Live ReviewsMusic
Rob Zombie Puts Freaks on Parade at PNC Music Pavilion
5 takeaways from Sunday's show
Metal fans worshipped at the church of Zombie on Sunday night, as the Freaks on Parade Tour featuring Rob Zombie, Mudvayne, Static-X and Powerman 5000 cruised into Charlotte. A packed PNC Music Pavilion had plenty to sing/scream about, which left me with a few thoughts the next day:
1. It’s the tour of brotherly love
If you weren’t already aware, Powerman 5000 singer Spider One (Michael Cummings) is the younger brother of Rob Zombie (Robert Cummings). Little bro got to warm up the show shortly after a rain delay. The band quickly tour through a seven-song setlist that culminated with their biggest (only?) hit, “When Worlds Collide.”
2. Static-X With Rome
I know it’s a tribute, but it’s not labeled as such. So, it’s just damn weird seeing Static-X without original singer/founder Wayne Static. That being said, new singer Xer0 does a fine job with the role and is often seeing pointing to the sky in tribute to Wayne, who died in 2014. Having seen the original Static-X live in the past, it’s just not the same. Much like the upcoming Pantera “tribute,” I guess if a band wants to introduce new people to their music while celebrating the music of the past with longtime fans, it is what it is…
3. That had to hurt
Mudvayne singer Chad Gray has been known for his dreadlocked goatee that hangs nearly to his waist. So it had to hurt like hell when, at an earlier tour stop, one of his dreads was yanked out of his face. I wince in pain just running a comb through a beard tangle. With a reunited Mudvayne, Gray was in fine form — tearing through his vocals and spending a good portion of the night on the barricade making friends with the crowd.
4. He’s a showman, plain and simple
Singer, and movie director, Rob Zombie is the consummate showman. From the opening notes of his set, Zombie was bouncing around the stage, dancing, ignoring massive creatures hanging around the stage behind him, and making full use of numerous video screens. It’s a concert as much as it as a play and performance. Like his music or not, Rob Zombie is nothing short of entertaining in the live setting.
5. It’s all about The Munsters
Between bands, a short promo for Zombie’s upcoming movie The Munsters could be seen on the PNC Music Pavilion video screens. That didn’t stop Zombie from playing the movie trailer before his final song, too. It felt like it was everywhere, and hitting you over the head much like so many of the bass lines and double kickdrum beats of the night. While Zombie performed a few songs from his 2021 album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, it felt more like a Munsters promo, instead.
Be sure to check out Queen City Nerve’s Soundwave, Charlotte’s most comprehensive live music listing, so you don’t miss out on any shows or concerts coming up. And hell, if you’re looking for something else to do, you can check out our events page as well, which runs the gamut of things to do in Charlotte. You don’t ever have to be bored again. You can check out more of Jeff’s pics and live reviews here.
Rob Zombie setlist
The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)
Superbeast
Meet the Creeper
Shake Your Ass – Smoke Your Grass
Living Dead Girl
More Human Than Human
Scum of the Earth
Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.
House of 1000 Corpses
Thunder Kiss ’65
Dragula
The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)
Superbeast
Meet the Creeper
Shake Your Ass – Smoke Your Grass
Living Dead Girl
More Human Than Human
Scum of the Earth
Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.
House of 1000 Corpses
Thunder Kiss ’65
Dragula
Mudvayne setlist
Dig
Internal Primates Forever
-1
Under My Skin
Severed
Death Blooms
Determined
Not Falling
Nothing to Gein
Dull Boy
World So Cold
Happy?
Static-X setlist
Bled for Days
Wisconsin Death Trip
Sweat of the Bud
Love Dump
Cold
I’m With Stupid
Push It
Powerman 5000 setlist
Footsteps and Voices
Nobody’s Real
Invade, Destroy, Repeat
Super Villain
Bombshell
Supernova Goes Pop
When Worlds Collide
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