Two cities, two coasts, one song. There was something in the air Halloween night, and it sounded a lot like Marilyn Manson’s 1996 industrial rock stomper “The Beautiful People.”
Out in Los Angeles, Mr. Manson held court at the Roxy, and at one point in the evening, brought out Johnny Depp and Ninja of Die Antwoord for a wild rendition of “The Beautiful People” that made national news. Depp played guitar, as he’s been doing a lot lately, and Ninja provided energy and some backing vocals. It looked like a madhouse.
Here in Boston, and maybe, just maybe around the same time, Vary Lumar closed their loud and frighteningly authentic cover set as the Smashing Pumpkins at the Vanyaland HalloVVeen party at Great Scott by inviting host Goddamn Glenn up to the stage. GDG was hosting our first-annual bash in character as Marilyn Manson, and joined Vary Lumar for an finale performance of — you guessed it — “The Beautiful People.” He tore pages out of the Bible, he towered over a customized podium, and he was even beheaded at the very end. Can we get a “Goddamn?”
For this post, we were going to go with a “Who did it better?” type of angle, but they are both pretty fucking great. It’s a celebration, not a cause for division, and it’s a pretty cool link to two great Halloween parties going down on opposite sides of the country.
Watch both performances below.
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