much more than just good songs performed live, he brings back the heart-pounding beats, the subtle sexualities, the thrill of early horror shows, and much more.
 From the opening beats, the stage was set with a medieval format castle making up the backdrop with arches formed of skulls atop two towers that were linked with a chain bridge hovering over the drum set. In the front of the bridge was a lighted sign that just said "Zombie". Front and center stood the devil himself cloak draped with full mask on and hand signs in the air. From within the archways and behind the drums were a constant display of old film footage of horror movies dating back to the 1920s through the 1950s and fire, oh what a show of fire. Along the way throughout the show, from the arches came two dancers, starting with bikini police uniforms and seductively utilizing their night riding crops. The bassist and guitarist strode out dressed as, perceivably, homeless zombies. Then Rob Zombie himself ran out in a blaze of energy that set the mood for the rest of their performance.
- Highlights of the show included "Meet The Creeper", "Living Dead Girl", and "Dragula" from the new solo album, "Hellbelly Deluxe". Also performed were "Astro Creep 200", "Thunderkiss '65", and a rousing "More Human (Than Human)" from the White Zombie collection. Of the encores was a great version of Black Sabbath's "Children Of The Grave" that really got the crowd moving.
- The makeup, the stage, the fire spewing all added up to a fun-filled extravagance of what rock 'n' roll was meant to be - loud, entertaining, and interactively eye-catching. The subtleness of the sexuality and the lack of female denigration was also a nice touch in this day and age of negative themes. Everything was done just enough and just right without alienating anyone. Rob Zombie even made a point of inviting more women to jump on the bandwagon by playing a song "just for the Zombie ladies out there" and asking the guys to "help out" by putting the girls on their shoulders.
- If any of us thought that rock was dying a slow death as far as the shallowness of live performances and the greed of touring income, worry no more as Rob Zombie delivers the goods to a very appreciative crowd. This is a highly recommend show for all to see.
- Amongst the opening bands, Monster Magnet is a great heavy metal band for the "stoner" set of the late 1970s utilizing many cliché terms such as screaming "motherfucker" and "baay-beee" at every opportunity. The lead singer could have toned down a little bit on the attitude and a lot on the in-between song chatter which, with the heavy vocal echo, got very annoying quickly. The songs themselves were performed well closing out the set with a great sounding "Space Lord".
- Fear Factory is a hard working band who definitely churns out the songs in the heaviest of fashion while getting the crowd pumped. You can be sure that you will be seeing this band quite a bit in the next few years, and for good reason.
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Philip Anderson is a musician, in addition to being a writer/photographer. He has performed as a guitarist/vocalist, as well as songwriter, in several bands over the past 20 years. As a writer and photographer, he has been published by several magazines and in several books, and had his works appear on television. |
