Rob Zombie wraps first ‘Hellbilly Deluxe 2’ tour in D.C.

ROB ZOMBIE (live pix)
NEKROMANTIX
CAPTAIN CLEGG AND THE NIGHT CREATURES

December 5, 2009
9:30 Club
Washington, D.C.

By GREG MAKI

A label change from his longtime home at Geffen Records to Roadrunner’s Loud & Proud imprint delayed the release of Rob Zombie’s new album for nearly three months—but, as always, the show must go on. Zombie’s fall tour, his first jaunt supporting Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool (now due Feb. 2, 2010), went on as scheduled and ended on a night with a treacherous mix of snow, sleet and rain at the famous 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

It was plain to see why Zombie, who’s 45 years old, has been in the music game for more than 20 years and has a successful second career as a filmmaker, went ahead with the tour despite the lack of new product: He still has a blast onstage, and maybe because this was the tour’s finale, I haven’t seen him so loose since he played under the sun on the second stage at Ozzfest 2005. The 9:30 Club is tiny by Zombie’s arena-size standards (it holds about 1,200), which surprised him even though he played here three and a half years ago. “I’ve had parties at my house bigger than this,” he said. “Barbecues bigger than this.” He also was quite tickled with the pair of young women stationed to the side of stage left singing the lyrics and between-song banter for hearing-impaired fans, throwing out strings of colorful language just to see them repeat it. (“You have filthy hands!”)

A pair of tracks from Hellbilly Deluxe 2—“What?” and “Sick Bubble-Gum”—made available online earlier in the fall were the only new songs in the set list. Early fan reaction was mixed, but seeing them performed at full volume live in concert is a little different from hearing them through your tiny computer speakers. It helped that Zombie built up each one, leading the crowd in chants of “rock, motherfucker” preceding “Sick Bubble-Gum” and clearing the floor for an all-girl pit during “What?” To my surprise, these songs were the highlight of the night and now have me eagerly anticipating the new album. I haven’t been able to get the refrain of “Chew it up/Spit it out/Sick bubble-gum!” out of my head since.

The rest of the set list consisted of the standard hits (“Superbeast,” “Living Dead Girl,” “More Human Than Human,” a show-closing “Dragula) and live staples (“Super-Charger Heaven,” “House of 1000 Corpses”), along with a couple rarely played songs (the opener “What Lurks on Channel X?” and “Scum of the Earth,” which Zombie, taking a dig at a former bandmate, said they were playing because someone was trying to “steal our shit”). Drummer Tommy Clufetos took a turn in the spotlight with a solo following “House of 1000 Corpses,” and guitarist John 5 took his showstopping solo in the middle of the White Zombie classic “Thunder Kiss ’65.”

As has become customary at Zombie shows, film clips—mostly from horror flicks and obscure B-movies—were projected constantly on a large screen at the back of the stage. A clip from Zombie’s animated film, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, served as the intro before he took the stage.

Support on the tour came from Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures, the band that appears in Zombie’s “Halloween II” (and also did the Banjo and Sullivan music for “The Devil’s Rejects”), and the Danish band Nekromantix. The two acts play a similar psychobilly brand of music that was a refreshing chance of pace for the usual hard rock/metal openers and got the crowd moving and ready for the headliner. You can’t do your job as an opening act much better than that.

Not that Zombie needs help in winning over a crowd. He is one of rock’s great showmen, and—oh yeah—he’s written a good song or two in his day, as well. Best of all, his day as a musician is not yet over. Judging from this show, he still has a lot to offer.

ROB ZOMBIE SET LIST:
What Lurks on Channel X?
Superbeast
Super-Charger Heaven
Living Dead Girl
Demon Speeding
More Human Than Human
Sick Bubble-Gum
House of 1000 Corpses
[Drum solo]
Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
Scum of the Earth
What?
American Witch
Thunder Kiss ’65/Guitar solo

[encore]
Demonoid Phenomenon
Lords of Salem

[encore]
Dragula

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