Outside Lands/Sunday: Cage the Elephant – Atmosphere – The Dead Weather – M.I.A.

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 13 days ago.]

The last day of Outside Lands was a cold one. It went from 85 degrees the day before to around 60. Brrrr……

I thought I was early again, but walking up to the giant crowd at the Twin Peaks stage proved me wrong. The crowd had come early for buzz band Cage the Elephant, from Kentucky. I ended up sneaking up to the rail regardless….I got skillz.

These guys totally won me over with their bluesy rock and excellent wild stage performance. Lead singer, Matt, cannot be contained by the stage. Perhaps he is the elephant who cannot be caged? He jumped off at least three times, mic and all, people scrambling to make sure the cord went with him. The final time he went crowd surfing, standing on someone’s shoulders at one point. He’s got a bit of a Joe Cocker vibe with his spastic moves. He told a funny story about sitting outside on the street in SF the night before, and someone came and gave him a piece of pizza and said something like ‘things will get better’. You should definitely check them out.

It was odd to have Atmosphere between Cage the Elephant and The Dead Weather. HRC used to go see Atmosphere a lot back in her Hip Hop Chick days in Austin- back when Slug was a bit more down and dirty…and angry. These days, he’s a happy, mellower fella, which kinda aggravated me last time I saw them. But it worked better for me at a festival. He started off with ‘God Loves Ugly’, fluidly rapping through the set, customizing things for SF. ‘Trying to Find a Balance’ took me back to my grad school days. Brother Ali joined him for most of the set. I missed hearing ‘Shrapnel’, which is my favorite track. At the end of the set, Slug spoke of how festivals introduce new people to his music, and how there is an area backstage called ‘the land of free shit’, where he got something he couldn’t take on the plane. So, he wanted to give it to this little girl in the front row- so sweet.

A surprising amount of people left from the rail after Atmosphere, allowing me to get in a pretty prime position for what would be an epic set from The Dead Weather. Well, except for two girls next to me who were big time Jack White fangirls. It was cute to listen to them shriek when he took the stage, and only take pictures of him throughout the entire set. I personally have never completely bought into the Jack White craze- I respect his talent, but have never considered him an RSILF like most girls I know. Also, I have been slightly resistant to this Dead Weather craze- whenever I hear so much buzz about a band, I tend to need to just wait and see it live. People have been literally pinging me about them for weeks making sure I was going to check them out…so I knew it must be good. But you never really know until you see it for yourself.

Wow. It began before the band even came on the stage. Classy crew in black with blue ties setting up the most beautiful, classic looking equipment. White guitars with shiny gold- just beautiful. And then when the band hit the stage, it’s like I was hit over the head with a giant sledgehammer of their X-factor. They are truly unique, full of charisma, and obviously talented.

I had seen Alison in The Kills recently, so I knew of her appeal, but I liked her much better in this band. She’s just magnetic; she never ‘breaks character’ even between songs or when she takes more of a supporting role in things. She’s intense yet vulnerable up there. There are times when she glares and wipes her mouth with her arm that make me melt….and I’m totally straight!

Of course Jack White was awesome, transitioning from beating on the drums to playing guitar and singing. He’s one of a kind…though I could understand him better when he spoke Spanish at the end of the set than the few words he said introducing the band…seriously, his jive talk is almost out of control.

To say that sparks fly when Jack and Alison sing together during ‘Will There Be Enough Water’ would be an understatement. I looked at them thinking, ‘I wanna feel like that with someone again’. I believe my tweet after the set was ‘if those two aren’t in love, maybe they should be’. I understand Jack is married, but…wow.

I was equally as mesmerized by Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence. Everyone is a multi-instrumentalist in this band; really admirable. Since this is technically a supergroup- meaning that they probably have an expiration date- you must go see them now. Travel for it, do whatever, you won’t regret it.

Check out a video from the stream of The Dead Weather here.

I was very interested to see the M.I.A. set, as she was none to happy about not opening for the Beastie Boys anymore. She ended up containing any rants, replacing them with a rap over Intergalactic Planetary->Sabotage which was a nice homage to the guys.

