MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL REVIEW:
Monday, June 11, 2001
Ozz man out
Manson upstages creaky Osbourne at Alpine Valley metal show
By JONATHAN FOERSTER of the Journal Sentinel staff

East Troy -- Ozzfest is Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne's namesake, but
Saturday at Alpine Valley, it was Marilyn Manson's show. While Osbourne
showed his age, Manson seemed to leave behind his past attempts to
completely shock an audience and became an entertainer. Osbourne shuffled
around the stage as best he could, but years of drug and alcohol abuse have
definitely taken their toll on his body. Yet his demeanor was still
childlike and playful. When he wasn't singing or coaxing fans to clap their
hands, Ozzy sprayed the first 20 or so rows of fans with water. Occasionally
he would dunk his head in a bucket of water and then throw the rest of the
contents into the crowd. The rest of the band had the verve of the early
days, especially guitarist Tony Iommi. Dressed in his typical all-black
garb, Iommi stalked the stage while playing blistering riffs on his guitar.
Even though Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward looked older,
they played with the same execution that made them famous decades ago. But
in the end, no matter how hard Ozzy tried to excite the crowd, it wasn't
enough to upstage Manson. Manson opened his set by prancing on stage in a
helmet adorned with long black feathers. By the third song, "Disposable
Teens," Manson had lost the helmet but taken control of the audience. As he
waved his microphone stand, made out of a rifle, in the air during one of
his mid-show, anti-establishment sermons, the crowd looked to Manson as if
he had all the right answers to the world's problems. The key to Manson's
success was no longer trying to shock people into submission. While parts of
his show could be considered shocking, this wasn't the androgynous Manson of
two years ago or the Manson of the mid-'90s whose entire mission was to
enrage. He has become more intelligent with his anti-establishment
propaganda. And while no one would call a 30-foot cross made of a giant
rifle and two giant pistols subtle, it was definitely effective. Other
highlights from the daylong festival included powerful sets from Linkin Park
and Disturbed. Linkin Park played the day's most mellow set, with its
metal-influenced hip-hop. The band, which owes more to the Beastie Boys as
influences than to any metal band, used turntables for melodic purposes
rather than as noisemakers as most metal bands do. Disturbed was slated to
headline the second stage, but promoters wisely moved the band's powerful
sound to the main stage. Charismatic frontman Dave Drainman worked the crowd
like a younger Henry Rollins. Fans held onto every word as if it was the
gospel according to their shaved-head messiah. In perhaps the worst show of
the day, Slipknot proved to be nothing more than angry 20-somethings behind
masks. The band's music and stage show were repetitive to the point that
they seemed to be parodying themselves. However, the band's rage was fully
appreciated by the younger members of the audience. On the second stage,
newly appointed headliners Mudvayne and Union Underground played stale but
crowd-pleasing sets. And Reverend B. Dangerous pleased and disturbed the
crowd with his bizarre sideshow- like feats, such as breaking a cinder block
on his head and stapling a shirt to his arms and tongue.