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I finally get inside, where it is actually quieter than it is outside. Inside, the low murmur among the lot of those who have gathered mainly to see Marilyn Manson is softer and more pleasing to the ears than the Christians outside the door that yell and scream at all of us. It's a shame that they spend their free time out in the cold, holding up religious signs and condemning us all. The way some of them can scream for 5 minutes without breathing, they'd make really good death metal singers.

There's about half an hour left before godhead takes to the stage, and very few people know that what they're about to see is one of today's quickest rising bands, and also one of the most talented. Even fewer realize that the house music for the night, the Beatles, is very ironic. But that comes in later.

Now, let me warn you of one thing: for those of you that are hoping that this review will help you pick which songs to look for from godhead, I'm sorry to say that I haven't a clue what the setlist was. So I can't say what most of the songs were. That aside, let's talk about the show.

This is strobe light heaven. Not a single colored light to be found yet, the stage is lit solely by white strobe lights while Jason Miller throats his way through the first tasty treat of the night (or the second, for those who have found the beer). Not even one song has been finished, and already I'm held helplessly in a trance-like state by Miller's captivating vocals. Finally, after a few minutes have passed, the stage is filled with other bright lights, and from above, the mix resembles that of Mountain Dew, with a hint of orange here and there.

After a few minutes of that, the stage takes a new appearance, and is lit mainly by blue lights. Miller stands under a solitary white par can, casting an eerie shadow on the backdrop, but all the more fitting to the bands "dirty" gothic/industrial look. "The Method", the man in charge of bass and programming, is very energetic tonight, and strongly resembles Marilyn's bassist, Twiggy Ramirez. He pounds the bass with a look of anger and appears to be hitting random notes, but the music comes clear through the house speakers. Now, we're back to the strobe-only effect, and this is where the irony plays. Mike Miller's guitar is heard loud and clear even though it battles James O'Connor's drumming. Then Jason is heard over all, diving into the gothic version of Eleanor Rigby, a classic Beatles tune. After giving that one to the crowd, the air in Miller's lungs is clean (or dirty) enough for two more songs. The stage gains an eerie purple glow, and the familiar opening bars to The Reckoning, the song the band has released on the Blair Witch 2 soundtrack, is heard clearly. Even without the vocal processor Miller used in the studio, he sounds remarkably like the effect given off in the studio version of the chorus, except it's even better live. One thing these guys are definitely not lacking in is stage presence. Miller continues to hammer his way through the song until the final choral/piano part is played, where he now stands, arms outstretched, highlighted only in purple while the rest of the stage is black. By far, this is the best lighting effect of the night, barely matched one time by Mr. Manson later on.

Now, Miller gives the crowd his last words, driving his way through one final song, and the audience could not be more awe-struck. Instead of the usual talk of Marilyn after the performance, many people are talking about what they just witnessed, and nothing bad was ever said. Three young guys were even kicked out because they brought in a camera, only to end up being used to take a picture with Miller after the show. But due to security, they will never see that picture, and I sympathize for them. But for everyone that paid their hard earned money to get into this show and got there in time to see godhead, that in itself was a treat not to be soon forgotten. As for me, I know I will be back when they come back on a hopeful headlining tour in support of their new album, 2000 Years of Human Error, which is set to be released to the public 1/23/01. Until then, keep tuned via www.godhead.com and www.posthumanrecords.com for more information on one of today's quickest rising bands.