Nine Inch Nails #56 – “Cleveland”

As we know covid ruined everything. NIN had planned a 2020 tour that would have brought 5 shows to Toronto, cancelled. They planned a “rock and roll hall of fame” 2 nights in Cleveland for 2021 which I got a ticket for one night, cancelled. 2022 tour, closest date again is Cleveland. Since I don’t like the 3 most recent EPs I really wasn’t excited to see a tour for them, so when tickets went on sale AND I was “at work” I didn’t set alarms to try for tickets, or anything like I would have done in the past. I remembered late for the first pre sale, but went on and never got out of the lobby to try for tickets until they were all gone. I attempted 2 more pre sales and the public sale, each time forgetting to go right on at 10am, and I was not willing to pay surge price, or $40 for lawn so I was left without tickets. And sadly, I wasn’t sad about it. I didn’t really want to drive down there, and I didn’t want to spend absurd prices, and I didn’t want to be on the lawn.

But as it goes, Mary saw a set list from early on in the tour, and really wanted to go. Spent months looking at ticket prices, and finally just bought 2 lawn from a fan on ETS for cheap, thinking as it got closer, and then day off, ticket prices HAD to go down so we could get seats. Well, they didn’t. We were relegated to the lawn.

We are old now, we got to sit in between bands, low stress. I am never going to queue all day for the rail again, so I thought it would be fine. Well, I learned that is not the case for me. lol

Since this turned into a sort of “rock and roll hall of fame” show, and the band did a live Q&A at the hall the day before there was the thought that maybe some guests would show up. Adam got to go to the Q&A and said he suspected there would be some appearances. Foreshadowing…..

Nitzer Ebb and Ministry opened. I am not very familiar with either, and they were fine. Didn’t love it. Seen worse. NIN opened with Somewhat Damaged. And that is when I realized I cannot see them from so far away. I could not see anything in detail, and the side screens showed the view of a singular camera guy who walked the stage the entire show. So it was lovely and artsy and beautiful but not good for actually SEEING what’s going on. Set started pretty typically, into March of the Pigs, Piggy etc. I did have the thought that this was just going to be the same thing I’ve seen 55 times. 2 new songs, one that I don’t mind one that is boring. Blahblahblah. We get to Reptile. This is the true moment when I realized I can’t be so far away. I need to feel Reptile in my chest. Those killer guitars, the drums, the vibe…I just couldn’t feel it so far away and it made me sad, even tho it sounded amazing as always (unless Peter Murphy is guest starring. I’m still bitter about that).

Middle of the set went to new songs again, one that Robin sang! But it was NOT AT ALL familiar to me, to the point where I wasn’t even sure it was a nin song. It was. I hate it. Another boring new song that I will forgive, purely because TRENT PLAYED SAXOPHONE. Wish I was close so I could see sexy old man Trent playing sax. lol Back into the old stuff. I will say there is a benefit to the new things I hate – it makes the old stuff even better haha. Then we get THE PERFECT DRUG. I had COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN that they had fiiiinally put it into the set a few years ago. Awesome. Burn is back, another moment to be closer.

We get to the Frail, and as it winds up and you wait for the Wretched you hear Eraser start. It always makes me laugh when the Wretched doesn’t start, and I think of Adam haha. But this time… Eraser begins, and there seems to be a lot going on on the stage. I CAN’T REALLY SEE THO cuz LAWN! The video guy is wandering around, and Trent and Robin walk on stage (they had gone behind some light screens)…and there’s people around, and then the camera is on this blond guy standing there….wait, what? I know that guy, I just saw him play at Gratwick Park. It’s Richard Patrick! So while I knew there was the guest possibility of, say, Danny Lohner, because he was part of the Q&A, given Trent and Rich’s history, that was really fucking unexpected. And then I realize, Danny is on stage, and then there is a little guy playing drums – Chris Vrenna! And someone is there with a theramin…it’s Charlie Clouser. So basically it’s everyone important from past band lineups on stage all at once. Robin and Richard (and Trent) are playing guitar. Ali, Charlie and Danny are on bass/keyboards/gadgets. 2 drummers. They do eraser, and all of the rest of the set – Wish (another moment wishing I could feel it), Sin, Gave Up….Hey Man Nice Shot! and finally Head Like a Hole. It was awesome having all those guys up there, and a really nice thing for Trent to do. Especially cuz though obviously I know nothing about their lives, it still feels like a bit of an olive branch to Richard. Danny is still so entertaining to watch, he broke a keyboard like it was the old days lol. Man it was great.

HLAH finishes and the NIN logo comes up and we wait for an encore….but it doesn’t come. They had been doing them, unlike that one tour that didn’t (summer 06?) and they hadn’t played Hurt. Also, I had accidentally seen a previous setlist that showed an encore of AND ALL THAT COULD HAVE BEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? What what what? The 1 song I really never thought they’d ever play. I was kinda mad for seeing that setlist, for several reasons. One, I’m not totally sure how I feel about them playing it live. I always said I wanted to hear it live, because I loved it so much. But on the other hand, I feel like it’s a very special song, AND it’s kinda strange so I don’t know how it would translate and I wouldn’t want it to be bad. The other reason is, now that I saw that they were playing it, if they DIDN’T, I’d be mad lol. And they didn’t. There was no encore. NO HURT!!!!!!!!!!! HOORAY!!!!! So I’m kinda mad, kinda relived I didn’t hear it in the end.

I’m really glad I got convinced to go. I really truly was not going to go, and I wasn’t that upset that I wasn’t going, but it really was good. I realized that I did miss them. It felt good. Kinda like home. But never lawn again.

Setlist:

  • Somewhat Damaged
  • March of the Pigs
  • Piggy
  • Heresy
  • Less Than
  • The Lovers
  • Reptile
  • Sanctified
  • Copy of A
  • Shit Mirror (the song I feel like I never ever heard before)
  • God Break Down The Door (a bunch of noise but with SAX)
  • The Perfect Drug
  • Closer
  • The Big Come Down
  • Burn
  • The Hand That Feeds
  • The Frail

Enter Richard Patrick, Chris Vrenna, Danny Lohner, and Charlie Clouser

  • Eraser
  • Wish
  • Sin
  • Gave Up
  • Hey Man Nice Shot
  • Head Like A Hole

Then there was the epic zombie hoard walk to the car, and then sitting there not moving eating car charcuterie (that’s what seeing nin at 40 is lol), finally got out an hr and 45 min after the show ended.

Las Vegas and NIN #55

We picked our random vacation week then Trent announced shows in Las Vegas at the same time, so decision made. We stayed at The Plaza because I wanted to be able to go to a nice pool, since it was going to be sweltering, and they have a new rooftop pool area. Adam decided to go to the show too after I bought my tickets, so he joined us after a few days.

As soon as we got there, off to Drag Brunch at Treasure Island. There were 6 queens, all past RuPaul’s Drag Race alumns, it was awesome. And there were bottomless mimosas, so we drank 3 bottles of champagne with the (not great) breakfast buffet. That didn’t end well for me, but the show was awesome, and though I lost the rest of the day, it was worth it lol.

