A refreshing mix of characters shuffles through security at Allentown’s PPL Center. There are old-timer bikers with faded tattoos, and excitable teens seeing their first concert. Goth ballerinas in full doll-paint and LED antennae laugh alongside old-school metal dudes in tattered sleeveless Slayer tees. There’s even a guy dressed as Jesus — albeit also wearing a patch jacket over his robe. The variety makes sense, given the locale: along America’s Rust Belt, rock still thrives, and for the web of small towns and cities throughout eastern Pennsylvania, a big arena show is a place where fans can come to meet metalheads and celebrate the loud, brazen darkness they collectively love. And with a Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie co-headliner, celebration is the order of t...
