ROB ZOMBIE/MARILYN MANSON (A Parent’s Perspective) SHOW REVIEW!

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Rob Zombie. Marilyn Manson. Two names that belong on a concert bill written in blood.

Add the industrial bite of Orgy and the Mongolian thunder of The HU, and you’ve got one hell of a gathering. Heavy riffs, horror, and a lineup that wears its weirdness proudly. Freaks on Parade was a pretty fitting name for this one.

On August 29, 2026, that bill landed at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA, and Pittsburgh’s beautiful freaks came out in full force. This was a night for the people who find a little comfort in music that sounds like a nightmare.

I’d wanted to see Manson and Zombie for a long damn time. Getting both on the same night was already enough to get me through the gate. The HU were phenomenal, Manson delivered one hell of a performance, and Zombie took us all the way to **“Dragula.”** There was plenty here to satisfy the horror fan, the music fan, and the dad with two names to cross off his bucket list.

Along for the ride was my 14-year-old daughter, Ava, otherwise known as The Pop Punk Kid, she’s a huge Manson and Zombie fan, so this one was right up her alley. Both artists had been on mine and her concert bucket list for a while, so getting to experience them with her made this a pretty damn special night before we even got to the music. And the crowd?, Well, feaks on parade in the best possible way. The welcome they gave my kid was every bit as memorable as what happened onstage.

Our night started a little later than planned, which unfortunately meant missing the beginning of Orgy’s set and my opportunity to shoot photos of them. We did catch the latter half, though, so they were still part of our evening, even if they won’t be represented in the photo gallery. The closing stretch included **“Stitches”** and a **“Blue Monday / You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”** medley. Those are some pretty recognizable songs to walk into, and Orgy’s place on this bill made perfect sense. I would have liked to catch the whole thing and get them in front of my camera. Next time, Orgy.

We were there for every bit of The HU, and holy shit, they were phenomenal. Their combination of Mongolian throat singing, traditional instruments, and heavy rock gave this lineup a sound all its own. With Manson and Zombie still to come, it would have been easy to spend the support sets thinking ahead, but The HU deserved your attention right then and there.

Opening with **“Lost Soul,”** they worked through a set that eventually brought us **“Yuve Yuve Yu,” “Wolf Totem,”** and **“This Is Mongol”** to close. I was glad we got their full performance, because they were one of the highlights of the night. They also made for some great photos, letting to enjoy a band that much while coming away with shots you’re excited about is a pretty good combination. The HU delivered on both counts.

Then came Marilyn Manson. Manson remains a controversial figure, and I believe he always will, but he had also been on my concert bucket list for a long time, and at Star Lake he put on one hell of a show. Ava was already a huge fan, so getting to experience that set together carried a little more weight than simply checking a name off a list.

He opened with **“Exit Wound,”** followed by **“Disposable Teens,”** with the set moving through songs including **“Tourniquet”** and **“The Dope Show.”** There was plenty here for someone who had waited a long time to see him, and I finally got to hear those songs in person with my daughter there for the same reason: she loves this music, and then **“The Beautiful People”** sent my brain somewhere very specific. Old-school WWE SmackDown. I actually joked to myself about pulling up the old SmackDown intro on YouTube and holding my phone up while he played. That song was the theme, and apparently that connection is permanently lodged in my head, dad brain takes some weird detours.

After a brief intermission, the curtain went up, and we waited for Rob Zombie to go.

Zombie opened with **“F.T.W. 84”** and **“Tarantula”** before getting into **“Superbeast.”** His set worked through solo favorites alongside White Zombie songs, including **“More Human Than Human”** and, later, **“Thunder Kiss ’65.”** In between came **“Living Dead Girl”** and **“Feel So Numb,”** among others. Ava was so stoked that Zombie played all of her favorites. You can go into a show hoping for a few particular songs and leave happy if you get most of them, but to get every song is pretty rad, especially for a kid who’s already such a big fan.

At one point, Zombie put the crowd at roughly 22,000 people from the stage. I’m going by his announcement on that number, but the part I can personally speak to is how welcoming everyone felt, especially toward my 14-year-old. That stayed with me throughout the night. Ava could be there, love the bands she loves, and feel like she belonged.

The only small bummer came at the end. **“Dragula”** closed the night, as expected, but I had been hoping we might also get Manson and Zombie together for their cover of The Beatles’ **“Helter Skelter.”** They had performed it together at earlier stops on the tour, and seeing both of those bucket-list artists share a song would have been a pretty great bonus. We didn’t get that duet at Star Lake. I would have loved it, but it hardly changes how I feel about the show. The HU were phenomenal, Manson delivered, and Zombie played every one of my daughter’s favorites. That is an awfully good night. Pittsburgh’s beautiful freaks showed up on parade

*Check out the photo gallery below for shots of The HU, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie from our night at Star Lake!

PHOTO GALLERY

THE FREAKS ON PARADE TOUR

Date	City	Venue
September 4	Clarkston, MI	Pine Knob Music Theatre
September 5	Tinley Park, IL	Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
September 6	Noblesville, IN	Ruoff Music Center
September 9	Maryland Heights (St. Louis), MO	Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
September 10	Riverside (Kansas City), MO	Morton Amphitheater
September 12	Greenwood Village, CO	Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 14	West Valley City, UT	Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
September 16	Airway Heights, WA	BECU Live at Northern Quest
September 17	Auburn, WA	White River Amphitheatre
September 18	Ridgefield, WA	Cascades Amphitheater
September 20	Concord, CA	Toyota Pavilion at Concord