Rob Zombie - is fun in the sun!!!

June 29th 2014

Dessel, Graspop Festival, Belgium

***1/2

Hot damn it's Rob Zombie!

Graspop Metal Meeting

Rob Zombie ***1/2 (Main Stage 2) are today's headliners after Megadeth pulled out for personal reasons and today he performs a cut down festival set. Rob Zombie live performances have been getting some bad reviews and I have no idea why because I have never seen him do a bad live set and today is no different. Ok it's not the best I have seen him, but that is only because of the high bar he set before. For anyone else this would be a five star appearance, but for the amazing Rob he has done better.

Opening with the really popular single 'Dragula' which get's everything into motion and you realise, yes the set is cut back but it's going to be a whole lot of fun. It's a good excuse to jump around as Rob comes out with thrills and a funky hat and John 5 is in an almost gimp mask while he plays the memorable riffs to the song. 'Superbeast' see's Rob thrashing his really cool skeleton microphone stand back and forth and the sound is a totally explosion of Industrial Esq. Pop.

A 'Living dead Girl' is what all us guys want so as he plays this it's always the time to look around and see what hot girls are in the audience because they are the ones that are always singing this song the loudest. 'Dead city radio and the new Gods of Supertown' stands out as well as classic tracks in the set and is a fun mover and groover and leads on nicely to a weird interlude of Ginger Fish showing what he is made of in a huge drum section. I think this is a little un needed because they have only played four songs and it takes the place of another one they could have played. This is coming from the biggest Ginger Fish fan, he is my drumming icon so I really enjoy this... but just surprised it is their so soon.

The next song is one most people in the crowd are looking forward to the White Zombie song 'More Human, Than Human' this is one of the biggest songs in the Industrial Metal genre and never fails to impress each time he plays it. With the simplistic riffs and well put together melodies songs like this really defined Rob's sound and moved him forward into the writing of so many great iconic tunes. 'Sick Bubble-Gum' is fun as usual with the big balls getting hit from the stage into the audience and then flying every which way all around the grounds of the Graspop Metal Meeting.

Also this song gives John 5 a chance to really shine, while he plays his guitar at the same time as being hit by big blow up balls. I think he works really well while being distracted, shows how good a guitar player he is. I do think though in a festival set like the Ginger drum solo you don't really need the John 5 segment which is shows a collection guitar solo's that sound like they were taken from on of his virtuoso solo albums. Again it's not because I don't like them it's just because the set is short.

'House of 1000 Corpses' is a good slow number that makes you think of Rob's films, while 'Never gonna Stop' just makes me laugh because how can such a simplistic song be so brilliant and this one is one of my favs. Their is a good cover of 'Am I Evil' by Diamond Head before we get another White Zombie classic 'Thunder Kiss 65' which is as good as the other White Zombie hit he played earlier. I also love when he goes into the crowd during the set to sing the songs, shaken everyone by the hand and looking like he really wants to meet all his fans which is a really cool thing to do.

The set is ended with the Alice Cooper classic track 'School's Out', I don't know if is because the two of them toured together not to long ago. I am a huge Alice Cooper fan but I really think that they should have ended on one of Rob's classic numbers rather than a cover. He has so many tracks that he can pull out of the air so I don't really know why he decided to play a cover to close his performance.

Rob Zombie - Setlist
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Dragula
Superbeast
Living dead Girl
Dead city radio and the new Gods of Supertown
Ginger Fish (Drum Solo)
More Human, Than Human
Sick Bubble-Gum
House of 1000 Corpses
Never gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
Am I Evil?
Thunder Kiss 65
John 5 (Guitar Solo)
School's Out