The potentially volatile mix of shock-rocker Marilyn Manson and reborn glam-rockers

Hole will take to U.S. stages for a tour set to open Feb. 28 in Spokane, Wash., and run

throughout the spring: while April 27 (at the Target Center in Minneapolis) is the last date

currently scheduled, more dates are expected to be added.

Aware of the strange juxtaposing of the two bands on stage, Hole bassist Melissa Auf

Der Maur has dubbed the outing the "Beautiful Monsters Tour."

"I think it's a perfect complement," Auf Der Maur said of the polar images of the

goth-turned-glam Manson and grunge-turned-glitz Hole. "We bring on the light after

they've dragged out the dark. It's two different worlds, so I can't see how one could make

the other look bad. Theirs is black and ours is white."

The groups, currently sharing stages on Australia's Big Day Out festival tour, have been

painting their black-and-white worlds in front of 40,000 fans a night for the past month.

During that time, Auf Der Maur said Hole and Manson have become chummy, despite

some acerbic words from Manson ringleader Marilyn (born Brian Warner). In England's

New Musical Express last month, he slagged Hole leader Courtney Love as "an

opportunist" whom he "wouldn't consider ... a friend."

Aside from a few television appearances and one-off dates, neither act has yet mounted

a full-scale U.S. tour in support of its respective albums, both of which were released in

September.

Hole's Grammy-nominated Celebrity Skin has begun a gradual climb back up the

charts, currently residing at #67 on this week's Billboard 200 albums chart. It has

spawned such radio hits as the title track

bin/get-music/Hole/mono-excerpt-Celebrity_Skin-28.ram">(RealAudio excerpt)

and

28.ram">"Malibu" (RealAudio excerpt), but has failed, so far, to notch platinum

sales numbers (1 million copies sold). Sales tracker SoundScan reports 880,000 copies

sold to date.

Similarly, Manson's heavily hyped Mechanical Animals, which features the

current single,

excerpt-I_Dont_Like_The_Drugs_But_The_Drugs_Like_Me-28.ram">"I Don't Like The

Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)" (RealAudio excerpt), has failed to live up to the

double-platinum heights of their previous, breakthrough album, 1996's Antichrist

Superstar. Animals is ensconced at #115 on this week's chart, having sold

907,000 copies.

Both artists have recently undergone a transformation in sound and appearance.

Manson has adopted a David Bowie-like glam look in place of his formerly black-clad

gothic persona, while former grunge siren Love has assumed a high-sheen, glitzy

image.

Their former images notwithstanding, Manson and Hole also have conflicting views

about the upcoming tour itself.

Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson said the groups had a two-hour meeting Wednesday to

discuss whom would take over for tour opener Monster Magnet for the second half of the

U.S. dates. "They wanted bands like Fun Boy Three and the Fine Young Cannibals,"

Erlandson said of the Manson camp's early '80s Brit-pop choices to replace metal act

Monster Magnet. "We want something more modern."

"Yeah, we told them we wanted a third band that comes more from where we come

from," Auf Der Maur added. "It was a pretty humorous debate about what would be OK.

We want romance and they want theater. We want love and they want shtick. We had to

explain to them that those kinds of bands make them look good, but us look silly."

With the rust seemingly shaken off during the Big Day Out tour, Erlandson and Auf Der

Maur said they've anxiously been awaiting their first full-scale Celebrity Skin U.S.

tour.

"We've been looking forward to it [for so long]," Erlandson said, who said that he was

sleepy after a late night of partying at a show by British Big Beat star Fatboy Slim at the

Metro in Melbourne, Australia. "We keep trying to get a tour together and it kept falling

apart because we couldn't find someone to tour with. I'm just psyched to hit the road with

anybody."

Auf Der Maur said she felt like a "bottled-up can of soda" as she anticipates touring the

U.S. "We've been just exploding every night," Auf Der Maur said of the group's huge Big

Day Out gigs and occasional 2,000-capacity solo club shows. Leader Love, famously

unabashed on stage, has literally been bursting out of her clothes at times,

according to the bassist.

"I keep forgetting that it's something people notice," Auf Der Maur said of Love's

frequently topless Down Under performances. "It happens all the time, but she did a

pretty impressive one the other night in Brisbane. Her shirt literally popped off, the zipper

burst, and she sang all of 'Northern Star' with no shirt and just little hot pants on."

Hole/Marilyn Manson Tour Dates:

Feb. 28; Spokane, Wash.; Spokane Arena

March 2; Vancouver, Canada; PNE Coliseum

March 3; Seattle, Wash.; Key Arena

March 6; Portland, Ore.; Rose Garden

March 7; Boise, Idaho; Idaho Center

March 10; San Francisco, Calif.; Cow Palace

March 11; Sacramento, Calif.; Arco Arena

March 13; Anaheim, Calif.; The Pond

March 14; Los Angeles, Calif.; The Forum

March 16; San Diego, Calif.; Sports Arena

March 17; Las Vegas, Nev.; Thomas & Mack Arena

March 18; Phoenix, Ariz.; Veterans Coliseum

March 21; Houston, Texas; Summit

March 22; San Antonio, Texas; Alamodome

March 23; Dallas, Texas; Reunion Arena

March 25; New Orleans, La.; Uno Arena

March 27; Tampa, Fla.; Ice Palace

March 29; Orlando, Fla.; Orlando Arena

March 30; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; National Car Center Arena

April 2; Winston-Salem, N.C.; Memorial Coliseum

April 3; Washington, D.C.; MCI Center

April 4; Philadelphia, Pa.; First Union Spectrum

April 6; New York, N.Y.; Meadowlands

April 7; New York, N.Y.; Nassau Coliseum

April 9; Worcester, Mass.; Centrum

April 10; New Haven, Conn.; Coliseum

April 11; Buffalo, N.Y.; Marine Midland Arena

April 13; Cleveland, Ohio; CSU Arena

April 15; Detroit, Mich.; Palace of Auburn Hills

April 16; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Pittsburgh Arena

April 17; Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Ft. Wayne Coliseum

April 20; Chicago, Ill.; Rosemont Horizon

April 21; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Van Andel Center

April 22; Indianapolis, Ind.; Market Square Arena

April 24; Madison, Wis.; Dan County Coliseum

April 25; Milwaukee, Wis.; Bradley Center

April 27; Minneapolis, Minn.; Target Center