Monday we made plans to meet up with Adr1 and Tom and the kids. We were going to try to do some trivia but there wasn’t really any going on so we met up to check out the Container Park, then went up near their house to a pizza place for dinner who was having music bingo. Tom didn’t feel well so he left us there, and we ate and played for a bit. It was fun, even though it wasn’t trivia really because you could use your phone to look up the songs if you didn’t know them.

Adam arrived Tuesday morning, we hung at the pool a bit and Adr joined me with the kids. So we had a good time in the water, and chatting, and Adr said the nicest thing ever – that I’m still her favorite person to do nothing with LOL awwww. <3 She needs to move back to Buffalo! Tuesday night we ended up checking out the High Roller giant ferris wheel on the strip, which was pretty neat. Wednesday was the show. Honestly, I wasn't all that excited about it because I really don't care for the EPs, but I told Adam that I would try not to be an asshole about it lol. He had VIP and went down early, plus I had no interest in queueing. I've gotten too old for this shit. Plus the lack of excitement, I didn't feel the need to be up front. BUT, it's still Trent and I still love him. The line was insanely long when we finally did get there, but we didn't end up with a bad spot. Pretty central in all ways, and other than the guy who didn't put his arms down, filming the entire show on his phone, I could see decently. I hate that I have to admit this. Maybe I've aged out of NIN shows? Don't get me wrong, it was still good, but I don't get any of the catharsis, or really any of the energy I used to get from the shows. Is it because I'm not up front? Have I just seen too many that they've lost their effect? I am pretty tired of seeing March of the Pigs after all. It makes me sad though. The setlist was pretty good, Year Zero heavy up front, not too many new songs, and some deep cuts that were very welcome. But as J said, the middle got a little boring with The Lovers and Find My Way back to back (he was probably bored with Even Deeper too, but NO!!! I will always take Even Deeper as a slow song!) And BONUS!!! NO HURT!!! And no Closer, which I do always enjoy, but it's ok. 1. Pinion / The Eater of Dreams 2. Metal 3. Me, I'm Not 4. The Beginning Of The End 5. Survivalism 6. March of the Pigs 7. The Lovers 8. Find My Way 9. Burn 10. God Break Down the Door 11. Letting You 12. Gave Up 13. Even Deeper 14. I Do Not Want This 15. I'm Afraid Of Americans 16. Less Than 17. Came Back Haunted 18. Only 19. Wish 20. Head Like A Hole So...it was good. But I just don't get the emotional benefit that I used to, so...I am very unlikely to travel to see him anymore (unless he puts out something I love, or does some kind of very unusual out of left field tour, like an all acoustic tour or something), and if he continues to do stupid things like "you can only buy tickets in person" crap, this may have been my last show. 55 is a good number to stop on. Now this brings me to his new EP, Bad Witch. I haaaate it. And if I'm honest, I basically hate the other 2 EPs as well, though there are a few tracks I like here and there. But everything I liked about NIN is gone. Trent's brilliance was in his ability to craft a song that could be loud, angry, noisy and heavy but still have a musicality to it, with a catchy hook and a melody. It's all gone. If he wants to experiment fine, go for it, but it is not what you expect and want from NIN. Even though I didn't love Hesitation Marks, it had solid actual songs, and not just movie scores for a non existent movie that he decided to put lyrics to. Because that's what it feels like. And I hate it. And I'm not going to listen to it.

nine inch nails, toronto, 7-27-14

My 200th concert and 54th nine inch nails show. Headed up to Toronto with Jason, Eric and Adam. Adrienne and Bliss were able to go too (it was touch and go for a bit) but drove themselves, and due to the crappy insane parking situation we never ended up finding each other. So yeah, an hour on the bridge, mild traffic up to Toronto, I made the call to exit at Lake Shore and go up the lake instead of into Toronto on the Gardner, where it was backed up quite a bit. It was the right call, we got to the area of Molson Ampitheater fairly quickly, but that’s where it ended. Construction limited parking, so while we usually would just park in the lots directly in front of the venue, they were somewhat filled or VIP only. We pulled into a lot, paid $20, to find out there were no spots. By this point it’s been almost 4 hours since we left the house, we already missed the first opener (no one was crying about that), but Soundgarden was going on at 8 and we were fast approaching 8pm. I kicked everyone out of the car so they wouldn’t miss anything and went on to find parking in a ramp far away haha.

So I got into the venue during Black Hole Sun, which is really the only Soundgarden song I’m super familiar with. I can’t really judge if they were good or not because of my lack of familiarity but Eric said Chris Cornell sounded good so I’ll take his word for it. They don’t put on much of a “show” it’s just a straight performance of rock songs.

I was a bit more excited for this show than for the October show because Trent had said this tour would be more Fragile and Year Zero heavy. When he said Fragile heavy, he meant “no songs from the Fragile”….yeah. So there was that. Since this was a dual headlining tour, it was a short 18 song setlist, and sort of a “Greatest Hits” set with the return of “closer” and only 3 songs from Hesitation Marks. There were a few songs from Year Zero that we didn’t hear since Lights in the Sky tour in 08, so that was nice. The stage set up was very minimal compared to the last 2 tours, with the giant moving screens and what not. This time they relied on large squares of lights/screens that techs moved around behind the band. Jason’s opinion of this show, not being a fan, was that there was less to look at, and he’s right. Nothing wrong with that though, as I feel like trent was beginning to rely too heavily on light show effects.

The only song played that was new to me was a very heavily remixed version of “sanctify”, which was cool to finally see.

I’m a bit sad that I don’t have that much to say about it. I don’t know if it’s the getting older thing, or the 50+ show thing, but the large shows just aren’t as appealing to me anymore. I am not sad that I’m only going to 1 show this tour, where as 5 years ago it would have been a tragedy to only see one. The entire venue was seats, there was no GA pit, so we were in the 200 section, slight left of the sound board. Seats aren’t exciting. I told everyone, I may not ever want to queue again for entire days to see shows and be up front, but I still never want a seat…even if I stand in the back of the crowd on the floor, I want to be GA… it’s just not the same in a seat. I hope he ends up doing club shows again, which I would queue for, because they just feel so much better and more exciting, plus the potential for different setlists.

Soundgarden:
(missed the first 4.5 songs)
Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Spoonman
Flower
Outshined
Black Hole Sun
Jesus Christ Pose
The Day I Tried to Live
My Wave
Superunknown
Blow Up the Outside World
Fell on Black Days
A Thousand Days Before
Rusty Cage
Beyond the Wheel

Nine Inch Nails:
“Copy Of A”
“Sanctified”
“Came Back Haunted”
“1,000,000”
“March Of The Pigs”
“Piggy”
“Terrible Lie”
“Closer”
“Gave Up”
“The Warning”
“Find My Way”
“The Great Destroyer”
“Eraser”
“Wish”
“Only”
“The Hand That Feeds”
“Head Like A Hole”
“Hurt”

Shows 52 and 53 – NIN in Toronto and Cleveland

So while other people took Trent’s “retirement” from NIN seriously, I always said “give him 5 years, he’ll be bored, he’ll be back”….so I was wrong, it only took 4 years, but here he is again. Hesitation Marks has really never grown on me, I feel like I’ve given it ample time and several tries, and I just don’t like it. So that being said, 2 shows supporting an album I don’t like, they’re not going to end up on my “favourites” list. But, it IS Trent Reznor we’re talking about here, and it’s impossible for him to disappoint.

