JULY:

7/8: it's broadcast that Larry Ryckman, the owner of Calgary's Max Bell Centre, is trying to cancel Manson's July 25th Calgary show, citing "immorality" and the band's "use of animals on stage" as reason for the cancellation. Writes Canadian Spook Tammy Galas-Gray: "..morally disagreeing with a band is NOT a legal reason to cancel an already booked show after you've already cashed the rental cheque!" --which according to Universal Concerts Canada, the Max Bell had already done. Universal announces intent to sue.

7/10: Edmonton city officials vote whether or not to ban MM's July 26th show there. Universal Concerts says both the Calgary and Edmonton shows will go on, even if they have to find other venues. The Edmonton Sun reported that a coalition of religious groups demanded the band's show be restricted to adults because they fear Manson's "explicit lyrics, laden with references to Satanism and suicide, could prompt city youths to kill themselves." The coalition's spokesman, Dean Kurpjuweit, said earlier this week that Manson's songs "could be the factor that pushes them over the edge." (However, several suicide experts reassured the Sun’s readers that that’s not likely.)

7/11: City officials in Edmonton vote to let Manson's July 26th show go ahead as planned, stating that "a contract is a contract", and if people don't like the message, they shouldn't go. Meanwhile, Mr. Ryckman seems to be changing his tune slightly in Calgary. While just a few days ago he was threatening to bar the Max Bell Arena doors shut (!) if that's what it takes to stop the show, he is now saying that, if he's not successful in stopping the show, it'll be shut down the second security doesn't like what it sees.

7/17: a hearing in the Court of Queen's Bench to determine the fate of Manson's July 25th Calgary show lasts nearly three hours. Alderman Ray Clark threatens to have the show age-restricted if it's not cancelled outright. Tammy Galas-Gray: "Despite the fact the defence (the Max Bell) based their case on misinformation, lies, rumours & a one-time only incident that took place several years ago & not since, Universal's request for an injunction to force the Max Bell to host the show was denied. However, if Ryckman fails to post a $35,000 bond by Monday July 21st at noon, the show will go on. Considering the fact local Christian groups are already donating money to help Ryckman raise the $35,000, I won't be surprised if Ryckman does in fact come through..."

7/19: On the heels of the Calgary Manson concert being almost certainly cancelled, things are being stirred up in Ottawa, where the Convention Centre has received 75 complaints from parents, and Ottawa-Rideau MPP Garry Guzzo, a Conservative, is trying to have the band's August 1st show cancelled.

7/22: Ottawa show saved. The president of the Ottawa Convention Centre sensibly states that MM doesn't do anything illegal, so there's no reason to ban them.

07/22/97, Portland, OR, La Luna - cancelled; due to MM's reputation, venue was unable to get insurance for the gig.

07/23/97 Vancouver, CAN, PNE Forum

Also on 7/23: the Calgary show is sunk for good. The Calgary Sun reported:
"A Court of Queen's Bench judge last week denied an injunction on the part of promoters to get the show reinstated, agreeing with Ryckman's defence the centre didn't have complete knowledge of the band's vulgar show. But the judge also said Ryckman had to post a $35,000 cash bond or letter of credit by noon yesterday proving he could afford to cover Universal Concerts Canada's losses should a trial find he breached a contract to host the group. Minutes before the noon deadline, Max Bell Centre officials turned over the $32,000 cheque, as well as a $1,000 money order and a $2,000 certified cheque. At that time, a court clerk was confused about accepting the money because the court order was still unsigned in the office of Chief Justice Ken Moore, who was off-duty. Later, the clerk allowed Universal's lawyer Tom Mayson to take the $32,000 cheque to ensure there were sufficient funds to cover it. He took it to a branch of First Calgary and was told there were insufficient funds. ‘As far as we're concerned, we have an injunction,’ said Universal VP Mark Norman, breaking into laughter." --However... the court, in a move which smells awful damn suspicious from here, allowed the arena's general manager Glen Gretzky (brother of hockey star Wayne, BTW) time to re-submit a certified payment, and the show is now officially and irrevocably canceled. THUS:
07/25/97 Calgary, CAN, Max Bell Center--cancelled due to moral idiocy
(Nice note of cosmic revenge, however: in December Ryckman will lose ownership of the Max Bell Centre due to repeated nonpayment of city taxes. Heh. =)

