NIN - The Metro, Sunday 13th May 2007
May. 14th, 2007 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharplittleteethThis is how it started: in a dark alley that smelt like urine, huddled together with a crowd beneath rusted pipes and metal stairwells.
The huddled mass in the alleyway was the NIN Spiral fanclub queue. Membership not only gets you access to presale tickets, you get early entry to the venue (read: a spot at the front).
We were let in 15 minutes before the regular queue. I got a beer for the girlfriend and a Red Bull for myself, looked over the t-shirt stall, and took up a spot near the front right, about 6 rows from the stage.
Unfortunately, both andricongirl and myself were feeling a bit poorly. Remembering NIN's Big Day Out gig in 2000, we weren't that excited about being caught up another brutal mosh-pit. But we had some friends who wanted to be there, so we thought we'd stick it out.
The support band was Serena Maneesh. Shoegazer, wall of noise stuff. The frontman looked like an stoned hippy. But his bass-player sister had a lanky Sonic Youth vibe. And the drummer was fantastic: hard and driving but with plenty of groove.
The crowd swirled around, and we found ourselves centre of the stage. SM finished, and dismantled their own gear. NIN roadies set up for the main act. And while they were adjusting the last bits of equipment, the house lights still up, a beardy guy in an army jacket sauntered up to the microphone and started singing 'Somewhat Damaged'.
The beardy guy was Trent Reznor.
And the crowd went insane.
I got a pretty good look at Trent before the moshpit went feral. Then people were pushing from every direction, Angelica was being crushed, and I couldn't stand up. So I made a hole in the crowd and helped several people out to saner ground.
(I'm with Fugazi and the Riot Grrls here: I hate moshpits. I fucking hate that macho thuggish bullshit, and have done ever since I witnessed dickheads terrifying teenage girls during Hole at Big Out 1995, and then sneering that they shouldn't have been in the pit if they couldn't handle it.)
NIN ripped though their set. We got the rarely played "Ruiner", and the world premiere of 'Capital G'. The band were ferocious. Guitarist Aaron North leapt onto the crowd, guitar and all. Trent thumped himself in the head with the microphone, threw guitars around, and played an electrified thumb-piano during 'March of the Pigs'. The Metro sound system was loud but clean. The lighting rig looked like the mothership from Close Encounters. The crowd were ecstatic. This was the third NIN concert I've seen, and it was easily the best.
Trent even chatted with the audience, apologising for the problems they've had during the tour, and making jokes when there were equipment fuckups.
"This is why you shouldn't make music with computers," he deadpanned after his laptop/slide guitar/keyboard rig malfunctioned, causing him to abandon 'Me, I'm Not'.
And when his guitar didn't work during the start of "Only": "This is the broken guitar remix. We're just just gonna keep playing until my guitar works. Could be a couple of seconds. Could be a couple of hours." Pause. "Looks like it's gonna be hours."
An incredible concert. Just magnificent. Right up until he played 'Hurt'.
Every NIN concert I've seen, people scream themselve hoarse whenever he plays the slow, introspective piano instrumental 'The Frail'. I never really understood that: yelling and cheering over such a quiet song.
'Hurt' is also a quiet, piano based song. It's a harrowing song about drug addiction and spiritual desolation. Trent Reznor has said in the past that he thought it was the best song he's ever written.
The crowd didn't just cheer, though, when he started 'Hurt'. People yelled remarks. "Make some noise!" screamed out one woman. "What are you doing after the show?" yelled out some guy.
Halfway through the second verse, Trent stopped. "Am I supposed to pretend I can't hear some asshole yelling at me through the whole song? Fuck it. Let's move on."
The band launched into 'The Hand That Feeds'.
And when it finished, they walked off.
The audience were left bewildered. Was there going to be an encore?
The stage lights came up and roadies started packing up the gear.
Huh? That was it?
People yelled and cheered for more. But it slowly became apparent that that really was it. A. and I made our way back to the t-shirt stand. While I was waiting to buy, the crowd were stamping the feet and chanting angrily. People were threatening to lynch the guy who yelled out. Others were furious at Trent for throwing a hissy fit. Eventually, the bouncers had to tell them all to leave.
Outside, we walked down to the tramstop with a trio of teenage girls who were cursing the guy who yelled out. (Then they said Trent looked chubby, and they were all in love with Aaron White.)
People on various forums have been complaining that Trent's petulance spoiled the entire show for them. And yeah - it was a crappy ending.
But there's nothing we can do to change that. And up until then, it had been fantastic.
So you can choose to let the bad stuff erase everything good that came before. Or you can shrug it off, and remember the brilliance.
SETLIST
(links go to YouTube footage from the concert. Don't you love technology?)
Somewhat Damaged
You Know What You Are?