So the shows brought Adam into town, and I was making Jason go to his first with me (ok so “making” isn’t the right word, he said he wanted to go, and I tried to warn him about what it meant to go to a nin show with me, and he said he got it but then…i don’t think he really “got” it hahaha cuz he hated queuing all day even though we didn’t get there til noon which is fairly “late” for us, and he hated waiting around for the crappy opener, etc etc etc). We were 20th in line, which was really far up for arriving at noon for a Toronto show. We tried to prepare Jason for what the crowd would be like, to protect his head/hat/glasses if security is in front of us for a crowd surfer, to hold onto the rail and not let go, etc then we ended up not getting touched. We got a tiny bit of jostling with March of the Pigs and Wish, and that was it. It was the most ridiculously tame GA show I’ve ever been to of any band in Toronto. U2 was worse than this LOL. So after all that prep for Jason, I felt almost embarrassed that the experience didn’t live up to the hype LOL. Though I’m pretty sure he’s ok with it haha

The show itself. Like I said, it’s Trent, it’s going to be impressive and awesome. And it was. We were at the rail in front of Robin and the new backup singers when they were on stage. The light show was along similar lines to Lights in the Sky tour, with 2 curved light screens that moved up and down. There were moving sets of lights above each band member and other areas of the stage, that had 9 sets of lights of 9 in them, that could rotate and spin and created some nice effects. Being up front you miss a lot of the light effects, so the 2nd night I spent “mid-ice” in Cleveland it was cool to see. Since the tour is supporting the new album, he played 9 new songs….too much, and they were grouped badly, with a chunk of 5 of them in the middle of the set. I hate when bands do that. I know you’re going to play new stuff, doesn’t matter if I like it or not, but spread it out, intersperse it with old familiar stuff. Ugh. So, to me, it got sorta boring. I’m happy he played the 2 songs I like from the album, but Disappointed, Find My Way and Running are too long, and fairly boring. And while the new songs did sound better live than on the record (live drums!!!), just like The Slip, I still don’t like them. The argument for the grouping of all new songs, is that they feature his new female backup singers, so perform them all together and keep them on stage…as if they can’t walk back and forth on and off the stage? Whatever. But the singers. It was a bit weird the first show, at times I couldn’t hear them that well, so I couldn’t really tell if they “worked” or not, but being mid-ice for Cleveland and I could hear them better, they do add something different to the old songs, and are fairly necessary for the new ones. I approve. I hope for a good bootleg recording that I can hear them well on.

Of course the show highlights for me will be the old songs, but in particular, Somewhat Damaged. Dear lord that song. Suddenly it makes me emotional and teary, but holy crap it’s so good. Adam said he liked it mid-set instead of as an opener, and I’m not sure I agree, but who cares, it’s amazing and I’m just glad they kept it in the set. Survivalism was too loud and distorted when we were up close, better when I was at mid-ice. In This Twilight was not mixed right either, too loud, or the bass too strong or something. Wish had some amazing lights at the end, reminiscent of the spinning lights during U2’s “Streets” on Elevation tour. In Cleveland they switched out Various Methods of Escape for Piggy and Only for Burn, and the lights on Burn were the best I’ve seen from all the shows I’ve seen that song played at. While I’m Still Here is yet another new song I find a bit boring, but it builds and goes into the instrumental Black Noise, which was pretty overwhelming and awesome.

So overall the show was good, Trent can’t be bad, but to be honest I’m glad the tickets ended up being as expensive as they were which prevented me from going berzerk and going to every show I could. Because I’d be a bit bummed if I had to go to more shows where I had to wait out that mid set of new tracks and not hear other songs that I want. If I hadn’t liked With Teeth I wouldn’t have wanted to go to 20 shows from that tour, but it was an easy decision that time since the album was out long before tickets went on sale, unlike this time. Same thing with Year Zero, and Ghosts and even The Slip. I knew I liked those records and wanted to see those songs live, so I knew to buy as many tickets as I could. So I’m ok with my decision to not go to Detroit and Pittsburgh this tour.

And I’m really completely over the queuing and waiting at the rail, suffering through openers etc. It’s just not as fun for me as it was before, and I’m totally happy and can enjoy the show from farther back, with space, and less annoyances.

So Jason said he liked the show, and I hope he’s being honest. I know it’s not his style, I didn’t think it would convert him into being a fan who’d want to listen to nin all the time. But I wanted him to be blown away and I don’t get that impression from his response. I wanted him to experience it because it’s such a big part of who I am.

In Cleveland, Adam and I got to catch up a bit with Matt who we had met at the Wave Goodbye shows in Chicago, which was nice. In general there were only 3 or 4 other people we recognized from previous tours. We had wondered who’d still be doing the travel thing. Not as many as we thought, in the end. It was an enjoyable few days, got to spend time with friends, and see some great music. Time to relax now.

Toronto Setlist:

Copy of A
1,000,000
Terrible Lie
March of the Pigs
The Frail
The Wretched
All Time Low (With barely a snippet of “Closer”)
Disappointed
Came Back Haunted
Find My Way
Various Methods of Escape
Into the Void
Survivalism
Running
A Warm Place
Somewhat Damaged
Wish
Only
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole

Encore:
Even Deeper
In This Twilight
While I’m Still Here
Black Noise (Not listed on the setlist)
Hurt

Cleveland setlist:

Copy of A
1,000,000
Terrible Lie
March of the Pigs
Piggy
All Time Low
Disappointed
Came Back Haunted
Find My Way
The Frail
The Wretched
Into the Void
Survivalism
Running
A Warm Place
Somewhat Damaged
Wish
Burn
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole

Encore:
Even Deeper
In This Twilight
While I’m Still Here
Black Noise
Hurt

memories of 5 years touring….1 year later

a year ago today was my last nine inch nails show. having met a new nin-friend at work, i’ve been thinking and talking about nin alot lately, and i thought i should get my favourite memories down somewhere. 51 shows later, here’s what i remember…

2000

fragility toronto – i wish i could remember more about this show, but it WAS 10 years ago…it was the most beautiful stage show ever. perfect visuals, great setlist, and i remember trent coming on stage and thinking this was the most beautiful man in the world. black lipstick all over his face and everything 🙂

2005

reno – i invited a virtual stranger to go across the country with me to see our favourite band. and she turned into one of my best friends ever. we had amazing line conversations with awesome people, and “new” guitarist aaron north walked by us with a pizza and we didn’t know who he was. too hyped up to go to bed we drove around reno and got lost in the never ending suburb from hell LOL.

