Mechanical Animals Tour
# Mechanical Animals Tour

Mechanical Animals was a worldwide tour by the band Marilyn Manson in support of their third LP record Mechanical Animals, released on September 15, 1998. The tour extended from late 1998 to early 1999 and was recorded in 1998 for the VHS-format God is in the TV which was released on November 2, 1999.

The Mechanical Animals European Festival Tour was supposed to be the first leg of the tour. This particular leg of the tour consisted of six dates to be played at various European festivals planned as the debut of follow-up material to Antichrist Superstar two months before the release of Mechanical Animals. This leg of the tour spanned from June 25, 1998, until July 12, 1999.

Reportedly, drummer Ginger Fish became ill with mononucleosis. This led the band to cancel the entire summer European leg and postpone the beginning of the tour to October 25, 1998.

Beginning on October 25, 1998, and lasting until January 31, 1999, the "Mechanical Animals Tour" included two legs spanning a Fall to Winter World Tour in Europe, Japan, and North America and a 6 show headlining stint at the Big Day Out Music Festival in Australia.

## Background

After declining a headlining slot at the failing Lollapalooza summer music festival (along with numerous other bands) in early 1998 due to delays in Mechanical Animals' release, the band launched the first of their own headlining tours in support of the album. The tour was originally intended to begin on June 25, 1998, with a series of 6 festival dates in Europe lasting until July 12, 1998. However, drummer Ginger Fish became ill with mononucleosis, leading to the cancellation of the entire summer European leg and the postponement of the beginning of the tour to October 25, 1998, in Lawrence, Kansas.

## Performance and show themes

With this being the first leg of the tour, the stage show was minimal compared to later legs of the tour

## Incidents

As with the band's preceding 1997 world tour, Dead to the World, the Mechanical Animals Tour met with heavy resistance from civic and religious leaders. The first of these protests occurred on October 19, 1998. A month before a planned performance at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York, local activists began calling for a cancellation of the engagement. According to Associated Press, then-Syracuse Mayor Roy Bernardi attempted to block the venue's permit, citing a "moral obligation to the people of Syracuse", without specifying any reason for his objections. Onondaga County officials also attempted to extort the Landmark into halting the event by threatening to withhold $30,000 in county funds earmarked for the venue, prompting the venue's bookers to consider dropping the show altogether. Despite this, representatives for the Landmark started selling tickets on the day it was planned and the performance took place on the arranged date and venue.

## Broadcasts and recordings

Various shows were recorded on the tour but there was no specific information about which dates. A 40-minute short film was released on VHS entitled God Is in the T.V. following the tour, however it only contained short live clips from various shows. Widely heralded as the band's best tour, their 2012 comeback sparked interest in the release of an uninterrupted live DVD of this tour. It is not known if the full recordings exist of the performances shown in God Is in the T.V.. The only full live recordings available are bootleg from their January 23, 1999 concert in Sydney, Australia during their headlining stint at the Big Day Out Music Festival. The video is of mediocre quality. A rare partial recording of the band's concert on November 16, 1998, in Detroit, Michigan, and unedited aftershow promotional interview also exist.

## Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, and venue :

| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening Act(s) | Attendance | Revenue |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| North America |||||||
| October 25, 1998 | Lawrence | United States | Granada | n/a | — | — |
| October 26, 1998 | Kansas City | United States | Memorial Hall | n/a | — | — |
| October 27, 1998 | St. Louis | United States | Fox Theater | n/a | — | — |
| October 29, 1998 | Milwaukee | United States | Riverside Theater | n/a | — | — |
| October 30, 1998 | Chicago | United States | Aragon Ballroom | n/a | — | — |
| October 31, 1998 | Saint Paul | United States | Roy Wilkins Auditorium | n/a | — | — |
| November 3, 1998 | Tulsa | United States | Brady Theatre | n/a | — | — |
| November 4, 1998 | Houston | United States | Aerial Theatre | n/a | — | — |
| November 5, 1998 | Dallas | United States | Bronco Bowl | n/a | — | — |
| November 7, 1998 | New Orleans | United States | State Theatre | n/a | — | — |
| November 9, 1998 | Atlanta | United States | Tabernacle | n/a | — | — |
| November 10, 1998 | Charlotte | United States | Ovens Auditorium | n/a | — | — |
| November 11, 1998 | Richmond | United States | Landmark Theater | n/a | — | — |
| November 13, 1998 | Camden | United States | Sony Blockbuster Pavilion | n/a | — | — |
| November 14, 1998 | Cleveland | United States | Cleveland Music Hall | n/a | — | — |
| November 16, 1998 | Detroit | United States | State Theatre | n/a | — | — |
| November 18, 1998 | Mississauga | Canada | Arrow Hall | n/a | — | — |
| November 19, 1998 | Syracuse | United States | Landmark Theatre | n/a | — | — |
| November 21, 1998 | Poughkeepsie | United States | Mid-Hudson Civic Center | n/a | — | — |
| November 22, 1998 | Lowell | United States | Tsongas Arena | n/a | — | — |
| November 23, 1998 | New York City | United States | Hammerstein Ballroom | n/a | — | — |
| Europe |||||||
| November 27, 1998 | Barcelona | Spain | Pavello de la D'Hebron | n/a | — | — |
| November 28, 1998 | Bilbao | Spain | Pabellon de la Castilla | n/a | — | — |
| November 30, 1998 | Lisbon | Portugal | Pavilhão Atlântico | n/a | — | — |
| December 1, 1998 | Madrid | Spain | Palacio de la Commidad | n/a | — | — |
| December 4, 1998 | Milan | Italy | Palavobis | n/a | — | — |
| December 9, 1998 | Copenhagen | Denmark | K.B. Hallen | n/a | — | — |
| December 10, 1998 | Oslo | Norway | Rockefeller Music Hall | n/a | — | — |
| December 11, 1998 | Stockholm | Sweden | Stockholm Arena | n/a | — | — |
| December 13, 1998 | Hamburg | Germany | Grosse Freiheit 36 | n/a | — | — |
| December 14, 1998 | Tilburg | Netherlands | 013 | n/a | — | — |
| December 16, 1998 | Cologne | Germany | E-Werk | n/a | — | — |
| December 17, 1998 | London | England | Brixton Academy | n/a | — | — |
| December 18, 1998 | Deinze | Belgium | Breilpoort | n/a | — | — |
| December 19, 1998 | Paris | France | Zénith de Paris | n/a | — | — |
| North America |||||||
| December 31, 1998 | Las Vegas | United States | The Joint | n/a | — | — |
| Asia |||||||
| January 8, 1999 | Tokyo | Japan | NK Hall | n/a | — | — |
| January 9, 1999 | Tokyo | Japan | NK Hall | n/a | — | — |
| January 11, 1999 | Osaka | Japan | Zepp | n/a | — | — |
| January 12, 1999 | Osaka | Japan | Zepp | n/a | — | — |
| Big Day Out |||||||
| January 15, 1999 | Auckland | New Zealand | Ericcson Stadium | n/a | — | — |
| January 17, 1999 | Gold Coast | Australia | Gold Coast Parklands | n/a | — | — |
| January 23, 1999 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Showgrounds | n/a | — | — |
| January 26, 1999 | Melbourne | Australia | Melbourne Showgrounds | n/a | — | — |
| January 29, 1999 | Adelaide | Australia | Adelaide Showgrounds | n/a | — | — |
| January 31, 1999 | Perth | Australia | Bassendean Oval | n/a | — | — |

### Cancelled or rescheduled shows

List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation :

| Date | City | Country | Venue | Reason |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Leg 1: European Festival Tour 1998 |||||
| June 25, 1998 | Roskilde | Denmark | Roskilde Festival | Ginger Fish contracted mononucleosis. |
| June 27, 1998 | Burgh | Netherlands | Waldrock Festival | Ginger Fish contracted mononucleosis. |
| June 28, 1998 | Dessel | Belgium | Graspop Metal Meeting | Ginger Fish contracted mononucleosis. |
| June 30, 1998 | Kristiansand | Norway | Odderøya Amfi | Ginger Fish contracted mononucleosis. |
| July 9, 1998 | Frauenfeld | Germany | Out in the Green Festival | Ginger Fish contracted mononucleosis. |
| July 12, 1998 | Zwickau | Germany | Full Force Open Air | Ginger Fish contracted mononucleosis. |

## Lineup

### Marilyn Manson

* Marilyn Manson: Vocals
* John 5: Guitar
* Twiggy Ramirez: Bass
* Madonna Wayne Gacy: Keyboards
* Ginger Fish: Drums

## Reception

### Critical reception

Music critic Tim Finn of The Kansas City Star commented that, overall, the show was "far less a spectacle than the Antichrist Superstar tour."

