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| Immediately after the release, Manson and Co. kept a relatively low profile. That changed in late November, when the band had a bit too much pre-show fun at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., stop of its just-launched Rock is Dead tour. The fire department had to be called to the Poughkeepsie Civic Center, after a dressing room rampage culminated in a burning T-shirt setting the carpets on fire. Not having done enough harm, the crew headed over to a local Sheraton hotel, where the New York Post reported that $25,000 in damage was done. ( The tour was eventually captured on the live disc The Last Tour on Earth, released in November 1999.) |
| Not everything in the life of a rock star revolves around parties and vandalism, though. On Feb. 16, on Howard Stern's radio show, actress Rose McGowan announced that she and Marilyn Manson were officially engaged and even flashed an antique diamond ring for the shock jock to see. While it seemed that no controversy could ever affect the public behavior of Manson, in April, just shy of completing the final five shows of the tour in support of Mechanical Animals, two students attacked Columbine High School, killing 13 and wounding 28 before taking their own lives. Manson immediately cancelled the rest of the band's tour "out of respect for those lost in the tragedy." In a statement, the singer said, "People are trying to sort out what happened and deal with their losses. The media has unfairly scapegoated the music industry and so-called Goth kids and speculated � with no basis in truth � that artists like myself are in some way to blame. This tragedy was a product of ignorance, hatred, and an access to guns." |
| Manson stayed mostly quiet throughout the rest of 1998, perhaps only in preparation for much noisemaking in the New Year. In January of 1999, it was announced that Marilyn Manson would be joining Courtney Love and Hole on the Beautiful Monsters tour. The event brought together two bands that didn't have much in common musically, but did unite two public icons famous as much for their statements in the media as for their music. Adding two volatile personalities and egos together on a long tour is risky business, and sure enough, it didn't quite work. After just 10 dates, and with more than 30 dates remaining, the tour collapsed when Marilyn Manson took a spill for atop an amplifier, injuring his ankle. Courtney Love immediately pulled the plug on the remaining dates amid rumors of sniping between the opposing singers. |