toronto club shows 1 & 2 – still top my list as the best shows i’ve seen. everything about them, from having to get back in line cuz i had the wrong ticket, but still getting to the rail, the crush, the heat, the injuries, being at a 45 degree angle but still not falling down…it was what nin shows should be. only days after With Teeth was released, everyone knew the words, club shows mean true fans in attendance. adrienne2 got hit in the head with a tambourine, and we didn’t see any tambourines again until much later in the year haha

philadelphia club shows 1 & 2 – after the first 2 club shows, we couldn’t NOT go to philly. scalped tickets on ebay, drove to the show. too injured from the week before we rocked out at the soundboard both nights. people stared as we were the only ones who knew the lyrics to “home”. amazing aftershow conversation about why the band ended the set early, to go to see the new star wars (which turned out to be true!), and a 2 hour search for a hotel room (not fun!). and a trent freakout because his guitar stopped working (“something’s gonna get broken!!”)

philly/wilkes-barre – en route after the philly show to wilkes-barre for the next show, we accidentally left bliss at the gas station. good thing we were only driving across the parking lot to the convenience store! adr2 and bliss met cassie and beth, who became line buddies the following spring.

toronto – everyone assumed this was our last show. trent wasn’t known for touring for years anymore. we joked around that we had to go to all the shows we could, because it would be another 5 years before trent put out another album, and by then i’d be 30 and who knows where i’d be (LOL!)…little did we know.

san luis obispo – yes i flew across country, spent more time en route than actually IN california, huge delays in Dallas/Ft Worth because it “snowed”, and missing my connection, greaaaat… but a spur of the moment “club” show, couldn’t miss it. again, assumed it to be my last show.

2006

cincinatti – what else is there to be said about this show except adrienne2 caught aaron’s guitar. 🙂

erie – pilgrimage to Mercer! met sarah for the first time, though we didn’t really know it, and it was the only show i got pulled from the crowd.

rochester – i know that the only people who believe me when i say this are adrienne1, adrienne2, amira, cassie and maybe eric….but…trent played this show TO us. the only show where all of us were at the rail directly in front of trent. the whole show he gave us so much attention, including my one and only “piggy” moment. trent came off the stage directly to me, grabbed my hand and for the rest of the song i had my face smooshed up against his stomach. i was not complaining. “the wretched” was a highlight, and then of course “everyday is exactly the same”, trent came to the edge of the stage and threw the tambourine directly to me. not lying or exaggerating, it was not even a throw, it was a lob, right to me. there was no way anyone else could have even tried to get it, it was that direct to me. adr2 threw me over the rail so i wouldn’t get beat up and the guard looked completely confused as to why i’d want to leave. amazing. top of the list of shows for sure.

las vegas – again, supposed to be my last show.

summer ampitheatres – too hot, too much driving, great setlists. the smallest pit ever in saratoga, and my birthday show in columbus.

2007

flying to europe, sitting in JFK with alex watching “beside you in time” on my laptop. awesome.

london – “year zero” listening party complete with tea and crumpets. getting the first half of The Downward Spiral in order. awesome awesome setlists with songs i never thought i’d hear.

brussels – at my 33rd show i finally met trent reznor. the “spiral line” was invited into the venue for sound check followed by a meet and greet. nervous as hell i managed not to throw up on trent, actually speak to him, and get a hug. i do admit tho i had to go to the bar next door after and do some shots hahaha.

2008

strangely i don’t have alot of memories about the Lights In The Sky tour…

toledo – the show was in a convention center, and all the stage equipment didn’t fit so we got a slightly different show than the others of the tour.

atlantic city – another club show? hell yes. i refunded my ticket to the rescheduled worchester ma show to be able to go to atlantic city, and i had to go by myself but a stripped down small show is always worth it. while we didn’t get anything strange or acoustic like people were expecting, we did get special guest Peter Murphy on “reptile”, and during the course of the show Trent’s security dude stuck a tambourine in my hand for no reason LOL i asked him about it in hamilton, and he said people were fighting for it when trent threw it, so he took it away from them and decided to give it to someone he had seen before.

2009

toronto (again) – a duck ate my muffin. i finally got to see “the fragile” live, which was more than appropriate for ending my nin touring. this was my last show

except it wasn’t – pittsburgh – last minute decision to get lawn seats, which we found out we could upgrade once we got in for $10, score. really, my last show.

except it still wasn’t – trent unhappy with his last shows being during the day light as an opener for jane’s addiction (DUH!!!!!!!) he added a series of “wave goodbye” club shows. i tried to get tickets for NYC, the bowery being a 400 person club, but i had to settle for Chicago. still pretty awesome. invited Sarah to go along with me. she fiiiiiinallly got to see “the wretched” so it was all worth it. super long sets, with special guest Peter Murphy (again) which I could have done without. still pissed off about how badly he screwed up “reptile” since it’s the last time i’ll ever see it. really, seriously, my last 2 shows.

so like some nin fans, i can’t say that he “saved my life” as i was never holding the proverbial gun to my head, but he certainly changed it. i’ve met some of my best friends ever in the queue, i’ve traveled places i never would have, had amazing conversations and had some seriously good times. there is no where else i feel as at home, and as much “myself” as at a show with other people who “get it”. some people think i’m nuts to have gone to so many shows, and sometimes i agree, but in the end there is nothing else i would have rather done.

NIN Chicago – waving goodbye

i swear my 2nd to last nin show ever….

sarah and i got to the venue around noon, finding it with no problem because it really was right next to the red line. made friends with the people around us in line, none of whom were actually from chicago. it was unreal how many people were from out of town. the venue was an old theatre/ballroom that had a pretty excellent decor – super gaudy castle looking. it was awesome.

mew opened. i guess they are from denmark. the music was sometimes alright but the vocals were not. overall not the worst opener trent has had, but i’d never listen to them.

nin…rail on the far right side, didn’t get touched the whole time, and had a nice view. they had a crew video taping the show. opened with pinion into wish into last. woo! once again during wish it hit me how awesome and powerful it is and how much i am going to miss that. it was great to hear last (at least) one more time, this time with robin playing. at this point i realized that david, who was in the mezzanine, was seeing a completely different band from the one he saw when we were in europe and that amused me haha. i can’t remember what was really played, the only nin song i hadn’t seen before was lights in the sky. they also played Saul Williams’ “banged and blown through”, which was really cool. then later in the set peter murphy made an apperance and from one of the balcony boxes sang a song i didn’t know which was apparently joy division. he then came down on stage for dead souls followed by one of peter’s songs. sometimes i enjoy peter sometimes not. i don’t really like hearing him sing nin songs, but the other songs are fine and fun. he looked awful though, too much makeup made him look like a clown. i was thankful that he didn’t sing reptile, because i’d rather not have my last time seeing reptile be with him singing it. we got full version of la mer, and the downward spiral was so kick ass again. it almost scared me when it kicked in. i did not cry at the fragile, but it kills me that trent has to collect himself before that song. long set with no encore, closed with hurt. blah. haha

