Rob Zombie performs in Saginaw for the Great American Nightmare tour. Photos/Jamie Limbright
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]ob Zombie is well-known for supplying some of the most entertaining and memorizing shows. He lived up to that legacy, closing out the Great American Nightmare tour in Saginaw on Saturday.
The evening started with Rob Zombie’s Drummer, DJ Ginger Fish, mixing a wide variety of melodies ranging from “Du Hast” by Rammstein to Slipknot’s new single, “The Negative One.”
8:30 pm struck, Rob Zombie took the stage displaying an American flag as the band began playing “We’re An American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad. This song prompted an exceptional response from fans, but the energy hit max level when they followed it up with, “Superbeast.”
With the ball rolling, the band decided to change gears by covering “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” by James Brown before segueing into, “Living Dead Girl.”
Rob Zombie shows are infamous for the measure of production value. And even though this particular display was not ordained with all the crazy bells and whistles, it proved that this group doesn’t always require a spectacular stage set-up to put on an entertaining show.
The backdrop consisted of famous horror characters, such as the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Dracula. Rob stood on a black and white platform with “LOVE DEATH SEX” imprinted on it.
Rob Zombie kept true to his former band, White Zombie, by playing “More Human Than Human.” As this song concluded, Rob started to release details of his tour and stated his desire to be in Michigan for his favorite holiday, Halloween, obviously.
All of a sudden, a clown appeared onstage along with big ruby and black inflatable balls. He began playing with them onstage before sending them out into the crowd as you heard the beginning notes of “Sick Bubble-Gum.”
The next songs consisted of Zombie’s greatest hits, such as “House of 1000 Corpses” and “Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)” which drew strong crowd participation.
Continuing with the trend of covers, the band played “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones after expressing their love for each of the band members.
Next up, was another White Zombie cover, “Thunder Kiss ‘65”, but this one had something special in stored. Midway through, John 5 broke out a guitar solo as his instrument lit up neon green.
The monumental moment of the evening came as audience members moved their focus away from John 5 to Rob making his way through the crowd. Surrounded by security guards, Rob pushed away anyone that attempted to touch him, even knocking devoted fans to the ground.
Rob rejoined his band onstage and finished up the White Zombie cover while the fans were still stirring with shock. The band went back to Zombie material with the horror infused, “Jesus Frankenstein” and “The Lords of Salem.”
The band closed out the night with their number one single, “Dragula.” Fans pumped their fists along to the beat and not sang, but screamed along to every word.
The night was filled endless energy and affection for Rob Zombie and his band. Their music is an adoration to both horror and rock music. That combo made for an excellent show in true Rob Zombie tradition.
