The sold-out crowd (lots of leather and lots of stripper heels) at Water Street Music Hall got righteously zombified Friday night at the feet of head-banging cinema auteur Rob Zombie. It was a first-rate rock spectacle with video monitors, projections, and a fairly intense light show -- Rob's favorite colors are apparently red and blue.

It was at least 10 times better than I thought it was gonna be. The band was tight. Show highlights included a cool half-take on Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and of course the White Zombie rocker "Thunder Kiss 65," which grooved deep despite the band playing it entirely too fast.

Assorted Rob Zombie movie clips accompanied the show and really drew together where Zombie comes from, what it sounds like, and what it looks like. The guy rocked his ass off, bounding around the stage like a pinball. He strikes me as genuinely into what he does and I found it a kinda funny to see the tour buses outside shrink-wrapped with ads for his upcoming DVD release. A real Zombie in Hollywood... cool.