Pinion
Wish
Last
Discipline
March
Something I Can Never Have
Frail
The Wretched
Closer
Terrible Lie
Head Down
Banged and Blown Through
Burn
Gave Up
La Mer
The Fragile
Non-Entity
Gone, Still
Lights In The Sky
Eraser
Downward Spiral
1000000
Letting You
Survivalism
Down In It
Atmosphere (Joy Division cover w/Peter Murphy)
Dead Souls w/Peter Murphy (he actually was good on this) Kick in the Eye (Bauhaus cover)
Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Hurt

last nin show ever…

i was in the exact same spot as friday lol. this show had more assholes in the crowd but it still wasn’t bad by me until the calm person next to me left the rail and this psycho jumper filled the spot. thankfully it was for only 5 songs or so. this time they opened with home, and played a completely different set. we got ruiner, which…holy crap robin!! robin is amazing. got metal, i’m afraid of americans, i do not want this, and the way out is through like the JA tour. peter murphy joined the band yet again, and destroyed reptile. that’s destroyed in a bad way. he started singing too soon, sang the same line twice, couldn’t hear him other parts, the whole thing was full of suck i couldn’t even get into the music which is a shame. when trent returns in 5 years he needs to stop playing reptile in chicago cuz it always sucks. the worst version of reptile ever was chicago oct 05, and this one was 2nd worse. peter murphy also sang a bauhaus song i didn’t know which went into bela lugosi’s dead, which at some point included trent playing a see through red recorder haha. and then they did final solution. (an aside there are constantly police/ambulance sirens going off in chicago). another long set, and closed with hurt again. i really didn’t want my last song to see to be hurt, but oh well. ppl seem to like that one 😛

Home
The Beginning of the End
Survivalism
Heresy
March of the Pigs
Piggy
Metal
Ruiner
I’m Afraid of Americans
Burn
Gave Up
La Mer
The Frail
I Do Not Want This
Gone, Still
Right Where it Belongs (v2)
The Way Out is Through
Wish
Mr. Self Destruct
Suck
Echoplex
The Good Soldier
Dead Souls
Reptile(w/ Peter Murphy)
Strange Kind of Love (with Peter Murphy)
Final Solution (with Peter Murphy)
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt

i’m sadly not really in the mood to review the show. that’s all i can think of to say. too preoccupied with being pissed off at airlines charging me to get home early for mike’s wake. i don’t care if my ticket was purchased on priceline and has a non refundable policy, there should be some fucking exceptions.

i did enjoy both shows tho, despite STILL not seeing “physical”, it really was my last realistic request. trent seemed really happy, and at the 2nd show he stated they were not quitting making music, that all of them combined and on their own would have more projects that he’d keep everyone updated on, and to not kill ourselves yet hahahahah. oddly in a way, i think the song i’m going to miss the most is “wish”. it is just soooo powerful live, such a great feeling. *sigh* thank you trent. it’s been a great ride.

*edit* i don’t remember “gone, still” in either set hahah

NIN Pittsburgh 09

my last nin show. no seriously it really really is. the last nin show in the US is tomorrow in NC and there’s no way I can make that.

adr2 bliss and i left for pittsburgh around 10:30, stopped at a mall in erie to get bliss some boots cuz she forgot hers (we all forgot a ton of stuff it seemed haha), and made it to bliss’s house to get her sister. adr2 and i stopped at a whole foods to get something to eat quick, back to get the girls, and off to the venue. we had lawn tickets and were paranoid about it raining (it was forecast to storm all day). while i was walking the line looking for sarah and jory, i ended up at the front not finding them (nin presale was already inside) and i asked a guard what the difference was between the 3 lines that were formed, and he said nothing, you can start another one right here. so i got the girls, and went back and started a brand new line. we got dirty looks, and it’s like, woah chill we have freaking LAWN tickets idiots. and you too could have started a new line…oddly, no one else followed us into this new line.

when doors finally opened, and we were one of the first in, i noticed a table set up next to a merch booth that was offering ticket upgrades (first come first serve). i went over and asked, for $10 each you could upgrade from lawn to a seating section, and they had various ones to choose from. we said, hell yes, and got 4 tickets together in section 6 row h, which turned out to be the equivalent of the front of the 200 section at most ampitheatres. we ended up behind the “box” seats, pretty much half way between the stage and the lawn where we would have been, and almost center. sweet!! quite an upgrade.

i counted this time, and street sweeper social club said their name, or that they were not a band but a social club, 21 times. TWENTY ONE, and they played a half hour. ridiculous.

the crowd filled in once nin came on, and opened with “home”…sort of a weird opener, but it was good. i’m glad i went, purely because we got to hear “somewhat damaged” one more time 🙂 sweet. that song is so powerful live. a few changes from the toronto set, but the middle set “rare” stuff was mostly the same. sadly we didn’t get “last” or “physical” because they did a single song (hurt) encore again. suck. as the instrumental, we got “the downward spiral” which was surprisingly kickass. the loud part was totally loud, and it just hit you with this wall of sound, it was pretty awesome. it was unexpected, because i really don’t think much about that song. when he introduced “the fragile” trent said, “pretend it’s dark out, this song works better in the dark”. and he paused and said he needed to get his head together. it was cute, and sad (to me, because of my relationship with that song). i said i wouldn’t cry again, and i didn’t, but that almost got me before the song even started lol.

Home
Somewhat Damaged
Terrible Lie
Discipline
March Of The Pigs
The Frail
Metal
I’m Afraid of Americans
The Becoming
Burn
Gave Up
The Fragile
I Do Not Want This
The Downward Spiral
Wish
Survivalism
Echoplex
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt

jane’s was boring to me again. i sat through it, and the seat next to me was filled by this hippy kid. he bought me a beer for holding his seat for him…i told him i didn’t want it but he bought it anyway, and those things were expensive so i felt forced to drink some of it lol. later on he asked me why i wasn’t rockin out, and i said i didn’t like jane’s, he replied with oh you were here for nine inch nails, they’re like, heavy maaaaaan. LOL then some other guy who wasn’t sitting near us, asked me if i worked at children’s hospital…um no i live in buffalo, and he just stared at me and was like, oh you look like someone i know who works at children’s hospital. really? i’d never have guessed that.

and thank god we upgraded our tickets, because it pooooured during jane’s, and we would have been soaked and miserable.

now i didn’t get all emotional like some people *wink* that this was the last show, and it was all ending. but it did hit me during “Terrible Lie” that i was really really going to miss it. when i start having bad angsty shit happen in life, i’ll really really really miss it and be depressed. let’s just hope my life continues drama free. trent won’t be gone forever. i guess he recently said there will be new nin records in the next few years, just no tours. i am happy with nin records. we used to wait 5 years between albums/tours. i don’t expect him to stay “retired” more than 5 years. whether he comes out as nin or as himself or as something else, it is still trent reznor, and in the end, that’s why we were all here.

