Live: Fires and tour truck issues don\’t stop Rob Zombie and Mudvayne from rocking Indy

Despite the production truck carrying cables for the stage caught fire and broke down halfway to Indianapolis, Rob Zombie was determined to put on the best show possible when the second night of his Freaks On Parade tour with Mudvayne, Static-X and Powerman5000 came to Noblesville.

Unfortunately, the show was pushed back twice and Powerman5000 and Static-X had their sets canceled and Mudvayne had to cut their set short but the latter band delivered immensely.

Taking the stage at 9:15 p.m. compared to the originally-scheduled 8 p.m., Mudvayne came out of the gate swinging with “Dig” and played just seven songs but they were seven songs that had the crowd going hard.

Singer Chad Gray immediately left the stage, taking to the barricade to get close with the fans, towering over them but becoming one with them.

This being Mudvayne’s first official major tour in over a decade, many fans hadn’t seen the band in that long with the exception of those who had seen Mudvayne at a festival in 2021 or this year so the fans were ready to celebrate Mudvayne just as much as the band was ready to blow the fans away.

Not long after, Rob Zombie took over to take things up another level.

With the show being shortened so much, Zombie’s set was forced to be shortened too so the fans were treated to more of a festival-style set but it didn’t take away from the show at all.

If one word encapsulates Zombie’s set, it’s ‘party.’ From the start of “The Triumph of King Freak,” which saw Zombie atop a giant skull platform, the fans were rowdy as hell.

This show had all the normal Rob Zombie props and production, including a giant devil (“Meet The Creeper), alien (“Well, everybody’s Fucking in a UFO”) and dancing robot (“More Human Than Human”), which Zombie danced with from time to time as well.

We tried everything we could not to cancel on you guys,” Zombie told the crowd, letting them know how much the band appreciated them sticking around in the heat and being patient while they got things going. “Did anyone get a sunburn on their ass from the sun?” he asked, which got a giant roar from the crowd.

Zombie told the crowd a few times that he wasn’t going to talk much because the show had to be shortened so much and he wanted to fit as much into the set as possible, even joking with guitarist John 5 and the crowd at one point that he had a really fun story to tell but it would have to wait until next time.

In the end, was the wait frustrating at times? Yes. Was it disappointing to not see Static-X and Powerman5000’s sets? Absolutely, but Zombie made sure to bring Static X’s Zer0 and Powerman5000’s Spider out for “Blitzkrieg Bop” to ensure they still got to see the openers in some capacity.

This show was the epitome of making the best out of a shitty situation and the Rob Zombie camp delivered, making sure to give the fans the best show they possibly could, given the issues. Fans should be thankful for how transparent, honest and hard-working the entire Rob Zombie tour crew was and everything they did to not reschedule the show and to make sure it actually happened.

For fans upset they didn’t see Static-X, the band will be in Indianapolis on April 6 with Dope, Twiztid and more at the Vogue Theatre.

-Reggie Edwards