My progression of M.I.A. shows has been interesting- the can’t be beat 100 person Rickshaw show, to the Mezzanine, to a giant festival. She does well on the festival stage- all of their bright colored outfits- her crazy Snow White-esque dress- and dance moves feed a large audience well.

She had these ridiculous dancers- two white boys (twins?) that had some crazy moves. At one point, they threw out horns- a ton of them- to the crowd. At first, I thought this was not going to end well- but I couldn’t hear them interfering with the set at all.

She seemed pretty into the set considering her publicized disdain for the appearance- at one point she seemed to ask for ‘Jimmy’ to be added to the set on the fly, but the A/V probably didn’t include it so she couldn’t add it. At one point she jumped down and sang from the rail, holding someone’s hand. She talked about SF- how she got engaged here, and then pregnant shortly after being here (I think)- so she was scared of what would happen after this performance.

I love dancing to M.I.A. It was the perfect ending to the festival that restored my faith in festivals. Yes, I left before The D came on- I didn’t need Jack Black when I’d already had Jack White.

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2728Comments (0)2009-08-31+19%3A44%3A32hardrockchick

Outside Lands/Saturday: The Dirtbombs – Street Sweeper Social Club – Mastodon – TV on the Radio – The Mars Volta @ Golden Gate Park, 8/29/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 13 days ago.]

I said I wouldn’t go.

I absolutely hated last year’s festival. I didn’t care for any of the headliners this year, but they kept adding ‘my’ bands to the supporting roster…and then I decided to try my luck at getting a press pass, and I scored. A festival is much easier for me to cope with when I’m there for free!

The other thing that made a difference for me this year was going early. On Saturday, I waltzed in around noon, strolled around the near empty park to get my bearings, and walked up to the center rail at the Twin Peaks stage, where I would be spending my day. It also helped that everyone I wanted to see was on the same stage- nothing pisses me off more than having conflicting schedules. Oh- and it was hot….for now.

First up, The Dirtbombs, from Detroit. I thought they were a fun kick off to the day- garage rock with two drummers (one of whom is Jack White’s nephew). The female guitarist rocks alongside the vocalist / lead guitarist, whose playing behind his back was like a little appetizer for what was about to come from Mr. Tom Morello.

I’ve seen Street Sweeper Social Club a lot this year, but I was still bummed out I missed their show at The Independent the night before. However, this festival set was the best of theirs I’ve seen yet. Part of my love for them will stem from the fact that they were the perfect opener for the perfect tour (NIN/JA). I guess you call it music to GTBITM.

Boots was in a snarky mood; he said “we’re more than a band, we’re a social club” three times throughout the set in full on deadpan; he introduced the covers by saying, “this one’s not on the album”. In addition to playing the usual ‘Paper Planes’ (no- M.I.A. didn’t come out and join them), they played ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’- ain’t gonna lie, it was rad. I had missed Boots’ dance moves. And Tom’s superhero guitar tricks. I’m very interested to see what happens next with these guys.

Apparently, during the live YouTube stream of this set, there was a close up of me- one of my twitter followers let me know. My response: “Did I look hot?” Her response. “Yeah- and I saw you tweeting at the end- LMAO”. Haha!

It was funny to watch a woman on the side of the stage try to do earmuffs on her kid every time they (and we) shouted ‘motherfuckers’. She gave up halfway through. Another interesting observation: Bill, the guitarist from Mastodon, walked out side stage with his little kid in big headphones to watch part of the set.

Here’s a video from the stream (not featuring HRC).

I truly couldn’t believe I was seeing Mastodon next. I can’t imagine there are a ton of crossover fans between the bands- but they are two of my favorites!

When I saw Mastodon earlier this year, it was a transcendental experience. It was one of those sets where I went home, pulled up their tour schedule, and thought about taking vacation time to follow them around a bit. Good thing I controlled myself, because in October and November I’ll be following the Mastoklok (Mastodon + Dethklok) tour around.

They came out and launched into ‘Crack the Skye’ and played it straight though. Due to the epicness of their last show, it could only go downhill…unfortunately, Brent was plagued with guitar problems. He stormed to the side several times to ‘chat’ with his guitar tech. Last time, I commented how he didn’t seem like the type to punch anyone in the face…I changed my mind. So, there were several gaps in the songs and parts that were just botched. Perhaps he should set up his own equipment, like I saw Bill and Brann do (which surprised me). I did admire his neon sunglasses.