NIN Toronto 09

nin toronto, my last pit show, possibly ever (silly trent “retiring”)

drove up to molson ampitheatre with sarah, and with adr2 and bliss on our heels on the highway. the nin.com line wasn’t very long and we picked our seat along the water just like last time. the only notable happening of the queue were the geese/ducks/birds…a friendly little girl duck decided to play homeless person and go up and down the line begging for food. i happened to be eating a muffin so i threw a few crumbs. it wasn’t afraid of people because it stood there right in front of me waiting for more. then it decided to just take more itself and ended up pulling the whole muffin right out of my hand hahaha. duck stole my muffin!!

once inside, one back from rail slightly left of center. now that there are only 4 members in nin the stage set up is a bit different and “trent’s junk” ended up being right in front of us. not bad! i didn’t really want to be up front because i had a headache and didn’t want to deal with it but sure glad adr2 and bliss talked me into it. killer setlist. the surprises were ruined for me once again thanks to the photo blog, but no matter. they had been changing the sets enough that you still couldn’t tell what you’d get. there were really 2 songs that i wanted, and if i didn’t get, i’d be mad. and it turned out pretty good…”metal”, “i’m afraid of americans”, “the becoming”, “i do not want this” and really my ultimate, “the fragile”…the song that basically started it all 10 years ago, fitting that i finally see it at my last pit show. and i am lame and i started to cry. the one song i wanted and didn’t get was “physical”. they had been doing it in the encore, but for some reason instead of a 3 song encore it was just one, and of course, it was “hurt”…just my luck! 😛 and oh yeah, trent tripped and fell on the stage carpeting during survivalism (pretty sure), but kept singing, and then was SUPER PISSED OFF and screamed at his tech (wasn’t his fault trent was clumsy haha) anger carried into mr self destruct and he knocked all his shit over haha.

i will find the full setlist once the cable comes back on (it has gone out once again, jerks)

Now I’m Nothing
Terrible Lie
1,000,000
Heresy
March of the Pigs
Metal
The Becoming
I’m Afraid of Americans
Burn
Gave Up
I Do Not Want This
The Fragile
The Way Out Is Through
Wish
Survivalism
Mr. Self-Destruct
Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt

and oh yeah, street sweeper social club, aka tom morello’s new band. i didn’t think it was bad, it just sounded like rage and audioslave, because that’s the sound of tom morello. i’d say they were better than alot of other nin openers, but i wouldn’t seek them out ever. then after nin was jane’s addiction. and holy wow it was not at all what i expected. i left the front and hung out in the very back of the pit. i had no idea that they were a chill mellow stoner band. i really thought it was all going to be up beat and rocking like “been caught stealing” (one of three JA songs i know ha). sadly i was really bored, and actually glad they were “headlining” because if i had to sit through that in order to get to nin, that would have been tough.

so i keep saying “last pit show” instead of just last show, cuz as i posted right before this, i am going to pittsburgh afterall. i need to hear “physical” and if they don’t play it there i’m gonna punch someone. i’d like to hear “last” one more time as well. i don’t really have any more requests though. i think pittsburgh will make it 48 shows including fragility, and i’ve pretty much heard all i could want to hear by now.

it’s been a great 5 years.

*edit* i forgot to mention the girl who showed up to talk to the skivy security guard holding a bunch of plush monkey backpacks, with scary “trent” faces on them. they had to have been trent faces, but they were horrible hideous and frightening. security called someone who came and gave her and her friends wristbands. wtf. i so expected a photo of them to show up on the photoblog if they ended up getting into the nin camp, but no luck.

nin hamilton

today was nin in hamilton, my last show of this year as far as i know. sarah and her friend got into town last night, and we headed up with phill around noon. border was slow, got there shortly after adr2 and bliss around 2. only about 20 people in line in front of us, so we got rail once we got in. justin’s side this time because they love him now. not so much. will be back on robin’s side at all future shows haha.

anyway…weather turned out to be decent, no rain til after we got let inside to wait. trent’s security dude, who goes by J.T came out and i got to thank him for the tambourine in atlantic city. he said no problem, and confirmed the story…he said 4 big dudes were fighting for it so he took it and figured he’d give it to someone he’d seen before. so there we have it. he seemed to be in a good mood talking to us crazies more than he normally does. once inside copps security made everyone sit down on the floor. sweet! we were allowed to come and go to bathrooms and food etc, but were not allowed to stand up til boris came on.

boris is from japan, and they were ok. it wasn’t what i was expecting. i keep getting openers confused after i preview them when they are announced, and i thought they were an electronic type of band more like ladytron. but not at all. i got a little bored at points but they were alright. the drummer kept making me think of tommy lee, lots of hair, really skinny white guy with shirt open and ribs showing, headband mic on etc. no titty cam haha. seems like they played 45 min, more than usual for openers.

nin went on at 8:40, played til almost 11. it was the typical arena set from august. closer has a new light/screen feature….trent sings into a camera between josh and ali and it is played on the big screen behind him. very bono. i actually don’t like it at all. i’d much rather have any of the previous versions of closer, like the platform above josh, or the screen during summer 06. or even just the strobes at the edge of the stage. i dunno, it just didn’t do anything for me. i don’t have a whole lot to say about the show, since it really was the same as the shows in august.

999,999
1,000,000
letting you
discipline
march of the pigs
head down
the frail
closer
gave up
the warning
vessel
ghosts 5
ghosts 17
ghosts 19
ghosts piggy
the greater good
wish
terrible lie
survivalism
the big come down
ghosts 31
only
the hand that feeds
head like a hole

echoplex
the good soldier
hurt
in this twilight

no god given makes me very sad 🙁 especially for my last show. outside we ran into mitch, the kid eric and i talked to a bunch at the toronto show, and this girl who was at philly in august and ac last week (turns out she’s from rochester). while we were all sitting down inside, the girl and guy in front of me and bliss started…blood play? she poked the tops of both his hands with a safety pin so he was bleeding. and bliss and i are like this is SO not cool. he’s bleeding and soon we’re all going to be smashed together w.t.f. he wasn’t gushing and she had kleenex or something, and it stopped but still. i don’t know that you don’t have AIDS wtf are you thinking!? it was gross.

people are all excited about justin cuz he well…moves around and rocks out. and i don’t see what the big deal is. i think everyone just got so used to jeordie who just stood there and didn’t do anything, that now that there is a regular bassist, who moves like a normal bassist does ppl are surprised and into him. he’s very very good, but i just have no interest in being in front of him and paying attention to him. i still spent most of the show watching trent of course, and the rest looking at robin. so it just makes sense to me to stay on robin’s side. and i’m sorry cassie but ali is boring. he’s cute but he doesn’t do anything lol. josh was on tonight, incredible drums at the end of piggy. ghosts 31 was really really great too. there are new visuals for that as well, swirly smoke rings, looks nice. i took 2 good crowd surfer hits where i was ok at the time, but knew i’d be hurting later. i was still fine when we sat down on the way out, but once i sat in the car holy shit. whole right side of head and neck hurts so bad. i joked that i feel like tim connolly hahah. (and found out when i turned my phone on that the sabres got slaughtered tonight). ribs/torso seem fine, my knee will have a wicked bruise, but i think i have whiplash or something now haha.

that’s really all i seem to have to say. the drive home seemed faster than the drive there, even tho the bridge was slow both ways. the american border guard said he wished he could have gone to the show haha. no hassles either way, just lots of cars waiting to cross.

i think kitty is stressed out from the baby shower thurs where he hid behind the dryer the entire time, and 2 visitors for 2 nights. he’s being a little weird. he’ll be ok after tomorrow.

