The contentious Denver show, during the Ozzfest leg of the Guns, God and Government Tour,[4] was also featured during Marilyn Manson's interview in Michael Moore's 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine.
After dismounting from the chariot wearing a skirted version of his signature black leather bondage ensemble, replete with the Imperial gallic, a burst of heavy fireworks would signal the beginning of the first song.
During the February 24, 2001 show in Moscow, Russia, two Russian military guards were asked to stand on each side of the podium as Manson sang "The Love Song", replete with his Allgemeine SS-style peaked police cap.
[10] In performances of "Cruci-Fiction in Space", Manson would be lifted 12 meters (40 feet) into the air on a platform hidden by the giant conical skirt, much like in the "Disposable Teens" video.
Images would often be displayed in the stage backdrop, including a parody of the Hollywood Sign rewritten as "Holy Wood", the cover for the "Disposable Teens" single, and a scorched American flag.
[4][15] The event was part of their commitments with the heavy metal festival tour Ozzfest and marked the band's first performance in the state since the Columbine High School massacre in nearby Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999.
The group held a rally outside the Mile High Stadium where organizer, youth pastor Jason Janz, delivered a speech stating, "If Marilyn Manson can walk into our town, promote hate, violence, suicide, death, drug use and Columbine-like behavior, I can say, 'Not without a fight you can't.'"
"[4][15][18] Marilyn Manson responded to the assertions of 'Citizens for Peace and Respect' by issuing a statement saying, I am truly amazed that after all this time, religious groups still need to attack entertainment and use these tragedies as a pitiful excuse for their own self-serving publicity.
"[4] The Denver show would later provide the backdrop for Manson's landmark interview on America's climate of fear and culture of gun violence in Michael Moore's 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine.
[20] Beth Nimmo, the mother of the Columbine killer's first victim, Rachel Scott, joined in the protests and told Scottish tabloid newspaper Daily Record on August 8, 2001, "I don't doubt that his kind of music definitely affects young people and can desensitize them.
[28] On February 5, 2001, Marilyn Manson was arrested by the Italian police following the band's performance at the Palaghiaccio in Marino, Italy in relation to the controversy surrounding the Milan court case of the stabbing death of a nun by two girls.
[29] This time, the singer was charged with public indecency relating to the group's June 20, 1999 performance at the Heineken Jammin' Festival in Imola, Italy during their Rock Is Dead Tour two years prior.
praised "[the Guns, God and Government Tour,] honed by the best part of four months playing the enormodromes of America, is the greatest spectacle this side of a New Year's fireworks display [...] this is rock n' roll reinvented as grand theatre.
"[8] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times, however, found himself unimpressed with the "tired sound and cheap theatrics" of this tour, commenting, "Manson can go on teasing his fan base with his Grand Guignol circus show, but it's hard to imagine in the age of Eminem and other hard-core rappers that he is still even in the Top 10 on parents' most-feared list.
The Guns, God and Government DVD was released on October 29, 2002, by Eagle Rock Entertainment and features live concert footage culled from performances in Los Angeles, Europe, Russia and Japan.