As requested...here is the detailed report!
As I had mentioned previously, I scored tix to the company box at Allstate Arena. In addition, I scored free parking at the "easy outs" boxholder parking lot. SWEET!
My bro and I arrived at the Allstate about 45 minutes before the scheduled 7PM start time. Perfect amount of time for the mandatory lap around the lobby of the arena for people watching, and viewing the overpriced merchandise. To my surprise, there really weren't too many folks "gothed" out. I expected a lot more. I guess the teeny bopper goth fad is out. It seemed just like your normal hard rock / metal crowd.
We later find out how to get into the corporate boxes. There are actually numbered doors in the lobby to get to them. In other words, as long as no one would kick you out, it's pretty easy to sneak into them!!!!
I found our box, and a woman from my work with her 16 year old son. She had told me previously, "Oh yea, he likes all that heavy stuff". I introduce myself to him, and the first thing he says is, "OH man. I am so excited. I didn't know Bleeding Through was playing!!!" I could have ripped him a new one right there on the spot, but the kid's mom was there. How could I? He was so excited too. Anyhow, we got to talking, and he is actually very knowledgable of metal (Though he favors metalcore). I told him I had seen BT before at the Metro. To which he says, "You have been to the METRO???" Then I told him they were opening for the HAUNTED, to which he replies, "You saw the HAUNTED and Bleeding Through at the METRO????" I didn't have the heart to tell him it was one of the more lamer shows I have been to, but whatever. He seemed like a good kid. Though here are some excerpts from our conversation (IE - things "HE" said):
- "I prefer newer In Flames to older In Flames"
- "I used to love TRIVIUM when they played metalcore, I don't like them as much now that they sound like older METALLICA"
- "Lars Ulrich's drumming got a lot more technical on St Anger"
These quotes are ver batim! (SP???)
Anyhow, a couple minutes later Bleeding Through took to the stage. Nothing to really say here. They are completely awful in my opinion, and that's not just because I don't like metalcore. There are some bands who play that genre that you can tell have some genuine talent as musicians (IE - LoG, Shadows Fall, etc). These guys don't. The singer is an annoying twit who couldn't get through any in-between song banter without dropping 4 F-bombs.
Now to more important things.......SLAYER!
It was fairly obvious that while Manson has a lot of fans, it was the presence of SLAYER at this show that brought the people out.
They opened with something new off of Christ Illusion, I assume. Next they did War Ensemble, Chemical Warfare, and Ghosts of War! How's that for a 1-2-3 punch? I am really bad at remembering the order of setlists. Other songs played were Hell Awaits, South of Heaven, Disciple, Cult, Raining Blood, Angel of Death, and a couple more I didn't know. I was very happy with this setlist, as it was a good mix of old and new. The stage show was great also, with a separate video for each track (Which is very similar to what they did on the Unholy Alliance tour last summer for those familiar). Another cool thing they did was two huge inverted crosses made out of amp speakers. Another fine Slayer performance. Do they really ever have an off night? I have yet to see one. Sure, they may not ever write another studio album that many care about, but they still are a great live band.
We were going to take off right after Slayer, but the seating right in front of the box was very spacious and comfy. A whole bunch of us stayed, hung out, and shot the shit. There are two rows of 5 seats each in front of the box.
Next was Manson. I was more interested in seeing his stage show than anything else. You know what? It was nothing to write home about. All he really had was a video screen and some lights on the side of the stage. Periodically, a character would come out or he would bring out some prop, but it was nothing very shocking. We stayed for maybe 8 songs. The only 2 "hits" played during that time were "Sweet Dreams" and "The Dope Show". Not too much excitement from the crowd. Slayer stole the night hands down.
I guess not to anyone's surprise, the entire balcony was empty, save maybe 100 people total. The floor and mezzanine were filled though. This show could have easily been at the Congress or Aragon.
Overall, a fun night. I think having the corporate box made it a unique experience. It was cool to see Slayer on a big stage, as I have only seen them in the past at the Aragon multiple times.
Sorry, I know this was long, but a few of you wanted details, so there you go!
I never saw Manson live and honestly lost interest after "Anti-Christ Superstar", which was my favorite album released from them. I even bought the first home video (yes, I have it on VHS. Shut it.) where I got a good look into Manson's twisted mind. Despite the creepy factor, I did feel that he was pretty intelligent. Like I said though, the last decade has seen nothing decent from him musically IMO, and he has stretched far beyond the weirdness. Do they still have any fans? I dunno. I guess Monday's show will tell. 
