Both Marilyn Manson and the Smashing Pumpkins are strongly associated with the ’90s alt-rock boom, but both bands are making some of the strongest music of their careers right now. Marilyn Manson’s album The Pale Emperor was released in January to critical acclaim: Rolling Stone said the album was the band’s “best, most twisted alt-rock party in years.” A month before, the Smashing Pumpkins released Monuments to an Elegy, which All Music called “surprising” and “sometimes dazzling,” and The Guardian said “returns to the trademark Pumpkins sound.”
Marilyn Manson
For these two titans of ’90s hard rock to tour together would have been pretty amazing in 1996, but it’s nearly as exciting now, with both bands armed with decades of material to draw from. Of course, that includes classic-era hits, like Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People,” “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “The Dope Show” and the Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Cherub Rock” and “Zero.” But it’s also likely to include plenty of strong new songs, along with the occasional deep cut.
Both Marilyn Manson’s namesake frontman and Smashing Pumpkins mastermind Billy Corgan have endured their share of controversy through the years, and while both men are still more than willing to speak their minds, these days their main focus is on the music. The bands’ joint tour is called the End Times Tour, but for both bands, there’s no reason to think that there’s any end in sight.
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, 8 p.m. July 10, starting at $59.50 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849