NIN atlantic city

wednesday i left for atlantic city around 11:30. weather was great, sunny, smooth sailing. i had intended to go to asbury park first, before heading to atlantic city but i forgot how early the sun sets in november – 5pm and it was dark and i still wasn’t in NJ. the drive got worse and worse, so did the weather. started raining when i finally reached nj, traffic up the ass, rain causing accidents. since it was dark i decided to skip asbury. so i had to alter my driving directions which wasn’t hard, but that meant i ended up taking a really retarded long route to AC…all in all the drive took 9 fucking hours. i got to Bally’s at quarter to 9, the weather at that point was a hurricane and i thought my car was going to roll from the wind. then i faced a huge check in line, because apparently it was a conference weekend, which explained why the hotels were all expensive too. finally checked in, stashed my stuff, and promtply lost 100$ on pai gow. then to bed.

the show was at the house of blues, in showboat casino. headed over there around 11:30 and there were only 20 or so people hanging out near the house of blues music hall entrance. with a nice sign that said we weren’t allowed to line up until 4. so people were wandering in and out, i had an awful hot dog for lunch, and won $50 on pai gow. i went back up stairs where security said we couldn’t hang out even tho we weren’t in line, just sitting around randomly. eventually he said he didn’t know why we couldn’t stay there, because we weren’t causing any trouble so he left and we all stayed. i got bored sitting by myself and figured i’d go eat again before lining up, so i went to the house of blues restaurant and sat at the bar. when i left, i saw josh sitting by himself getting dinner. for a very split second i thought about going over to tell him we’d miss him when he left the tour, but he was there for dinner and i didn’t want to bother him. i decided to walk around and see what the weather was like outside, since in the morning it was still crap. walking toward the main entrance i saw a big afro and realized justin was outside on the phone. i didn’t go outside with the intention to talk to him, so i didn’t approach him. i was just standing there and i suddenly realized that trent was getting out of a cab directly in front of me. holy shit. i had my phone out texting adr2 and cassie about justin, and i thought i should take a picture, only my hands were shaking and i didn’t know how to use my phone anymore LOL. i was trying really hard to pretend i didn’t notice him, and i think he was trying pretty hard to pretend he didn’t see me. i was going to say hi but then this big blond guy i never saw before got out of the cab too, definitely looked at me and my nin sweat shirt, and i decided not to say anything. rob sheridan got out after the blond guy, looked at me, glimmer of recognition so i smiled at him…rock stars taking cabs, and fitting 3 grown men in the back seat. the casino couldn’t even send one of their cars to pick them up?!? wtf. so the 3 of them went in, and i followed (inside, not followed them, i was done checking the weather) and they disappeared quickly. i went back up stairs to HOB and everyone was gone. security was back and said we all got kicked out and had to wait til 4 to come back. so back downstairs to find where everyone was loitering (because now we were interfering with casino business instead of just hiding upstairs where no players were walking around), and decided to take a walk again. got IDed going onto the casino floor lol. so i’m walking and someone is walking toward me…really looks like robin, but he was wearing a funny hat…almost an elf or robin hood hat where you expect a big feather to be sticking out. so i’m staring at him…it’s robin…no it’s not…yes it is. no it’s not. he’s staring at me while i’m deciding that it’s definitely robin, so i say hi. so i’ve now seen everyone except Ali LOL

4pm comes and we all go back upstairs, and line up. i never got a “number” from riot’s crew so i just got in line with these people i remember being in line at the last philly show, since they got there around the same time as i did. then security comes and asks where our tickets are. well we can’t pick them up til 5…well you can’t be in line if you don’t have a ticket. so once again we are not allowed to line up and go back to sitting around, at least we can stay upstairs. we also can’t get our tickets til much later now, i think it ended up being around 6:30 before “replacement brandi” came out with our tickets. FINALLY into line, doors were at 8pm.

get into the venue, at rail, in front of robin. when adr2 and bliss are not with me i get the most retarded people around me. this girl who was not waiting out all day suddenly shows up between me and this other girl, and introduces herself, asks our names. and grabs onto the rail. and asks us to move and we say no. so she decides to elbow the fuck out of us and gets on rail. wtf. she introduces herself again, asks my name. she’s annoying as hell dancing to the vamp music, yelling random things, she must be on drugs. squirming around to get more rail space, while i hold onto the barrier brace. the people on her other side must have ended up moving cuz i sure didn’t and she eventually got full body on the rail. introduced herself again, asked my name. WTF! then during nin’s set she was constantly yelling “michael” at the stage…yes we all know trent’s first name is michael, but clearly he’s 40however old and doesn’t go by michael, why would he respond if he could even hear you to begin with. stfu!

so health was the opener. oh dear god. they were awful. and so loud, i forgot my earplugs and was instantly deaf. i just have no words, they were just terrible. loud noise, maybe one part that could possibly be a song, but just terrible. people started booing. i don’t boo but i have no problem looking bored and in pain. a half hour couldn’t come fast enough. in the meantime i was so cold. just absolutely freezing, there was refrigerator air blowing right on me. every time the crowd pushed a little bit, i wished they’d keep pushing because the people were warm. i knew that once the show started i’d want to be cold, but it was so so bad. i was shivering and it was giving me a headache.

nin came on around 10:15 and opened with “love is not enough” with a drum program intro that was new, and made me not recognize what it was. robin playing it sounded great, i just started smiling. followed by “terrible lie” it was looking like one of the with teeth shows, and it pretty much was, with 4 slip songs. none of the songs were in even remotely the same approximate place as other shows, so it made it interesting, but there were no real surprises. the main one…while FINALLY in line…peter murphy walked by. hmm that’s odd. so of course we all speculated that maybe he was here to play a song with nin. this girl from russia, acid polly, was hoping it wasn’t “reptile” because while she liked peter murphy she didn’t think his voice fit the song. so mid set, there is some activity on stage, and a guy walks out with a sheet of paper and puts it on the stage. it’s peter murphy. and the song is “reptile” LOL he didn’t quite know the words so he had a cheat sheet, but it went really well. i agree that his voice doesn’t suit the song (just like i don’t think bowie’s voice suited it back in 1995 *sacreligious*) but it was still really really cool. his mannerisms for the song were awesome, alot of homoerotic peter/trent during the choruses, and in the end it was pretty great. acid polly was at rail next to me and at the end she was like, well that wasn’t so bad haha.

