Marilyn Manson/Smashing Pumpkins @ the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion

The 90s were alive and well on Tuesday night at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion as Marilyn Manson and Smashing Pumpkins brought their co-headlining tour (dubbed "The End of Times") to Boston. While seemingly an unlikely combination (back in their heyday their respective fans would not have mixed well), time heals all wounds. I guess Billy Corgan has forgiven Manson for suggesting back in 2013 that "it would be a good marketing idea if he sold Charlie Brown t-shirts and bald caps at concerts." And speaking of good marketing, the combination of these two bands seems like a no-brainer. Both of them are no longer riding atop the wave of pop culture. And both have new albums out that need hawking. Manson's got "The Pale Emperor" and the Pumpkins have "Monuments To An Elegy."

This is Manson's second time around to Boston this year. He played a strong show at the House of Blues this spring that was clearly a run up to this performance. That show was rather stark in comparison to Tuesdays. They played with a minimal set, no props, and pretty much nothing but their music. And it was great.

Tuesday's show was similar in terms of set list but he definitely brought out the bells and whistles (and burning Bibles). It was nice to see them back in full performance mode. Manson has great songs and his band members are strong. Perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with that.

But you really do want the guy to bring the whole show. It just isn't Manson without the explosions, bombast, and (mildly) offensive behavior. The guy knows how to put on a show. Admit it, when he performs "Antichrist Superstar" you want shit to blow up. It works. My only quibble with the show was that he ends on "Coma White." A great song to be sure but, jeez, ending on a low note is a bummer. And it is a peculiar segue from the hard and fast "Beautiful People." A minor annoyance as, overall, Marilyn Manson was excellent and on point the whole time. But I kinda wanted the show to end with a kick in the face, not a gloomy wah-wah.

And there were the Smashing Pumpkins. This tour was probably one of the more anticipated of the summer. Billy Corgan's Smashing Pumpkins (and honestly, is it anyone else's?) has toured off and on over the past few years to mixed reviews. Most of the time it has been Corgan and a rotating group of musicians but this time he is joined by original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. So it is a mini-reunion of sorts.

The Pumpkins had quite a lot to overcome. Manson gave a fantastic show that would have been tough for any band to top. Alas, the Smashing Pumpkins didn't quite make it. They were so solid out of the gate and plowed through some of the more "rocking" numbers. "Cherub Rock" and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" were powerful and done as well as I've ever heard them. Corgan's voice was spot on and they nailed it. But they weren't able to maintain the momentum. Granted, it was brutally hot out that night and people were sweating up a storm under the tent so perhaps that was it? I think a large part of it was the setlist. The Pumpkins music can veer towards the atmospheric. And there was a tad too many of the moody songs in contrast to the beginning of the set. The band performed expertly but there was something that just seemed to hold them back. Was it the fact that the show clearly wasn't sold out? Was it the heat? Was Billy Corgan pissed off about something? Who knows? It was great to see the Smashing Pumpkins live again but sheesh, Marilyn Manson pretty much ruled the evening.