Troy, the bassist, is such a great performer. He really connects with the crowd, looking everyone in the face, screaming and pounding his chest. It was definitely through his energy that a small pit formed towards the end of the set, causing HRC to get knocked into the barrier just enough to get bruises on her knees. Had to happen!

I got really lost in the album- filling in the gaps where there were sound issues. I really can’t wait for the Mastoklok tour!

mastodon

Total girl comment- the Mastodon guys have good hair. I mean, Bill’s neo-mullet alone carries monumental style points.

Oh- I really don’t want to fend of a beach ball bouncing around the crowd while I’m watching metal. Stop. It.

I gave up my rail spot for the rest of the day. I walked around and became horrified by the large, drunken crowd. I was standing in line for the lovely outhouse (which is the one thing this festival seemed to not have organized- these were not cleaned enough, whereas the trash cans/recycling/compost areas where spic and span and had attendents to make sure you threw your garbage in the right can), and a girl behind me gets my attention: “See, all of us (points behind her), we were here.’ Me: ‘yeah, and…?’ Her: ‘You can’t just cut’. Me: ‘I’ve been here the whole time’. Her: ‘Oh’. Me inside my head: ‘You fucking dumb bitches are why I hate these things!’

By the time I got back to the Twin Peaks stage for TV on the Radio, the crowd had packed in, so I lingered towards the back. The sun was going down and the temperature was plummeting with it. My sunburn was now keeping me warm.

Last time I saw TVotR, at the Download Festival (pre-HRC), I was really let down. They were not dynamic at all- the bassist stayed turned around the entire time and never moved. Three years later, it seems like they’ve changed a lot for the better. I’m just not sold on their music. They performed the first part of their set with a horns section- which just felt odd after Mastodon. Once they dropped the horns and played some of their heavier numbers at the end of the set, I felt better about it.

The Mars Volta is a band that has flown under my radar. This is the beauty of festivals…sort of. Next time this band comes around, I’ll definitely go check them out; but I wouldn’t say that I even count this as seeing them, as I was far away. But they make a good festival band- prog rock fits with festivals as it travels well in the outdoor space. They also had a good stage set up for viewers of all distances. The silhouette of the band members’ big hair, a cool looking backdrop, and a white microphone and cord created a nice effect for us that were watching from far away. The singer’s voice is amazing- what a range. And he’s got some moves to- damn near gymnastics. And, of course, the fact that he mentioned that they were playing on the Twin Peaks stage and quoted “There was a fish in the percolator” completely won me over.

Stay tuned for part 2.

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2721Comments (1)2009-08-31+07%3A27%3A51hardrockchick

Mini Review: Marilyn Manson, September Mourning @ The Warfield, 8/28/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 14 days ago.]

The last time I saw Manson at The Warfield, it was epic affair.

In the past 2 months, I’ve somehow managed to see Manson 4 times. Since this fourth show fell in between my final NIN shows, I had been referring to it as a Manson sandwich; to which everyone collectively replied “ewww!”. But, hey, apparently everything I wanted to live out in my teenage years in the nineties is just now happening for me. Good things come to those who wait?

I’d heard the name September Mourning before, but didn’t know much about them going into it. it’s Industrial / Metal with a female scream singer; this was the most fitting opener I’d seen for Manson in a while (Slayer is still weird to me…Ours was as well). However, I swiftly started making comparisons to The Birthday Massacre. On paper, this looks like something I’d eat up. They sound good live, and have lots of energy. But there is something missing. They are a bit too theatrical, and the singer, though she sounds great when she screams, swings to the opposite and goes uber girly almost to the point of sounding poppy. I prefer the female fronted bands in this genre to be a little rougher. The band looks a bit wide eyed and bushy tailed up there- I’m sure they’ll get over that in a few tours.

Between sets I went out to the lobby to meet up with a friend, and I got what had to be the worst pick up line ever. Or maybe it wasn’t a pick up line…”I’ll pray for you”. What?! And he kept saying it as he walked off. Fucking weirded me out.

