After driving all night and getting lost (repeatedly) we [Dink, Jeff, Meghan and I] finally managed to pull into downtown Cleveland around 11 am and find the venue rather easily (only one wrong turn there =p). After some debate and looking around we decided to stay in the hotel across the street (a relatively inexpensive one for such a nice looking place!!). So we got our room and and headed up to get cleaned up and maybe grab a few minutes of sleep. Once we were cleaned up and settled in we went looking for somewhere cheap to eat.

And I just have to say that the people of Cleveland were rather nice and really helpful!! No nasty looks or bad attitudes because we were spookykids. In fact I managed to encounter several sympathetic and helpful people throughout this journey =) Sorta restored some of my faith in humanity!!! So off we headed for the mall which was only a block off from the hotel and venue and discovered where the band was staying as well. LOL can't miss that bus I swear!! Dink made the great comment that Manson got the futuristic bug bus. I swear I thought it looked like the headlights on that thing were ready to spread their wings and take off LOL. After a quick inquery as to whether the band would be out or wanted to speak to anyone (a definite no.) We once again headed off for the mall. I have to say that its a definite plus to have assigned seating because at least the pressure is off and you can go do some site seeing =)

So just a quick note on this mall... I fell in love with the architechiture of this city!!! Lots of stone carvings and gothic looking buildings and cathedrals... but nothing can top that mall!!! It looked like a converted victorian train station with ornate trim moldings, marble floors and incredible staircases. Just beautiful!!! And on top of it they were decorating for christmas, they had the old fashion Dickens Christmas Carol people in victorian outfits! Very very cool!!!! I was just in heaven!! So anyway we finished eating and headed back to the venue to go hang out and wait for the bus's and maybe meet some spooks. Well when we went to dinner it really wasn't that bad outside, rather warm for Novemeber and I hadn't worn my coat, I was about to discover just how bad an idea that was!! By the time we got back out the sun was covered by clouds and the wind had picked up but it was still tolerable (though that was probably my fever speaking hahahaha...). When we got back to the venue we met up with Katie (dopeshow.com) and picked up our tickets. She was preparing for an interview with 12 rounds and I decided to take stuff back upstairs rather then hold it the whole night. By the time I came back down the band had arrived and disappeared =( But we all decided to just hang out and talk. I got to meet rudy (yea!) and dark1 and almost met SadisticJen (next time girl!!! ;-) and many others. It was fun despite the freezing wind that just wouldn't let up. We hung out til close to showtime then finally went in and looked for our seats, way way way up in the rear balcony. I've had worse... and actually I ended rather liking the seats (despite the terrible feeling that I was going to fall if I leaned forward) because I could see everything that was happening on stage and around it. I'm a freak for that kind of thing, but it ended up giving me an interesting look at what happened with Twiggy 2 songs into the show (more later).

So we sit and wait and warm back up =) Whatever the music was before 12 Rounds this time was much better then the night before!!! In Philly I thought I was going to fall asleep, it was some sort of dark spooky mood music that I just didnt' like then (any other place and I would have been in heaven but not when you're tired already and have to hold your spot on the barricade.) But anyway it was much better tonight and then 12 Rounds came out. I thought that they had been rather decent the night before in Philly, but the reception from the crowd here in Cleveland was horrid!! There was a constant booing.. and even some idiots calling for her to take her shirt off =( Morons!! And a good indicator of the night to come. The lack of enthusiasm is expected with an opening back but this was terrible. (The air practically dripped with ho-hum boredom the whole night... and this was supposed to be a hometown crowd??!!!) 12 Rounds' set wasn't bad, though I thought they had played better the night before. But I can see them growing on me, just not a great opener for Manson. So they finish up and the lights go back on. Pink Floyd's The Wall, disk 1 and then Dark Side of the Moon (thanks Jeff Davis =) rolls out of the speakers again. It was difficult to hear the music tonight up high so I had a hard time singing along cause I kept losing my place (too many stupid distractions!! =( ... Then lights go down and static errupts from the speakers...

Out pops Twiggy to stage left then I see the blinking blue light of Pogo behind the curtain, and perhaps a wavering moment of Gingers head and then John5 stage right. But all that is eclipsed by the shadow form that reflects onto the curtain. There again is the alien fallen to earth waiting for us. Tonight we had seen many little green omegas (the little green men perhaps) flashed onto the curtain but here stood the silhouett of reality and the veil is ripped away with the explosive entrance of a reflected god. An amazing entrance into our world that seems to make only a minor impact on those around us sadly. Its then a great big white world of blue light and smoke to our omega as he awakes from his nightmares of the antichrist. This song has always struck me as the perfect opener for this albums theme. The knowlegde that the darkness hasn't lasted and now there is nowhere to hide from all the knowledge of this bland and stark world we live in. And this feeling was captured, especially here amongst the bland, quite well i think. It was the realization that all the hatred and disgust with society had been absorbed and assimilated into the norm and no one seemed to realize it. The antichrists echos from the past were now lost in the static of the Omegas' present. Then a brief pause and the mechanical animal now reared his skeletal clutches at us. I never really liked the stilts or even appreciated the full extent of their impact (frankly they just struck too deep a nerve) and so I tended to ignore them the best I could. However from our vantage tonight I realized the full impact of them and was struck by the reality of them. Perhaps it was just that this song to me explained them finally. We are all mechanical animals with our crutchs and prostetics (either visible or invisible) and we are one with this whether we want to be or not. Tonight the skeletal figure calling out to us that he wasn't mechanical pointed out the sad irony to me of how robotic and industrial our orientation really is. But instead of scaring me it simply inspired a sense of sadness as the coldness of it all. No longer a figure of horror and night terrors, it was simply the boy lost in an automatic and sterile world of lackluster feelings. Something I felt reflected from the audience as well.