Unrecalled late July date: release of the soundtrack to "Spawn," featuring "Long Hard Road Out Of Hell," Manson’s collaborative track with the Sneaker Pimps, which been recorded in early June. Manson seems delighted with the result, telling MTV News that "Kelli (Dayton, SP singer) sang to what I had been doing and worked off it..it was very magical. I adored it."

07/26/97 Convention Centre, Edmonton, CAN
(Manson & Twiggy visit West Edmonton Mall, billed as the biggest mall in the world. Twiggy reportedly bought over $250 worth of old CD's, especially Elvis ones, and both of them went to see the dolphin show. )

07/28/97 Walker Theatre, Winnipeg, CAN
07/31/97 Varsity Arena , Toronto, CAN
(Manson tells the crowd that the Metro Toronto police had barred him from singing "a certain song" because it might be offensive to certain people. He says, however, that he has "a duty to rock 'n' roll & the fans to play it", and then performs "Rock'n'Roll Nigger," wearing a borrowed Toronto policeman's uniform and accompanied by their black bus driver. --The police uniform reappears in the next two shows, so maybe it was, um, permanently borrowed.)

AUGUST:

08/01/97 Congress Centre, Ottawa, CAN
08/02/97 The Medley, Montreal, CA

+++++ FREE PLUG! For much, MUCH more on the Canadian shows, including reviews, visit the terrific website of La Reine des Spookies du Canada, Tammy Galas-Gray a/k/a Night Angel, without whom this section would have been darn near blank! (Yes, I promised her I’d say this, but she deserves it!) The Traveling Spookykids page.
Her central page, with more MM and other cool stuff.

08/09/97 Festival do Sudoeste, Portugal

8/13 --back in the USA, an interesting installment of irreverent talk-show "Politically Incorrect" airs. Manson is a guest along with Watergate burglary mastermind and right-wing radio host G. Gordon Liddy, TV actress Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady of "The Brady Bunch"), and part-time rapper and self-described "abstinence activist" Lakita Garth. Garth basically runs away with the program, leaving Manson to split the remainder between refuting her louder claims and holding hands with Henderson.

8/15 - 8/21/97: German dates in Leipzig, Munchen, Berlin, Hamburg
08/22/97 Stuttgart, Germany; Metallica headlining, MM as special guests.
08/23/97 Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, Belgium
08/24/97 Reading Festival, UK

SEPTEMBER:

9/2: The Miami New Times runs a feature article on Scott P’s lawsuit against Manson, according to which he "alleges that he is a victim of attorney malpractice and breach of contract, and that he is owed thousands of dollars [note that figure] in record royalties, publishing rights, and merchandise sales." Putesky - Scott’s real surname is used in the article, so we’ll use it here - alleges that he has gotten no royalties for any of the MM songs he co-wrote and performed, or for any MM merchandising. He also asserts that he was "gradually forced out" of the band by Manson. (Though other sources make it clear that his exit tag should read "quit" rather than "fired", it’s also clear he did so under pressure.) Richard Wolfe, Scott’s attorney, goes so far as to assert that the band’s LA lawyer, David Codikow, designed MM’s partnership agreement to favor Marilyn individually, and that Codikow thus "acted in a conspiracy with Warner" to defraud the others, specifically Putesky. Putesky admits he never actually read this document before signing it (...), but claims he was rushed into signing. Codikow’s office did not comment. Brad/Gidget’s lawyer, John Francis of Ft. Lauderdale, likewise refused comment – his suit, though filed in 1995, was still pending as of 9/97 (almost certainly the reason for Scott’s delayed royalties)

