Freaks on Parade Tour @ North Island Amp in San Diego
Featuring Rob Zombie, Mudvayne, Static X and Powerman 5000
Photos by: Samantha Madnick
Words by: Rudy Flores
Sunday night at The North Island Credit Union Amphitheater set the scene for the "Freaks on Parade" tour with Rob Zombie, Mudvayne (who put the make-up back on for the first time in nearly 11 years) , Static-X, and Powerman 5000. As the sea of all black clothing marched into the venue and the roadies set up the stage, you could feel the excitement in the air. Up first was PowerMan 5000 with a short 7 song "best of" set that included hits like "Bombshell" from 2001's "Anyone for Doomsday" and my favorite little bit of nostalgia "When World's Collide" from the 99's "Tonight the Stars Revolt". High energy would be an understatement because what they pulled out was definitely next level!!
Set List for PowerMan 5000
• Footsteps and Voices
• Nobody's Real
• Invade, Destroy, Repeat
• Horror Show ( with "7 Nation Army" cover)
• Bombshell
• Supernova Goes Pop
• When Worlds Collide
Up next was Static-X with new lead singer Xer0 alongside Tony Campos (bass), Koichi Fukuda (lead guitar), and Ken Jay (drums). It was another short but exciting 7 song set that came mostly from their "Wisconsin Death Trip" release from way back in 1999. Xer0 dawned white face paint (possibly a mask) and hair as high as the ceiling which made older fans reminiscent of original lead singer Wayne Static (R.I.P.) who sadly passed back in 2014 (we don't need specifics on how, do we?...I didn'tthink so...anyways). These guys did what they do best and brought everyone in the pit to complete and total chaos, the good kind of course. So bad ass!
Static-X Setlist
• Bled for Days
• Wisconsin Death Trip
• Sweat of the Bud
• Love Dump
• Cold
• I'm With Stupid
• Push It
The annnnnnnticipation for Mudvayne was higher than Snoop on 420 and for good reason. As I stated earlier this was one of the first times in nearly a decade that Chad, Ryan, Greg, Mathew, and Shawn "put the make-up back on" after a loooooong hiatus due to personal conflicts between them. For the time being everything is cool though and the fans (both new and old) were all ready for the utter insanity that is Mudvayne. They wowed the crowd with a killer 12 song set mostly from the 2000 release "L.D.50" and in-between the HEAVY guitar, bass, drums and deeply raw and guttural vocals there were short inspirational message about how music (specifically heavy metal) could be a life saver and that norther what to not let the world get you down...especially at this show. Ending their set with "Happy?" from 2007's "By the people, For the People", Mudvayne gave everything they had Sunday night and it was received with open arms.
Mudvayne Setlist
• Dig
• Under My Skin
• -1
• Severed
• Death Blooms
• Internal Primates Forever
• Determined
• Not Falling
• Nothing To Gein
• Dull Boy
• World So Cold
• Happy?
Now for the main event...ROB FUCKING ZOMBIE!!!
The way Bobby Z (a nickname that im sure Rob Zombie is going to love), started the show from atop a monstrously large mechanical skull with "ZOMBIE" written right across the front definitely set the scene for what was going to be an insane show. Zombie was joined onstage by the incredibly talented and equally menacing guitarist John 5, who is best known for playing with Marilyn Manson from 98' to 03' before going solo and then teaming up with Zombie. They were also joined by Piggy D on bass and Ginger Fish on drums (these names are amazing btw) who each played their big black hearts out respectively. Together they gave the audience a show to remember filled with amazing visuals of firey carnage and dystopian furures mixed with classic horror clips on screens that took up most of the stage.
As Zombie made his way back and forth across the stage, you could see that he is and always will be a master of his craft. During “Meet the Creeper” a towering devil like figure danced across the stage complete with pentagram belt buckle that was something to behold. There were White Zombie throwbacks for some of the more...we'll say "seasoned" listeners as well as a few homages to the greats like the guitar solo from AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and a tidbit of Alice Cooper's "Schools Out" during White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss 65' ". Towards the end of the night he gave us all a sneak peek at his newest movie remake “The Munsters” before ending the night with “Dragula”.
Calling this show a spectacle would be an extreme understatement, it was more of a once in a lifetime visual experience as I'm sure that he added something different in each city along the tour. The Freaks on Parade Tour will be rolling through the US the rest of August. So if you’re a fan of the dark and macobb , you have to check out this tour! Just make sure you bring some ear plugs CAUSE IT'S GONNA GET LOUD!!
Rob Zombie Set List
• 1999
(Prince song)
• Expanding the Head of Zed
• The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)
• Superbeast
• Meet the Creeper
• Shake Your Ass – Smoke Your Grass
• Living Dead Girl
• More Human Than Human
(White Zombie song)
• Scum of the Earth
• Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
• Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
• Well, Everybody's Fucking in a U.F.O.
• House of 1000 Corpses
• Guitar Solo
(Snippet of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck")
• Thunder Kiss '65
(White Zombie song) (Snippet of Alice Cooper's "School's Out")
• Shadow of the Cemetery Man
• The Munsters Trailer
• Dragula
• Boom-Boom-Boom