You either love or loathe the guy but you have to admit, there is never a dull moment when it comes to a Rob Zombie performance. The energy, the lights, the gigantic stage props and massive LED’s; its certainly a sight to behold and Rival was lucky enough to attended the ‘Freaks on Parade’ tour featuring ‘Rob Zombie’, ‘Mudvayne’, ‘Static X’, and ‘Powerman 5000’ when they stopped in Irvine , California last Friday night.

With the gates opening early on Friday, there was plenty of pregaming going in the parking lot with chairs, coolers and hatch’s up for friends and freaks alike to gather and perhaps save on those costly concession fees. With a two hour gap between the first band ‘Powerman 5000’ hitting the stage and the baring So-Cal sun I say, smart move. Most fans and myself included, started to trickle into the venue around 6:00pm just in time for the first performance of the night and what a throwback that was. Some may recognize ‘Powerman 5000’ from their remake of the 1984 classic ‘Relax’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, while others may recognize the band from the video game, ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2’ with their hit song ‘When Worlds Collide.

Static-X was next to take to the stage and admittingly I didnt know much about the band before this performance that is unless you count knowing the chorus to “Push It”. The 4 piece band came out in normal attire except for frontman XerO who was donning a Wayne Static mask to conceal his identity. Overall I thought the band was fun and entertaining and was great precursor to “Mudvayne”.

Mudvayne was a highlight for me on this tour seeing as I have already been to a handful of Zombie shows in the past and not one Mudvayne show, blame it on my age. I remember watching MTV in the summer at the prime age of 11 and discovering Mudvayne, I was terrified and absolutely enthralled all at the same time. So when they hit the stage Friday night I was beyond excited to see what they were going to deliver. And deliver the did indeed. Dropping a huge Kabuki banner from atop the stage signified the start of an intense, hour long performance launching off with “Dig”. You couldnt think of a better song to start off with , in fact the entire setlist was brilliant from start to finish and included so many of their top songs like “Death Blooms”, “Not Falling”, “World So Cold”, and “Happy?” Complete with stage jumps, crowd engagement, and gory costuming this set was flawless and I would expect nothing less from the entertainers.

At the top of a giant “Zombie” platform, Rob Zombie takes his position on stage wearing his classic cowboy hat and iconic silver fringed jacket as Piggy D and John 5 come out from the wings of the stage. Masked in red stage lighting the performance launches into, “The Triumph of King Freak" with Rob staying atop the custom made platform for the entire song, fringe swaying left and right; honestly I never saw Rob stop moving the entire hour long performance and I’m in awe of the endurance. The set list included a fun line up of characters, costumes, and lighting effects to go along with the music such as the song “Meet the Creeper” and huge costumed ‘creepers’ join the stage.

Guitarist “John 5” whom Rival Magazine did a portrait shoot with last year was as entertaining as ever and is always one of my favorite people to watch. It wouldn’t be a performance with an iconic “John 5” drool shot am I right? Alongside him is bassist “Piggy D”, decked out in a rhinestone skull mask and sporting the best wardrobe of any rock and roller out there. Bodily fluid and amazing costumes aside, the show was all around entertaining and everything one would want from a ‘Zombie’ performance.

Rob Zombie and Mudvayne bring the 'Freaks on Parade' tour to the O.C

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