9/4: MM makes an epic appearance to close the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. As a curtain rose to display the gigantic Anti-Flag and the other band members stood motionless in their places, Manson made a grand entrance backed by a high school marching band playing "Hail To The Chief" and flanked by two would-be Secret Service Men (or maybe they were Men In Black, considering Manson’s alien lineage). Resplendent in a long, fur-trimmed black coat, Manson stepped up to a blue podium bearing the ACS shock symbol and harangued the audience: "My fellow Americans, we will no longer be oppressed by the fascism of Christianity, and we will no longer be oppressed by the fascism of beauty. ‘Cause I see you all sitting out there trying your hardest not to be ugly...trying your hardest not to fit in...trying your hardest to earn your way into heaven...but let me ask you - do you wanna be in a place that’s filled with a bunch of assholes?!"
The band then kicked into a harsh "Beautiful People," midway through which Manson shed his long coat to reveal himself clad in a backlaced black leather corset and g-string, black boots and stockings, black sleeves and very little else. The stunned trendies in attendance and the latenight TV audience were treated to extended views of the Rev’s bare butt, an event that was pictured in SPIN Magazine’s year-end issue and even got a mention in TV GUIDE (which agreed with us that even so, he was better dressed than the Spice Girls). Other band members were similarly dressed up for the occasion, with Zim in black leather pants and Pogo in a striking combo of black leather pants and matching long tailcoat. Only Twig stuck to his standard tour outfit of beige dress and combat boots.
(The VMAs' apparently nonplussed host, comedian Chris Rock, closed Manson's performance and the show by shouting "Run to church right now! Get your asses to church or you’re going to hell!")

09/08/97 The Olympia, Sao Paulo, Brazil

9/9: Sneaker Pimps go public with their displeasure over "Long Hard Road Out of Hell," calling both Manson and the finished track "crap" and comparing the chance to work it over in the studio to the chance to "polish up a turd." They also charge that Manson never gave them a chance to approve the final mix. Manson dismisses the band and their complaints, saying he’s already even forgotten their names.

09/11-12/97 Velez Shed Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
09/14/97 Santiago, Chile
09/16/97 Mexico City, Mexico

9/24: MTV News reports on Scott P’s lawsuit. By now online speculation on the outcome is widespread, with estimates of Scott’s requested compensation running from five million up to a boggling fifteen million. (No one seems to actually know what he IS asking, but apparently it is past the thousands reported earlier this month.)

OCTOBER:

10/17: MTV debuts the video for "Long Hard Road Out Of Hell". A vivid departure from the cryptic, stylized sepiatone of the previous three videos, this featured gory religious symbolism, dramatic sexual ambiguity, a splash of sadism and some really strange jewelry in richly saturated color (plus no appearance whatever by the Sneaker Pimps). Generally reckoned to presage a clear trend away from the horrific "Manson" aspect and toward the glamorous "Marilyn" side of the band.

10/20: Marilyn and Twiggy make a surprise appearance during Smashing Pumpkins’ set at Neil Young’s Bridge Foundation Benefit show. Manson, decked out in a fur coat, shiny tank top and cowboy hat, is introduced by Corgan as "Billy the Space Cowboy" - accompanied by Twiggy in a red wig and black & white pinto-patterned coat. With Twig on guitar, they join the Pumpkins in acoustic versions of "Eye" and "Beautiful People".

NOVEMBER: 11/6: The Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management and Restructuring held a public hearing on November 6th, 1997, allegedly to discuss the effect of violent rock and rap lyrics on kids. It soon became apparent that the hearing was in reality just the latest battle in Senator Joseph Lieberman's war on Marilyn Manson. (Rap was barely mentioned; after a few comments in the opening remarks the rappers were dismissed until the final speech by C. DeLores Tucker.) The core of the hearing was (1) the testimony of Mr. Raymond Kuntz, of Burlington, ND, who blames his teenage son Richard’s suicide on "Antichrist Superstar" and (2) the committee's attempt to use this sad event to force record labels into a program of self-censorship. Kuntz compared Manson’s music to "a cancer on our society" and "a hand grenade that was going to go off in (Richard’s) mind", and accused them, groundlessly, of responsibility for a steady string of suicides ("our children are dying by ones and twos by this man’s music"). Lieberman specifically condemned Marilyn Manson and their "Antichrist Superstar" CD - "vile, hateful, nihilistic and damaging" - and called on Seagrams [owners of 50% of Interscope] to disassociate themselves from MM. Plainly, the Senate (et al) has realized that seeking legislation won't work, and has decided on a new tack, that of pressuring or shaming labels into "voluntarily" repressing extreme material. (For much more on this harrowing afternoon, visit Fun With Joe and Delores.)

