Guns, God and Government Tour
To support the release of the album, the band staged a worldwide stadium tour, three days after the album's original release date and seventeen days ahead of the album's actual launch, titled the Guns, God and Government Tour. Beginning on October 27, 2000, and lasting until September 2, 2001, the tour included six legs, spanning Eurasia, Japan, and North America, with a total of 107 completed shows out of the 109 planned. Typical of the band, the concerts were extremely theatrical, with an average show lasting for 1 hour and 40 minutes. The sets were designed with communist, religious, and "Celebritarian" imagery in mind. Manson had several costume changes throughout the sets, ranging from a bishop's dalmatic and mitre (often confused for Papal regalia); a costume made from taxidermied animal anatomies (for example, an epaulette made from a horse's tail and a shirt made from skinned goat heads and ostrich spines); his signature black leather corset, g-string, and garter stocking ensemble; an elaborate Roman legionary-style Imperial galea; an Allgemeine SS-style peaked police cap; a black-and-white fur coat; and a giant rising conical skirt that lifted him 12 metres (39 ft) into the air.
The Ozzfest leg was particularly notable on this tour, since it marked the band's first performance in Denver, Colorado, (on June 22, 2001, at the Mile High Stadium) following the Columbine High School massacre in nearby Littleton. After initially pulling out due to scheduling conflicts, the band altered their plans in order to accommodate the Denver date. The group's decision met heavy resistance from conservative groups. Manson received numerous death threats and calls to skip the date. A group of church leaders and families related to Columbine formed an organization specifically to oppose the show, called 'Citizens for Peace and Respect', which drew the support of Colorado governor Bill Owens and representative Tom Tancredo. On their website they asserted that the band "promotes hate, violence, death, suicide, drug use, and the attitudes and actions of the Columbine killers." In response, Manson issued a statement saying,
I am truly amazed that after all this time, religious groups still need to attack entertainment and use these tragedies as a pitiful excuse for their own self-serving publicity. In response to their protests, I will provide a show where I balance my songs with a wholesome Bible reading. This way, fans will not only hear my so-called, 'violent' point of view, but we can also examine the virtues of wonderful 'Christian' stories of disease, murder, adultery, suicide and child sacrifice. Now that seems like 'entertainment' to me.Two concert films depicting the worldwide tour were recorded. The Guns, God and Government DVD, released by Eagle Rock Entertainment on October 29, 2002, featured live concert footage from performances in Los Angeles, Europe, Russia, and Japan. It also included a 30-minute behind-the-scenes featurette titled The Death Parade, with guest appearances from Ozzy Osbourne and Eminem. Seven years later, it was followed by Guns, God and Government – Live in L.A. Released on Blu-ray format by Eagle Rock Entertainment division Eagle Records on November 17, 2009, it depicted the sixteen-song set of the Los Angeles performance in its entirety.
Read more about this topic: Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
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