I had initially wanted to come to this show because I had expected the setlist to pull out some of the old tracks, like the last Manson Warfield show. However, I had been following bastendencies twitter and went into the show knowing this would probably not be the case. It still was a better set than any of the Mayhem shows- most likely a result of not having my head in death metal all day and then switching over to Manson. I watched from the first level rather than my usual post on the floor, which was kind of nice as you are even with the stage. The expanded Mayhem setlist included ‘Pretty as a Swastika’, ‘Great Big White World’, ‘WOW’- which makes me laugh, in a good way, ‘Leave a Scar’, and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Nigger’, where Manson takes and ‘plays’ Jeordie’s guitar and Jeordie runs around with the mic screaming. Highlight of the night.

The crowd was really odd at this show….there were the usual Hot Topic kids, but some rural looking folks that had never seen Manson before as well. Then there was the girl in underwear and a bra and a fishnet bodystocking.

After the show, I got to briefly meet Jeordie, which was cool. His resume mirrors some of my most favorite bands, so he’s always been a favorite of mine!

This will probably be my last Manson show for awhile. I’ve definitely enjoyed watching Andy Gerold play bass- he’s quite good and fits in really well. Watching Jeordie play guitar has also been a nice change. I really wish that Manson were one of the special guests at one of these final NIN shows, since I missed that era….but, gotta leave something for the reunion tours!

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2716Comments (0)2009-08-30+18%3A22%3A41hardrockchick

Mini Review: Early Graves, The Funeral Pyre @ Annie’s Social Club, 8/26/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 17 days ago.]

I rolled out of the apartment at 10:30p…that should be enough time to catch half of the middle act and headliner of a 3 band billing that starts at 9pm, right?

WRONG. HRC fail, Annie’s Social Club- or as I like to call it, the Anti-Social Club- fail- they switched the order of the bands.

I walked in, had a tiny reunion with Pickles the Drummer (the dude in the pic with me) which fuckin’ rocked (here’s how the conversation went: “are you..do you write HardRockChick?” – “yeah…” – “I’m Pickles the drummer!” – “OH MY GODDDD!”. Haha.

So when I walked into the room with the music I was kinda confused. The Funeral Pyre is on already? OK….I didn’t catch enough for a real review, but I enjoyed what I heard.

Early Graves quickly came on next. I’d like to bottle their frontman’s enthusiasm. The stage can’t even contain him- so he doesn’t even bother. He just screams on the floor, thrashing into the audience. At first they sounded kind of a mess, but that was quickly rectified by the second or third song. This is when the singer mentioned something- “thanks to The Funeral Pile (to which they laughed), and Suicide Silence and Elitist for being here”. Ha! I had overheard a guy talking about how it was their day off, and he was proudly wearing his tour laminate….they are/were opening for Black Label Society on the Pedal to the Metal tour (which is now just Mudvayne and Static-X) in San Jose tomorrow. I thought the tall dude/singer looked familiar.

Anyhoo, HRC learned her lesson to not be so late to shows. But it was kinda interesting to be in the divey Annie’s Social Club for an hour that was literally only populated by dudes in other metal bands, a handful of metal chicks, and Pickles the Drummer! And my Behemoth shirt even scared THAT crowd of dudes away…..

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2704Comments (0)2009-08-27+08%3A00%3A49hardrockchick

HardRockChick Interviews Carl Restivo aka The Wizard from Street Sweeper Social Club

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 19 days ago.]

Carl Restivo might think I’m stalking him. First, I saw him play in Satellite Party. Then, The Justice Tour. And then, I went to one or two or six NIN/JA(SSSC) shows. And then there’s Outside Lands this weekend….

Carl was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to let me ask him a few questions about all of the amazing things he’s involved in.

HardRockChick: So, Carl- you have your hands in so many things, I feel like the appropriate question to start off with is what do you NOT do?

Carl Restivo: I don’t play any horns (at least not well). I don’t eat pine nuts ’cause I’m allergic.

HRC: How did you get involved with Perry Farrell and join Satellite Party?

” This was a chance to meet Perry Farrell for the first time. I worshiped that man since I was 13!”