MTV airs a segment on the year’s Manson controversy as part of its "Fight For The Right" series. People interviewed include Manson attorney Paul Cambria, Nina Crowley of the anti-censorship group Massachusetts Music Industry Coalition (MASSMIC), Empower America policy expert (now a member of Sen. Brownback’s staff and largely responsible for the anti-Manson Senate hearing) Cherie Harder, and POAAFA founder Nova Bonzek.

11/10 "Remix and Repent" release date. This remix CD was basically the companion piece to "Antichrist Superstar" as "Smells Like Children" had been to "Portrait", and was illustrated with onstage photos, underscoring the unity of the ACS LP with the DTTW tour. Reaction was mild, some charging that the live tracks were over-polished in the studio, lacking their live immediacy and impact. However, it was still seized upon by fans, who had had only soundtrack contributions to sustain them since the release of ACS.

DECEMBER

Early December: release of "Vanishing Century", Three Ton Gate’s debut EP, recorded in June thru August at Ft. Lauderdale’s Digital Beach Studios. Production and composition of the seven tracks (five songs, two instrumental remixes) is credited to Scott Mitchell Putesky, recording, mixing and mastering by Nathaniel Seidman. Tracks: Honor / X Files Girl / Hollywood's Heaven / Keep Me Warm / Honor (instrumental)/ Head / Keep Me Warm (instrumental). New vocalist Tyreah James sang on only two of the tracks, "X Files Girl" and "Keep Me Warm"; all other vocal duties, instruments and programming were handled by Scott. (Chris Carter has not been reached for comment.) Fans had been given the opportunity to purchase autographed advance copies through TTG’s website, and early reaction was generally favorable. Nice trivia note: First name listed in the CD’s "Thanks to" was our very own Grim Jack, maintainer of TTG’s webpage as well as the famous and much-cited Misery Machine.

12/8: Manson and Twiggy make another guest appearance with the Smashing Pumpkins, during the SP’s set opening for the Rolling Stones in Miami.

12/10: MTV presents its year-end wrap-up, "1997 Year In Rock", featuring segments on and comments by Manson, Fiona Apple, Sean "Puffy" Combs, and that ratty-looking snot from Jamiroquai. No love lost between these participants, as both Jay Kay and Puffy dished Manson (Puffy even decreed that Manson doesn’t exist, having committed the supposed crime of "disrespecting God". Fiona defended her pal: "Sure, that’s disrespectful to God, IF you believe in God.") Manson served out his own one-liners, slicing up the ska trend, the Spice Girls, and Puffy’s sonic burglaries; asked about Combs’ music he shot back "His music, or Sting’s music?" (The reference, in case you've been sensible enough to avoid Puffy's pickpocketry, is to the wholesale swipe of the Police classic "Every Breath You Take" in Puffy's Grammy-nominated tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G., "Missing You.")-- Possibly best line: "I guess people want to have fun. I don’t like fun. Fun upsets me."
---Manson’s summary of his immediate future: "The book’s gonna be the first thing everyone sees. If I don’t go to prison for the things contained within it, and I’m not murdered by the people that I write about, then we’ll finish our album, which should be done, or actually out, by May."

1/1/98: The New York Times asks musicians about their goals for the year 2000. One of the people asked was Marilyn Manson:
"My plan for the millennium is to save rock-and-roll from my senseless and unimaginative peers, and to look good while doing so."