Welcome to the Spookshow

I was among the scum of the earth that gathered at the Hollywood Palladium on Halloween night to see Rob Zombie perform live in support of his upcoming disc, Hellbilly Deluxe 2. The show kicked off at 10 p.m. with the one-two, cranium-rattling punch of “What’s Lurks On Channel X” and “Superbeast,” both off Zombie’s 1998 triple-platinum Hellbilly Deluxe CD. Mosh pits erupted and I suddenly found myself being shoved around by the likes of Ronald McDonald and Tinky Winky the purple Teletubby. Back in the day, I would have mindlessly pushed back while pogoing, mouth agape and screaming, “Zombie!” But, in my old age, I find that I’ve developed an aversion to elbows in the teeth and shirtless, fat guy sweat. So instead, I found refuge among an island of floor rooted fist-pumping headbangers and watched Zombie howl through “Super-Charger Heaven” as fireballs exploded behind him.

Zombie’s pact with the devil has kept him youthful and plenty agile. The 43-year-old rocker ran miles on the Palladium stage, skipping from amp to amp and dancing like a possessed marionette around his band. In addition to the Halloween festivities at hand, the evening also marked a wedding anniversary for Zombie and his actress wife Sherri Moon. Zombie followed the announcement with the serenade “Sick Bubble-Gum,” an infectious new hip-shaker destined to be stripper anthem. Other new songs performed included “What?” and the inspired “Werewolf Women of the SS.”

Jumbo Tron screens provided an ongoing montage of titillating grind-house movie clips, Hentai images, and kitschy, eye-popping retro-erotica starring busty and topless babes of yore. I had forgotten how much production goes into a Zombie show. In between songs, Zombie egged the crowd on with stories (i.e. drawing their first sold out audience during an opening stint with Danzig after the release of 1992’s monster groove “Thunder Kiss ’65”), good-natured taunts (“Shows used to be brutal back then. You guys are kind of tame!”), and cheerleading (serving up a severed head prop for the audience to throw around the venue). The concert ended near midnight with a booming rendition of “Dragula.”

Photo Courtesy of Bruja Corleone

Zombie’s band is made up of John 5 on guitar, Piggy D. on bass, and Tommy Clufetos on drums. The show’s set list also included: “American Witch,” “Living Dead Girl,” “Demon Speeding,” “House of a 1000 Corpses,” “Scum of the Earth,” and old White Zombie favs “More Human Than Human,” and “Thunder Kiss ’65.”

Can You Show Me the Way to Zombieland?

Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is slated for early release in 2010 through Roadrunner Records. Rob Zombie parted ways with longtime label Geffen Records in October. For tour info, visit www.robzombie.com.