If there is anything that can be counted on during the nine weeks that Marilyn Manson [ tickets ] and Hole are on the road together, it's the unexpected. Less than two weeks into their arena tour, there have already been a handful of bizarre incidents, and they just keep coming. During Tuesdays hometown gig in Portland, Oregon, Hole frontwoman, Courtney Love walked offstage 45 minutes into the band's set. She blamed the exodus on lackluster response from the half-full house.

''Make up your minds,'' she told the crowd. ''Either you're happy that me and (movie director) Gus Van Sant are from here or you're not.'' When her comments were met with little response from the crowd, she followed with, ''This is so bad I can't deal with it'' and walked off stage.

With only six dates of a 35 plus show schedule under their belts, the Manson/Hole combination has proven to be a chaotic match. Opening night in Spokane, WA, was marred with technical difficulties forcing the show to start late. Problems included a malfunctioning curtain and mis-fired pyrotechnics. In addition, Love was hit in the head with a sneaker during her acoustic encore. The shoe nailed Love hard enough to drive her to tears.

In Vancouver, Manson chided Love for her smelly genitalia, which prompted Love to storm on stage in pretend anger, lift her dress and jump on Manson's back during his performance. That same night, Manson took a tumble after spinning on his head and losing his balance. He fell backwards and injured his hand in the process, killing that evenings encore.

Offstage, the commentary is not much lighter. In an interview published Tuesday (3/9) in the San Francisco Examiner, Manson reiterated a complaint he voiced prior to the announcement that his band and Hole would do a US run together. ''She never talked to me until I sold a million records. Sometimes we talk and it seems OK, other times, she's just a bitch. I really don't like her too much,'' he said.