From here on out I was too engrossed in all the things going on to really remember the specific order of things, I do know that it was a shorter set then the night before. Somewhere in the middle of C&S (I think) Twigs bass went out and it seemed that the show might end a bit earlier then we had expected. For the next song or so there was constant barrage between techs, Twigs and sound people as they tried to fix the problem. It seemed though that manson took all this rather well... only throwing what looked like a minor hissy fit and leaving the ranting to Twigs. I had thought in Philly that Gingers drums were simply too overpowering at times and I wished they would fix it because I found it hard to heard the vocals sometimes. But I realized when Twigs' went out that it was the combination of the two that was overpowering. I still haven't decided how I feel about that but it was rather obvious (at least to me) the moment the bass died!!! But much to everybody's credit they kept going and finally a song later the problem was fixed.

Heres Tonights Highlights

Speed of Pain, so much more intense tonight for me... seeing it all made it more dramatic and I ended up crying this time (though I missed the upclose contact for this one.)

The Dancers, Manson seemed much rougher and uglier with them tonight and their timing was atroushious!! Their still tacky and ridiculous but I think now that I saw the whole picture (so to speak) thats exactly what they are supposed to be. Though I do like the way they fill in the vocals.

Prayer to the Drugs, tonight instead of trying to get audience participation during IDLTD manson simply prayed/offered up himself to the drug sign. An interesting statement in several ways, a big FU to the audience, and (at least to me) a mockery of those who had cheered during the Jesus Drug Speech. An interesting but sad moment for some reason, not nearly as entertaining as Pogo's way-to-go-god last night.

Omega Head, I missed the falling earth lightshow tonight but caught the HUGE Omega head that was suspended during the introduction of the Omega. I got to see it up close too at the aftershow, what a piece of art!! and extremely detailed!!!!

User Friendly, this song had always left a bitter taste in my mouth and I think I have always taken it a little too personally (I know big surprise there huh ;-) . But tonight I felt that shift of understanding that it wasn't me that was being mocked-- it was those around me who had come to the show out of a need for some allievation to their boredom or because they wanted to be "bad" and not those who felt a connection to the music and the band. Perhaps the last shred of my anxiety over all this was now gone =) One thing though.. I have to say it was rather interesting the past two nights watching Manson with the simulated acts he was performing. I think you could almost say he was giving the crowd an idea of how he felt about them. In Philly it was more... kinky, there was a connection and so it wasn't all that mean spirited I suppose. But in Cleveland, well I felt a bit sorry for the girl. Im sure he never really hit her but he sure as hell gave a good show of it. Now Im not a prude nor am I sexual insensitive either I sorta fall inbetween a conservative and liberal. Well I have to say that Manson managed to shock me both nights with the dancers. Which considering I was traveling with two of the prostitots and had to listen to some of the most disgusting and offensive things ever come out of their mouths this weekend, Manson should have been tame. But *L* leave it up to him to manage to shock me still =) *L* I left thinking that Ginger must be relieved to have a break from all that hostility these days =p

Well we got lucky and managed aftershow passes. So as soon as the lights came up we were out of there. They herded us into the lobby and we waited (just so that people will know I figure I'll be a bit detailed with this skip you already know). So once everyone is collected they give out the speech, NO photos, (sometimes, though not here) NO autographs, and stay in your seats. Then we show our pass and are herded like cattle to the back of the auditorium which opened up into another theater (really cool looking!!). We sit and we wait for the band to come out if they want to. Thats what aftershow is. We got lucky though, Ginger made a brief appearance (god hes tiny!!!) and then John 5 showed up (I hear hes super nice!!) and finally Pogo made an appearance! He was still was in a talkative mood too!!! I watched him just go on and on =) The best part was when he came gracefully down a ramp off the stage in these HUGE platforms... impressive and cute!! =) We hung out for a bit, I lost my confidence and watched (I get really sometimes, and of all the moments it had to be then!!) But I got to see the stage dismantled and all the props, Really cool!! Then it was over and we were told to move along. So we gathered our things, said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. I was so glad I didn't have to drive back that night. I was so exhausted LOL..

And so that was my adventure this leg of the tour. I can't wait til next year though!!! Post concert depression set in before we even left the state of Ohio =p But I know that I'll be back next leg for sure!!!