Freaks Invade Fort Worth

The King Freak Rob Zombie brought his Freaks on Parade tour to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth Texas this past Saturday night. This was a show that many people have been waiting for with such an incredible lineup. If you haven’t heard of this tour by now the lineup consists of Powerman 5000, Static-X, Mudvayne, and the King of the freaks himself Rob Zombie! As we pulled into the parking garage you could see the lines forming at every door of the incredible Dickies Arena. Everybody anxiously waiting to get in there and grab up some merch and get to their seats or their spot on the floor for an exciting night of some Heavy Metal!

As the fans continued finding their spots for the night the anticipation grew for what was about to come and you could feel the energy changing as it got closer to time to kick things off. As the lights started going out in the arena the guys of Powerman 5000 started coming onto the stage and kicking it off right opening with Footsteps and Voices and the crowd screamed along with them to the song. They sang many of their great songs in their catalog. This included their songs like Bombshell and Supernova Goes Pop. Powerman finished off their set with another one of the great songs from them titled When Worlds collide. The band really kicked things off right and had an insane amount of energy running and jumping all over the stage and got the crowd ready for what was in store for the rest of the night.

As the lights began going out in the arena you could see the members of Static-X making their way to the stage to kick their set off for the night. They opened with Bled for Days and as soon as the first beat hit the crowd cheered and started singing as the singer sang the first words of the song. They quickly followed that up with Wisconsin Death Trip and the guys from the band were all over the stage running around and head banging. Each member would get up on the risers and play with the crowd as they continued performing for their moment in the Freaks parade. They played several songs from their song list and finished off their set with a great-sounding Push It and you could tell the fans were loving every minute of their set.

As the crew got the stage set for the next act fans were wandering around the arena getting drinks, taking a much-needed break, and grabbing some merch from the bands that were performing tonight. As it got closer to the next set starting the large curtain covering the stage went up with the large Mudvayne logo on it and the fans knew it was about to be time for the next set of freaks to join the stage and turn it up a notch. You could see the shadows moving on the stage behind the curtain and you could feel the anticipation growing inside Dickies Arena just waiting for the next show. Suddenly the lights went out and when they struck the first chords for Dig the curtain dropped and the band went into action. The drummer was sitting on his throne behind a large drum kit nonstop moving behind it and the bass player was running around like a madman from one side of the stage to the other interacting with the crowd. Just a little way into the song and Chad Grey climbs off the stage, climbs over the barrier, and walked into the crowd singing as they are holding him up and taking in the scene as he screams and sings the lyrics to the song. It was great to see him out there high-fiving and shaking hands as he sang and never missed a note the whole time he finished up that song and jumped back onto the stage and kicked off into Under My Skin and the fans started singing and the fans on the floor were swirling in a mosh pit all around. They continued playing songs from their collection and even threw in Cowboys from Hell as a tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell and the cheer released from the crowd was deafening. Towards the end of the set, Chad stopped as the band played low and took a moment to address the crowd and explain to them what a great community the metal community is and how it has helped him and so many others in their lives. He also talks about how great it is to see the next generation of kids in the crowd there tonight. He also had everyone turn around and high-five complete strangers and then led us all in a symbolic gesture of letting everything go and checking our baggage at the door to enjoy this momentous night of music and get lost in it! They capped off their phenomenal set with a few more of their great songs World So Cold and Happy. When they walked off the stage the crowd was yelling and applauding the band for the great show, they just delivered to us.

So as the stage was getting set for the final act of the Parade tonight the King Freak himself Rob Zombie the fans were making their way to get breaks, food, and last-minute merch so they wouldn’t have to miss any of the last performance of the night. The crew begins setting up for Rob Zombie and brings out a large platform with Zombie across it and you know we are about to be in for such an amazing visual and audible experience for the night. As the lights dim in the arena you start to see members of the band walking up onto the stage and getting in place to continue this show into the night. The band started playing The Triumph of King Freak and John 5 appeared on top of one of the risers then up on top of the large platform you could see Rob Zombie as he started singing the song and moving around. As they finished up that song Rob Zombie left the platform and started going from side to side as they were performing Superbeast. All the members of the band were running around all over the stage and out to the edges of speaker boxes interacting with the crowd and they were all enjoying every moment as they were happening. They continued through the night assaulting our eyes and ears with the barrage of music and visuals going off in the background and lights all over the place. He sang a wide range of songs from the long list of amazing songs he has in his catalog. He also threw in some of his great songs that he sang with White Zombie like More Human than Human and the crowd erupted and moshed on the floor with every song that they played. Rob stopped and was telling everyone in the venue about what is really going on in the UFOs we see flying around while a giant ape came out and was dancing around the stage. He followed that up with House of 1000 corpses and parts of the movie was playing on the screens behind them as bubbles were falling out of the rafters as they performed. Rob Zombie and the band took a short break while John 5 performed an amazing guitar solo for the fans, and they applauded his astonishing guitar playing. When the band came back onto the stage Rob asked them to throw some light on the crowd as he walked across the riser on the stage and addressed the crowd. He told us that he wanted us to take a trip with him in the time machine back to the nineties when we came to the show to enjoy the show and be in the moment. He said, ” Can you guys do that and put your phones down for the next three minutes and just take it all in? Upon finishing him chatting with us they immediately kicked off into Thunder Kiss ’65 and the whole arena erupted and started moshing and jumping around singing along with every word just like we did back then. Shortly after that they exited the stage and played a little teaser to his upcoming Munsters show that will be coming out soon. At the end of the teaser film, they jumped back into high gear and finished off the night with Dragula he thanked the crowd took a bow and walked off the stage as the crowd was chanting Zombie, Zombie!

This was such a phenomenal show packed with so much excitement and energy from everyone that stepped on that stage to perform for us that night. I was so glad that we could be a part of it and get to experience such an incredible lineup that they put together for us. I am still feeling the excitement and the energy from that show and look forward to seeing more from these bands for years to come. Hopefully, you were able to make it out to one of these shows, but if not look for this tour or other ones in the future with these bands and make sure to go check them out when they come to your town!

Words and Photos by Craig and Paula Youngblood