“Rock Mother Fucker, Rock The Mother Fucker, Rock Mother Fucker, Yeah,” howled Rob Zombie, while charismatically leading thousands of loyal fans through new song “Sick Bubble Gum,” at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom last night. Whenever Rob Zombie performs, one thing is always for certain, you will experience a big epic rock show, the way concerts are meant to be.

With oversized screens and monitors depicting Zombie’s art work (“American Witch”) and film scenes (“House of 1,000 Corpses), serial killers (“Scum of the Earth”), and classic horror movie imagery, Zombie’s band tore through 16 tracks including two from the upcoming Hellbilly Deluxe 2 album.

Guitarist John 5 continues to be the best addition to Zombie’s crew over the last three years as he effortlessly blazes through the classics, even providing an intoxicating extended solo during “Thunder Kiss 65,” and adding brilliant shreddage to the new stuff.

At times the crowd seemed more reserved than at past shows, which Zombie acknowledged during his stage banter early in the set. He later reserved the center of the floor for all of the ladies in attendance prior to “Living Dead Girl.” Surprisingly, the girls broke out into a mosh pit frenzy (you just gotta love the power of rock n roll) once the song kicked in.

“That’s hysterical,” commented Zombie in the middle of the chorus.

The only bad thing about the show was the poor scheduling. To arrange a concert for a Tuesday night in New York City is not the best move and could explain why the venue was not completely packed, as well as the few mellow moments in the mosh pit.

All in all, Zombie delivered another sick show. If you are a fan of big stage metal performances then catching Zombie live should not only be a priority, but mandatory.

Setlist:

1. “What Lurks on Channel X”
2. “Superbeast”
3. “Super-Charger Heaven”
4. “Living Dead Girl”
5. “Demon Speeding”
6. “More Human Than Human”
7. “Sick Bubble-Gum”
8. “House of 1000 Corpses”
9. “Never Gonna Stop”
10. “Scum of the Earth”
11. “What?”
12. “American Witch”
13. “Thunderkiss ’65”
14. “Demonoid Phenomenon”
15. “Lords of Salem”
16. “Dragula”

P.S. Opening act and Danish psychobilly veterans Nekromantix ripped up the stage. Check them out. Added bonus: the drummer is smokin’ hot.