Summary of Nov. 18th Toronto concert:

Well, my Manson adventures began on November 17th when Manson and gang were at HMV (a music store) signing autographs. I got there at 5 and autographs began at 5:30 but the lineup was for 4 blocks! I guess they didn't start offically until 6 and they were only there for an hour so I knew I wasn't going to get an autograph. Some people were in line since 8 in the morning! But I hanged in there and got a free poster for all my troubles. Some people didn't take the news that they wouldn't get an autograph well and started to rip up the free posters as Manson's limo rode by us and some person even threw water at the window. I bet Manson wasn't happy about that. He tried his hardest to get through all the fans he could but he's only human. Well, then the night of the concert arrived. I got all dressed up and lined up at 5:30 and doors opened at 6. The line was huge and I didn't get into the doors until 7:30. The Arrow Hall was big. There was a beer section and then a food section and then the concert area. I stood up front and after a while people started to push and tall people got in front of my 5 foot body and so I had to go further back. Let me tell you I wasn't a happy camper. But I ended up being able to see Manson and Twiggy and those were the people I wanted to see the most. The opening band was 12 Rounders and they weren't bad. I couldn't hear the singer's words very much but catched words like "alcohol" and "fuck you" so I caught the message of the songs :) But they were good and had wonderful personalities. The woman had a nice voice and presented herself really well. Then Manson came on and everyone went nuts. They played a lot of songs from different albums. It ranged from Portrait days with Lunchbox to Smells Like Children with Sweet Dreams and the rare Rock N' Roll Nigger (banned until recently because it was assumed it was a racist song when in fact it's the polar opposite and not even an original). A lot of songs off ACS was played and the major songs of Mechanical Animals. Manson still loves to strip and had a lot of great outfits. My favorite is the red shiny outfit with the furry shoulders. He even wore a cop uniform during Rock N' Roll Nigger which was cool. I couldn't really see Pogo or Ginger Fish a lot but I did see Pogo's hair (it's kinda hard to miss!!). Twiggy was wearing his purple dress and was adorable as usual. Manson used his stilts again for this tour and hasn't lost his coordination in them one bit! Overall this was a wonderful concert. I wish the auditorium was more open so it isn't so compacted in the front but I was happy with what I got. I give this concert, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 10.

Stephanie