At the Palladium

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Shock Rock King Rob Zombie is riding high with the release of Educated Horses. Rob Zombie is currently embarking on a North American Tour that kicked off St. Patrick's Day and will run till May 5. Also on this triple concert bill are Italian rockers Lacuna Coil, and British band Bullet For My Valentine.

Rob Zombie rolled into Worcester's premiere concert venue The Palladium on April Fools Day and performed an energized show to a sold out crowd of faithful Zombie followers. Rob is no stranger to Massachusetts, as the legendary music icon hails from Haverhill, MA and now resides in Los Angeles.

Kicking off the triple bill at 8 P.M. was Bullet For My Valentine. They are a very young metal band in which their set featured nice guitar work and melodies. They would have been the perfect act for the SnoCorTour.

I was excited to see for my first, Lacuna Coil perform live. They have a very fresh nu-techno sound with an amazing girl singer that has a voice that is reminiscent of Amy Lee. Lacuna Coil features singers Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro. The combination of both male and female lead front man gives this band an interesting sound that is laden with great melodic harmonies that are mesmerizing. Lacuna Coil has a progressive sound that draws you in, as the guitarist weaves his melodic rhythms around Cristina's powerful vocals. Cristina has a great stage presence and sang her heart out to this hardcore Zombie audience. Highlights of the set included a new rendition of a Depeche Mode song, and their latest single "Our Truth.”

The audience was getting all pumped up for their hero Rob Zombie, and began chanting “Zombie! Zombie!” as Pantera blasted from the speakers. It was 10 P.M as background music of Dr. Hook's "Cover Of The Rolling Stone blared, and smoke began to fill the stage." The stage props featured skeleton heads, and voodoo dolls and candles. Pandemonium broke loose as Rob Zombie and his band that features guitar virtuoso John 5, bass player Blasko, and ex Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper drummer Tommy Clufetos took the stage. All of the members of the band looked like they were part of the Ku Klux Klan donning skeleton masks and hats during the opening song, "American Witch."

The energy of the set was truly amazing. Rob Zombie and band gave 100 percent, as the band performed "Living Dead Girl", and Creatures of the Wheel." One of the many highlights of the set occurred when a huge dancing Robot stormed the stage during "More Human Than Human." Rob Zombie head banged and danced with the mechanical robot, as the crowd went wild. You could tell the band was having the best time onstage, as Rob talked and joked with the audience. The new Rob Zombie line-up is exhilarating. Guitarist John 5 innovative guitar style gave the Zombie hits a new re-energized sound., and makes the band fun to watch in concert. John 5 is truly an amazing guitarist and his showmanship really takes the band to a new dimension.

Another highlight was "Foxy Foxy"with 2000 fists air, as Rob Zombie danced around the stage in a ball of energy.

My favorite part of the show was when Rob yelled, "It is April Fools Day. Let's see I want John 5 to take over for me for a while. John do you think you can do this for me?" John began to play the Poison song, "Nothing But A Good Time". The crowd started booing. Rob stopped him. Then John 5 began to jam and play a Led Zeppelin tune, the crowd really enjoyed this. All of a sudden, Rob stops him and says "John, what are you playing"? Then John 5 begins cranking out the National Anthem, and starts playing the strings with his teeth. During his feature spotlight, John really showcased his diverse guitar technique and ability to play anything and make it sound like his own. The crowd began chanting Johnny, Johnny, as John and band burst into Thunder kiss 65.

It was getting towards the end of the show, but the party was just beginning. The band ended the show with Super Beast, and returned to the stage for two encores. The last two Zombie songs are two of my favorites, and have an infectious beat that is relentless and spellbinding. Rob Zombie and band head banged and moved in sync to the voodoo hits, "Supercharger Heaven", and "Dragula."

This show has been one of the most energized shows I have seen this year. Rob Zombie is back with a vengeance, and making concerts fun again with his upbeat stage show and newfound enthusiasm.

Set List

• American Witch
• Demon Seeding
• Living Dead Girl
• Creatures of The Wheel
• More Human Than Human
• Let It All Bled Out
• House of 1000 Corpses
• Foxy Foxy
• Thunder Kiss 65 / Nothing But A Good Time / Led Zeppelin Jam
• Super Beast
• Super Charger Heaven
• Dragula