Susie and I went downtown last night to check out NIN’s warm-up gig at the relatively small Warfield before Trent and his not-so-merry band of Jack White lookalikes (or Interpol-ians gone wrong?) go marching through the festival circuit for the rest of the summer. This was one that I went along with just a bit grudgingly, but Susie wanted and what the heck, if I’m ever going to see them, this was the right venue. I’ve always enjoyed NIN’s semi-electronica bent, though I can’t help but be taken aback by the content sometimes, or relentless lack of it. And — I know I shouldn’t say this — I’ve still got those crummy Columbine kids taking up space in my long-term memory.
Still I was looking forward to the evening because fundamentally I think of NIN as a sweaty muscley guy screaming at his computer. To see them with a band dynamic would be an interesting departure.
We were surprised to find very few scalpers and the place not quite packed (though I admit that I couldn’t see the balcony). Considering the rumors of $400 tickets and the constant airplay of late, hearing the usual crowed of scuzzy scalpers complaining that there were no buyers was odd.
It was a really weirdly paced set, with almost all of the hits at the beginning and most of the moodier pieces coming towards the end, then the new single, then “Head Like A Hole,” then lights up! No encore! Nobody seemed disappointed by what they saw, though. A few technical problems here and there — Trent muttered at one point “I forgot how much fun it is to break things” — but nothing you wouldn’t expect from a band that hadn’t played live in a long time with a bunch of new material.
The band was super-tight, which I should hope they would be when a band is so dependent on being locked in to the click. Overall I enjoyed the show, but I’ve got a slew of snarky observations below.
- I’d like to see Trent write a song without the following words: I, you, inside, feel, outside, decay, hate, fuck, world, whole, down, up, everything, nothing, anything, pain. C’mon Trent, a thesaurus. They are free on the web, and I know you are hecka computer savvy. (Or at least PR savvy.)
- The material from Pretty Hate Machine has not aged well at all, particularly Terrible Lie, which I’d have to guess wouldn’t make it past the mail room at most labels nowadays. In general, the live format really underscored which songs were strong and which were weak. The material from The Downward Spiral still sounds fantastic and was leagues ahead of the more turgid stuff they played from The Fragile.
- One of the show’s highlights was watching Trent’s water. Every time he threw water bottles into the crowd (at least five times), a roadie popped from his hiding place behind the rear amplifier with two more bottles, opened them and then crouched back down. It was like watching whack-a-mole in reverse.
- Trent can really sweat. I mean, really. If they had a Olympic event for sweating, he would represent the USA with aplomb. That said, I once read that Elvis asked Jackie Wilson how he was able to achieve his hardworking sweaty look so quickly on stage. And that’s when Elvis got turned on to salt pills. Can we do a salt test on Trent? I’d hate to see him years later at a Congressional Hearing, endangering his place in the Sweaty Hall Of Fame.
- We got a great laugh at the end during “Head Like A Hole.” I looked at the stage and realized that nobody was playing their instrument. When everybody is going nuts because of a tape of their favorite song is being played at full blast, that’s silly.
I’ve been saying for a while that when this whole New Wave Revival thing starts to run its course that the next natural thing to happen will be a Goth revival. I’m thinking Trent and his record company have taken the measure and are betting that way, too. With Teeth is getting the Big Push, and without having heard anything yet beyond the single, it looks like we’re all going to be hearing a lot of this record for the next six months.
[Soundtrack - Nine Inch Nails vs The Beatles]
DJ Zebra – Come Closer.mp3
