Mob Mars Manson Show

Fri., Oct. 31, 2003 1:30 PM PST by Marcus Errico

Just in time for Halloween--a Marilyn Manson-inspired melee.

Everybody's favorite shock-rocker's lack of rocking caused a shocking scene Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri, as a small army of baton- and pepper spay-wielding police was dispatched to quell a rampaging crowd.

Manson was the star attraction for the six-act Freakers Ball at the Kansas City International Raceway, an event attended by some 12,000.

According to the Kansas City Star, Manson had just taken the stage around 10 p.m. and launched into his first song when hundreds of the concertgoers surged forward, smashing through metal barricades separating the audience from the stage.

Manson briefly exited the stage as concert security worked to right the fence. After things calmed down, he brought his band back out, but midway through his second number, fans again rushed the stage.

That prompted Manson to leave again. Shortly thereafter, stagehands began dismantling his equipment.

Realizing the show had been cut short, some of Manson minions began throwing beer bottles at security guards. Others tipped trash cans. Still more smashed the window of a cop car and vandalized other police vehicles, according to the Star.

Nearly 130 of Kansas City's finest, decked out in full riot gear, arrived to restore order.

"There was a bunch of idiots who were fighting the cops," concertgoer Rodney Borden told the Star. "We almost wanted to help the cops' side."

Officials said there were about a half-dozen minor injuries. No arrests were made.

Although Manson didn't immediately comment on the Kansas City concert mess, he's become quite adept when it comes concert messes.

Just months ago he was cleared by a Minnesota jury after being sued by a security guard who claimed he "endured ridicule and shame" when Manson rubbed his groin on the guard during a 2000 show.

In June 2002, the Satan-friendly rocker copped a plea to criminal charges in a Michigan case involving his gyrating genitalia and an uncooperative security guard. In exchange for pleading no contest to counts of disorderly conduct and assault and battery, Manson was sentenced to pay $4,000 in fines and court costs but avoided any jail time.

Earlier this summer, officials at Six Flags Darien Lake barred Manson from appearing at the Buffalo-area venue as part of Ozzfest. The Six Flags folks deemed Manson's stage act "inappropriate."

Manson, whose latest album The Golden Age of Grotesque, topped the charts upon its release in May, responded by saying, "Marilyn Manson is simply too dangerous for Darien Lake."

You can now add Kansas City to the list.