The Portrait of an American Family Tour was Marilyn Manson's first headlining tour. It was launched in support of the band's first full-length debut album, Portrait of an American Family, which was released on July 19, 1994, five months before the tour began.
The tour began on December 27, 1994, in Jacksonville, Florida, at Club 5. After this show, the first night of the tour, frontman Marilyn Manson was arrested and taken into custody for violating the Adult Entertainment Code by allegedly donning a strap-on dildo on stage. In spite of this, Manson was freed and the band appeared in Orlando the following night as scheduled.
The tour concluded on March 11, 1995, after the band had played 43 shows. The last show was played in Columbia, South Carolina, at the Alcatrazz venue.
Lineup Marilyn Manson - lead vocals Daisy Berkowitz - guitars Twiggy Ramirez - bass, backing vocals Madonna Wayne Gacy - keyboards Sara Lee Lucas - drums
Stage antics During these concerts, the stage was usually arranged with living room décor, not unlike that on the cover of Portrait of an American Family. A table with a lamp was the most commonly seen piece at the shows. The first and last shows included the most memorable incidents of the tour. On December 27, 1994, Manson was misidentified as "jacking off a strap-on dildo" and "urinating on the crowd," resulting in his arrest just one night into the tour. When concluding the concerts with a South Carolina show on March 11, 1995, Manson slipped on a beer bottle, smashing it. Angry, Manson picked up a piece of the bottle and cut his chest "from one side to the other," his first act of notoriously cutting himself on-stage. Closing the performance, the band also ignited drummer Sara Lee Lucas' kit in an attempt to ignite only his bass drum. Claims that Lucas himself was lit aflame have been made by Manson but are disputed by Lucas.
Tour overview The tour ran from December 27, 1994, to March 11, 1995. The band completed 44 shows. The performances in Carrboro and Columbia were rescheduled to the last two dates of the tour. These performances were originally scheduled for February 16, 1995, and February 18, 1995, respectively.
Tour dates + List of concerts, showing date, city, country, and venue Date City Country Venue Opening Act(s) Attendance Revenue December 27, 1994 Jacksonville United States Club 5 n/a December 28, 1994 Orlando The Edge December 29, 1994 Tampa Jannus Landing December 31, 1994 Fort Lauderdale The Edge January 11, 1995 Houston Abyss January 13, 1995 Dallas Trees January 14, 1995 Austin Backroom January 15, 1995 San Antonio Showcase January 17, 1995 El Paso Club 101 January 18, 1995 Mesa Nile 564 / 564 $5,382 January 19, 1995 Los Angeles Whiskey 450 / 450 $5,400 January 21, 1995 San Francisco Bottom of the Hill January 22, 1995 Palo Alto The Edge January 24, 1995 Slidell The Snake Pit January 25, 1995 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum January 27, 1995 Salt Lake CityUnited States Club Vortex January 28, 1995 Denver Ogden Theater January 30, 1995 St. Louis Mississippi Nights February 1, 1995 Minneapolis First Avenue February 2, 1995 Milwaukee Shank Hill February 3, 1995 Chicago Metro February 4, 1995 Detroit St. Andrews Hall February 5, 1995 Lakewood Phantasy Theatre February 7, 1995 Toronto Canada Opera House February 9, 1995 CambridgeUnited States Middle East Café February 10, 1995 Northampton Pearl Street Nightclub 373 / 400 $2,665 February 11, 1995 Providence Club Babyhead February 12, 1995 New York City Limelight 1,613 / 2,000 $19,356 February 14, 1995 Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club February 15, 1995 Hampton Nsect Club 430 / 600 $2,036 February 17, 1995 New Orleans Muddy Waters February 21, 1995 Atlanta Point 364 / 364 $3,640 February 22, 1995 Athens Georgia State Theatre February 24, 1995 SyracuseGoldstein Auditorium February 25, 1995 Philadelphia Theater for Living Arts February 27, 1995 Middletown Sportland Café March 1, 1995 Oldbridge Birch Hill Night Club March 2, 1995 Lido Beach Malibu Night Club March 4, 1995 Buffalo Network March 6, 1995 Albany QE2 March 7, 1995 Lancaster Chameleon Club March 8, 1995 Cincinnati Bogarts 681 / 1,350 $5,793 March 9, 1995 Winston-Salem Ziggy's Tavern March 10, 1995 Carrboro Cat's Cradle March 11, 1995 Columbia Alcatrazz {Monster Voodoo Machine Isabelle's Gift } {NA}
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