For a man I have never met, I have a strange relationship with Marilyn Manson. As a child of the 90s, he was simply an iconic figure when I was growing up. From his extreme looks to insane music videos to the constant swirl of rumors, he existed on a supernatural pedestal.

As a young, impressionable metalhead, Manson became my awesome angst figurehead. I rocked his t-shirts at school, despite knowing that they'd get me into trouble. I had sang his song “Lunchbox” for my talent show audition, changing the opening line to “this mother trucker is going to get my metal!” Hell, I even bought the MTV Celebrity Death Match VHS that featured Marilyn Manson vs Charles Manson (even though I already knew Marilyn would win). Point is, I dug the guy.
 
However, like all young metalheads,my taste changed over time. Does that mean I denied my loyalty to Mr. Manson? Not at all. But like all relationships, after a while, the mystery and spark you had dims a bit. Which would be the case here, had I not met a particular girl, named (let’s say) “Lily.”

Lily was a cool girl who, much to my surprised, shared a similar taste in music. After 5 months of dating, I noticed she was wearing a Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids T Shirt for some time. So of course I thought, “She must be really into Manson; maybe I should take her to a show for an early birthday present.”

 
This would be my first mistake.

I told her I was taking her out to see a fun concert in LA. She was pretty chill with it up until we arrived to the venue. “Marilyn Manson? Augh?” She blurted as she read the marquee. Uh… surprise?

It was at that very moment that I realized, no matter how much jazz hands I have… this chick will be a bummer.
 
Apparently, she bought the shirt at a store because it looked “cute.” Of course, how could I have been so foolish? Nothing says cute like a green Marilyn Manson dressed as Willy Wonka.
 
After 15 minutes of convincing Lily to give it a shot, we had entered the venue. That crowd was diverse, the stage was twisted with props, and the show was about to begin. The next hour and thirty minutes would be a cocktail of emotions for me. Nostalgia would kick in as Manson hit the stage with "Dope Show.” And my hype grew as the opening guitar riff of "Beautiful People" kicked in.  Of course, then I looked to my left and saw Lily sipping a beer... not even bobbing her head.

Have you ever showed a friend a funny YouTube video and they are not laughing… yeah, that.

That feeling would leave me at the end of the show because the final song was Marilyn Manson’s cover of “Sweet Dreams.” The song would cause the audience to erupt and even Lily couldn’t resist. When I saw her mood change, even for just that last song, I threw out a thumbs up towards the stage as if Manson himself saw how lame my date was, and actively did his best to salvage it.
 
Post-show, our drive home was silent, but I couldn’t help humming back Manson’s hits. It was a killer show from an absolute madman. And though the date didn’t go as planned — and no, Lily is not currently my wife — I could happily cross Marilyn Manson off my bucket list.