Photos and Review: Jeff Lasich
On a perfect August night, thousands of people jammed The Pavilion at Star Lake near Pittsburgh to party like it was the late 90’s again for the Freaks on Parade Tour.
Starting the night off was Powerman 5000, led by Spider One, who just happens to be the younger brother of Rob Zombie. Even though they opened the night, they played as if they were headlining. Bass player, Murv3 and guitar player Dan Schiz played to the crowd. Murv3 was jumping, smiling and having an all around good time on stage. They ended with “When Worlds Collide,” which appeared in one of the early Tony Hawk Pro Skater games.
The second act of the night was Static-X. Yeah the band with the singer whose hair looked like the Slim Jim guy. Unfortunately, their original singer Wayne Static passed away in 2014. Vocals are now done by Xer0. Dressed in all black, with a white mask and tall, spiked hair, his presence commanded attention. The band played 7 songs and announced they would be back in March on a headlining tour.
The sun was starting to set as Mudvayne hit the stage. I had seen some photos of them from this tour, so I was really looking forward to shooting this set. This was Mudvayne’s first real tour in over 13 years. Singer Chad Gray has been busy with HellYeah. Gray is a rather imposing figure. Tall, clad in overalls, a blue “mohawk” and wicked and bloody face paint, all eyes were on him. The crowd in the pit was really pumped for this set. During the opening song, Gray climbed down from the stage to hang over the barrier and sing along with his fans. They played a really emotional set, exceeding my expectations for sure. Guitar player Gregg Tribbitt looked cool and collected, despite his face being totally painted and wearing goggles on top of it. Bass payer Ryan Martinie ran and prowled across the stage like a man possessed. They ended with “Happy?” leaving the crowd frenzied for the headliners.
Closing out the night, was Rob Zombie. Over this past year I was able to catch John 5 and The Haxans, which is Piggy D’s new band, but it was nice to see everyone on stage together. Their set started with Zombie on top of a huge platform looking out to the thousands in attendance. They started with “Triumph of the Beast.” After the song ended, Zombie climbed down onto the main stage. He paced, ran and posed like a man possessed. As usual, John 5 was absolutely mesmerizing on guitar and looked like he could not be happier. After losing his mask, Piggy D sang along to the songs almost as much as Zombie. Seeing the band live is really like seeing a live version of their music videos. Excellent lighting, tons of video clips, and even some “snow” at points, it was a treat for the eyes as well. They did a couple White Zombie songs “Thunderkiss 65” and “More Human than Human,” some of the bigger Zombie songs like “Dragula” and “Living Dead Girl.” I was most excited for the theme song to House of 1000 Corpses. That performance was worth going itself. Rob Zombie and company have been doing this for a long time, and it shows they know how to put on a performance!
For for more photos from the show click on the links below.