so the show goes on, and midway through “gave up” i’m not paying attention to what’s going on in front of me, watching the stage, and trent’s head of security, who i think is named John, walks up to me touches my arm, and puts a tambourine in my hand. LOL so for no apparent reason i have another tambourine. cassie helped come up with a few theories as to why…trent or rob told him to, because i didn’t bug them when they were getting out of the cab. or robin…at one point in the show he pointed at me, assuming he remembered me from earlier. or i’m leaning to it was just “John”, that he saw i was having a good time – which is his 3rd rule of the show when he is going through the rules before doors – and decided to “reward me”. he was standing in front of me for the first half of the show, so it’s possible. at the time when he gave it to me he wasn’t though, he came from the other side of the stage with it. so there’s the story, not as exciting as trent throwing it right to me, but it’s cool 🙂

trent was very happy through the show, smiling alot, laughing at things. he smiled about something at robin after robin’s whispering part of “god given”, and after peter murphy left the stage something made him smile. he gave a little speech which he admitted was so he could catch his breath after “closer”…he said there were superfans in the crowd, and that he discovered the internet where people bitch about every little thing…leading to him saying how he’s been fucking up the lyrics to closer for so many years he doesn’t remember what they are supposed to be, and asks if any of us know what the middle part lyrics really are. he threw the mic into the crowd and a kid tells him it’s “through all the forests, above the trees”, so trent repeats it and says he’ll try to remember it for next time. they go into “discipline” and in the mid “quiet” part trent starts that closer part, which actually fit pretty well. he introduced the band towards the end, and announced it was robin’s birthday the next day. he thanked peter murphy and said that he was probably hanging upside down somewhere LOL. in the end he announced that shows like that were pretty cool and that they should do more of them YES PLEASE.

they played 2 hours, no encore.
Pinion
Love Is Not Enough
Terrible Lie
1,000,000
Letting You
March of the Pigs
Piggy
The Frail
The Wretched
The Collector
Survivalism
Reptile ( with peter murphy)
Closer
Discipline
The Beginning of The End (i thought of S and V because once again, when josh started, it still sounded like My Sharona)
Ghosts 31
Wish
Head Down
Gave Up
The Line Begins To Blur
Only
God Given
Down In It
Hurt
Starfuckers Inc.
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole

hmm..in the ets thread from the show there is: “There was some epic fighting over a tambourine which security ended up confiscating.” which makes me wonder if that’s what “John” gave me…it was the opposite side of the stage, and he threw it during “head down” which was before “gave up”…hmmm indeed. ok that’s the story i’m going with now 🙂

the show was good. not the best ever. they sounded great, the venue has great sound, and trent’s voice was on. it was “stripped down” as they advertised in the sense that they had absolutely no production elements from any of the recent tours…just standard house of blues lighting. but when i saw “stripped down” i was sort of expecting acoustic, or semi acoustic, which it very much wasn’t. we got no surprise songs, which is also sorta disappointing, but then again i’m spoiled. i got to see all these great “rare” songs over in europe, and i want to see them again here (i still don’t understand why they don’t play them EVER in the states). i will take a productionless club show any day, because that lack of production allows them to change the setlist up…i think all 9 shows in europe had different setlists (at least in song order if not in songs), and all 5 club shows in 05 that adr2 and i went to had different setlists…all the production, while cool, locks them into a certain number of songs. i like the production, it’s been great this tour, really really fantastic, but clubs are pretty fucking great too. doing a mix where they play a few arenas, and a club here and there (like the rolling stones did a few years ago) would be really cool. even in the same city…like toronto…air canada one night, kool haus another. the show was not all that rough, it really rarely is when you’re not dead center, but i walked away with some bruised ribs and the usual bruised hip bones. no big deal. that’s what makes it fun!!

I’m finally in a nin crowd picture….

in front of robin, green shirt. i don’t know who’s arm is next to me because i wasn’t wearing any bracelets but it so looks like my arm lol. you can see the huge security to the right of me in the photo, about to stand on the barrier. he blocked my view most of the show, jerk. and then “john” is behind the short security guard against the stage. i really hope his name is actually john.

left the show protecting my tambourine, had no where to hide it like last time, and no friends to act as body guards (when i was getting my sweatshirt from coat check, holding the tambourine, this kid says “you took a tambourine to a nin show?”…wtf were you AT ALL paying attention? so i said, no they gave it to me and he just looks so confused, so he asks if i played it at all…wtf. no, i did not, i was too busy trying to make sure no one at rail saw john give it to me so they couldn’t plan to steal it later hahah.) sat down and called adr2 to update on the show, and called cassie from my car in the ramp where it was quiet. driving back to bally’s i stopped at 7-11 for food, and then missed the turn for bally’s ramp…turned around and on the way back this car is driving funny, and pulls over to the curb at a weird angle, and i pass him. then i realize…there is a girl walking up to the car. and i look in the mirror again and she’s gone. i just saw someone pick up a prostitute. that’s a first. i’ve seen prostitutes and escorts, but always on “dates” and not getting picked up off the corner LOL. it was just like TV LOL

so i left AC at 10:30 with my mission to check out asbury park. weather was crap for a 3rd day, a light mist. i get to asbury and it’s awful. immediately going toward the beach i see the half demolished old Metropolitian Hotel… 🙁 the cool entrance is gone, and only a small part remains. keep driving and i see the carousel house and casino are still standing, which is good because i had heard that they were gone too. the palace is just a lot now, and there are horrible new build condos right next to the lot. i park at the carousel house and realize…the door is open. omg it’s being used! the medusas (the wind women haha) which leighanne had said were removed for safe keeping are all back, and the doors are all green gates, one open. there were some tables inside and it seemed like it was being used to sell fall stuff – mums and pumpkins etc, and being cleaned out. i took a few pics inside, which has white walls now, and has been fixed up it seems. a guy went in and said hi, but i didn’t bother him by asking him about it. then to the casino…holy shit, it’s open too. sorta…it’s actually half gone. the section attached to the carousel house, which said CASINO on it, has been saved and re opened so you can continue you’re way on the boardwalk through the building…there are big I-beams bracing it, and some of the original decorations are still there…but the rest of the building, that continued on toward the beach and was most in danger of falling down is now gone. they only saved the facade (inside the walkway), and the outside is covered in metal. sorta sad, but still really good that they saved and are using some of it! it looked like the power plant was being worked on too, but it looked the same as years ago when lei and i went. i walked down the boardwalk in the rain, which i don’t think has new builds, but they were redone and house a number of cafes and stores – high end home decor/furniture stores…because people go to the beach and buy furniture?!? i just don’t get it. there were some useful places like a glass blowing place, pottery place, water/summer gear etc. i just don’t get the furniture and expensive clothing stores on a beach. i started getting worried that Madame Marie’s was gone but i finally found it, tho she’s retired or dead..her granddaughter now does the psychic readings. kept going towards the convention center, which looks good, and back to the car. the wonder bar is on ocean ave, and it is painted institutional green, with a bumper car and tillie painted on it in memory of the palace. it was cool to see tillie still survives in asbury. it’s a real good reproduction too. beyond that is a construction area for high end condos…only it was just a skeleton of a first floor and didn’t seem to have been worked on in a while, perhaps it’ll end up like the one they finally imploded a few years ago. maybe it was the weather but i just find asbury to be the saddest place on earth. it had such a vibrant history, so many historic places that have been lost, the bruce springsteen connection…and now this silly modern attempt to revitalize it. i hope it works, but it’s ruined the charm of the place. ah well.

started for back home which was a better, quicker ride this time, the 7 or so hours that it was supposed to be from asbury to home. i don’t think it was the same way lei and i went last time though. i did find the Land of Make Belief again, where we tried to sell the sign in the dark fog hahaha.

long post, but sorry, not cutting it 😛