Lights in the Sky

I've been going to shows for the past 15 years. It takes a lot to impress this jaded old clown but Friday August 29th was one of those nights.

For some reason or another, after having listened to every album of theirs and being a pretty big fan for a while, I've never seen Nine Inch Nails live. To be honest my expectations weren't all that high, but I figure hey, I should at least see them once before I die. I thought with_teeth was okay, I didn't really dig Year Zero and I've only given the Slip about one or two listens. The last album I really liked of theirs was The Fragile which got pretty bad reviews from the mainstream media. I knew they would be playing a lot of their newer stuff but I figure as long as I heard March of the Pigs and anything off Broken, I would consider the show a success.

To put it mildly, they kicked my ass. Even in the old fogies' seated area (where everyone stood up for the whole show) I could feel the frenetic energy from the stage. Trent didn't hold anything back. Every once in a while you get those perfect concert moments where everything connects: your life, the music, the band. That this moment is bigger than any shitty thing that has ever happened to you. I felt it. It's impossible to describe it or define it.

The fast stuff was intense (Gave Up), The Wretched was amazing and Reptile surprised the shit out of me and was probably the highlight of the show. Damn, I love that song. The Ghosts material was so cool live, I'd love to go to a Ghosts-only tour. It has this great vibe, a mix of classical and creepy and end of the world soundtrack. The lighting was amazing for this show. I'd never seen anything like it. I didn't think we had the technology for half the stuff they did!

Trent gave a rather poignant little speech. Apparently Pennsylvania is his home state. And back in the day, his fanbase was largely of the male vampire variety. :)

As we were leaving I heard someone ask, what did you think? This other guy answered "Best concert ever!" High praise that I think is justified. I think I'll put this one in my top 10 favorites of all time.

Funniest highlight of the night: an elderly white-haired couple wearing matching tour shirts. I asked my sister what the shirts said. She replied "Closer to God". I cracked up, quickly put my glasses on and looked back. Sure enough they were wearing old NIN tour shirts. Now I'm convinced they were related to either Trent or others in the band.

Photo credit: tcrash247