Sin
March Of The Pigs
Piggy
The Beginning Of The End
Survivalism
Ruiner
Burn
Gave Up
Help Me I Am In Hell
Equipment failure (intro 'Me, I'm Not')
The Frail
The Good Soldier
Wish
Only ("Broken Guitar" remix)
Capital G
Suck
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
We were let in 15 minutes before the regular queue. I got a beer for the girlfriend and a Red Bull for myself, looked over the t-shirt stall, and took up a spot near the front right, about 6 rows from the stage.
Unfortunately, both andricongirl and myself were feeling a bit poorly. Remembering NIN's Big Day Out gig in 2000, we weren't that excited about being caught up another brutal mosh-pit. But we had some friends who wanted to be there, so we thought we'd stick it out.
The support band was Serena Maneesh. Shoegazer, wall of noise stuff. The frontman looked like an stoned hippy. But his bass-player sister had a lanky Sonic Youth vibe. And the drummer was fantastic: hard and driving but with plenty of groove.
The crowd swirled around, and we found ourselves centre of the stage. SM finished, and dismantled their own gear. NIN roadies set up for the main act. And while they were adjusting the last bits of equipment, the house lights still up, a beardy guy in an army jacket sauntered up to the microphone and started singing 'Somewhat Damaged'.
The beardy guy was Trent Reznor.
And the crowd went insane.
I got a pretty good look at Trent before the moshpit went feral. Then people were pushing from every direction, Angelica was being crushed, and I couldn't stand up. So I made a hole in the crowd and helped several people out to saner ground.
(I'm with Fugazi and the Riot Grrls here: I hate moshpits. I fucking hate that macho thuggish bullshit, and have done ever since I witnessed dickheads terrifying teenage girls during Hole at Big Out 1995, and then sneering that they shouldn't have been in the pit if they couldn't handle it.)
NIN ripped though their set. We got the rarely played "Ruiner", and the world premiere of 'Capital G'. The band were ferocious. Guitarist Aaron North leapt onto the crowd, guitar and all. Trent thumped himself in the head with the microphone, threw guitars around, and played an electrified thumb-piano during 'March of the Pigs'. The Metro sound system was loud but clean. The lighting rig looked like the mothership from Close Encounters. The crowd were ecstatic. This was the third NIN concert I've seen, and it was easily the best.
Trent even chatted with the audience, apologising for the problems they've had during the tour, and making jokes when there were equipment fuckups.
"This is why you shouldn't make music with computers," he deadpanned after his laptop/slide guitar/keyboard rig malfunctioned, causing him to abandon 'Me, I'm Not'.
And when his guitar didn't work during the start of "Only": "This is the broken guitar remix. We're just just gonna keep playing until my guitar works. Could be a couple of seconds. Could be a couple of hours." Pause. "Looks like it's gonna be hours."
An incredible concert. Just magnificent. Right up until he played 'Hurt'.
Every NIN concert I've seen, people scream themselve hoarse whenever he plays the slow, introspective piano instrumental 'The Frail'. I never really understood that: yelling and cheering over such a quiet song.
'Hurt' is also a quiet, piano based song. It's a harrowing song about drug addiction and spiritual desolation. Trent Reznor has said in the past that he thought it was the best song he's ever written.
The crowd didn't just cheer, though, when he started 'Hurt'. People yelled remarks. "Make some noise!" screamed out one woman. "What are you doing after the show?" yelled out some guy.
Halfway through the second verse, Trent stopped. "Am I supposed to pretend I can't hear some asshole yelling at me through the whole song? Fuck it. Let's move on."
The band launched into 'The Hand That Feeds'.
And when it finished, they walked off.
The audience were left bewildered. Was there going to be an encore?
The stage lights came up and roadies started packing up the gear.
Huh? That was it?
People yelled and cheered for more. But it slowly became apparent that that really was it. A. and I made our way back to the t-shirt stand. While I was waiting to buy, the crowd were stamping the feet and chanting angrily. People were threatening to lynch the guy who yelled out. Others were furious at Trent for throwing a hissy fit. Eventually, the bouncers had to tell them all to leave.
Outside, we walked down to the tramstop with a trio of teenage girls who were cursing the guy who yelled out. (Then they said Trent looked chubby, and they were all in love with Aaron White.)
People on various forums have been complaining that Trent's petulance spoiled the entire show for them. And yeah - it was a crappy ending.
But there's nothing we can do to change that. And up until then, it had been fantastic.
So you can choose to let the bad stuff erase everything good that came before. Or you can shrug it off, and remember the brilliance.
SETLIST
(links go to YouTube footage from the concert. Don't you love technology?)
Somewhat Damaged
You Know What You Are?
Sin
March Of The Pigs
Piggy
The Beginning Of The End
Survivalism
Ruiner
Burn
Gave Up
Help Me I Am In Hell
Equipment failure (intro 'Me, I'm Not')
The Frail
The Good Soldier
Wish
Only ("Broken Guitar" remix)
Capital G
Suck
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