CR: Through Nuno Bettencourt, who had been collaborating with Perry for about a year or so. I had met Nuno through Wyclef Jean in NYC, and we hit it off (as I was a big Extreme fan) and we kept in touch. I moved to LA a year or so later and the first night I was there he took me to a club with Paul Geary and showed me what LA had to offer. HA! One month later he called me and said “do you want to come with me to the studio?” This was a chance to meet Perry Farrell for the first time. I worshiped that man since I was 13! I had every Jane’s album, bootlegs, live shit, VHS tapes, Porno for Pyros albums, singles, maxi singles, etc. Perry was a major influence on me, and on top of all that, I truly believed that Song Yet To Be Sung was his best work to date. I met Perry in the studio, told him I have been admiring his work for a number of years. Nuno said to him, “this is Carl, he plays all instruments and has a great voice and also played the guitars on “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira and Wyclef” (true). He was impressed. I listened to a rough mix of his new songs Dogstar and Awesome; I was blown away at how amazing and clear and focused his vocals were, and I was digging the beats of ‘Dogstar’. Truth be told, I had heard that Nuno and Perry had started a new project called Satellite Party the year before I moved out to LA. I found a bootleg video from their surprise show at the Key Club and was like WOW this shit is awesome! The thought I had in late ‘05 was, ‘what happens when No Doubt goes on tour again???’ Meaning (what happens to) Tony Kanal who had played with them for that show? Then I never thought about it again. Later that night after leaving the studio (it was at Henson studios, where Audioslave were recording their last album), we got in to the car, and Nuno said ‘Tom just texted ‘let’s get some lobster tail at the Rainbow”. Sounds good! But Tom who? ‘Morello’. Cool, let’s do it. So in the same night, Nuno introduced me to Perry and Tom.

HRC: I saw the Justice Tour and am always enamored with the spontaneous feeling from those performances. Can you tell me a bit about how you prep for a show, considering you are dealing with new performers almost every night?

CR: Well, it starts with a text or a phone call from Tom, usually the day before the benefit show. “Songs for Axis Show tomorrow: Kick out the Jams, Wake Up, Feel Like Making Love, Vertigo, Get Up Stand Up, Dr. Feelgood, Brand New Cadillac, This Land is Your Land, and about 4 Cypress Hill Jams”. Usually I already know half, if not most, of the songs, so I learn the tunes and am basically responsible for not only being able to perform and sing either lead or background on any song, but teach all the performers the songs 1 hour before show time in the ol’ smoking piano room at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA.

For the Justice ‘tour’ that is becoming an amazing yearly thing that we do, a gaggle of songs are learned prior to leaving for the tour (usually about 4 -8 dates across the country). And more often than not, half the set is comprised of brand new songs ‘learned that day’ because of special guests added either the night before or the day of…such as: Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Lemmy from Motorhead, Stewart Copeland, Steve Vai…just to name a few.

HRC: I had the pleasure of following around the NIN/JA tour featuring Street Sweeper Social Club earlier this summer. What’s your favorite memory from the tour?

“One time I jammed with Stephen on drums while I played Eric’s bass and we did Porno for Pyros songs”

CR: There are a couple: Watching Jane’s Addiction every night (out of about 30 shows I think I missed 2), the catering department Jake and Ali (whom we all had middle school-like crushes on), Trent joining us for Kick Out The Jams in San Diego – that was truly INSANE! And probably watching Jane’s soundcheck – towards the very end of the tour when Jane’s would opt out of a full soundcheck, Stevo (Stephen’s tech), Tracey (Eric’s tech) and Dan (Dave’s tech) and me on lead vocals (i’m actually mainly a singer!) rocked Jane’s songs for soundcheck, usually Mountain Song or sometimes a Cult song. One time I jammed with Stephen on drums while I played Eric’s bass and we did Porno for Pyros songs: Packin’ 25, Porno for Pyros (the song), Cursed Male, Tahitian Moon, and Black Girlfriend were rocked. Boy does he kick ass on drums. Hmmm what else…oh yeah, we (SSSC) would try every night to have a dance party in our dressing room. It worked 50 percent of the time. Etty was our partner in crime and sometimes members of NIN (not Trent) and occasionally Stephen. Members of the crew (when they were done working) would come and drink, and me and Tom would trade ipods and basically put on our own mixes of Dirty Hip Hop to GTBITM… I’ll let you figure out what that stands for.

HRC: As you mentioned, one of my favorite moments was SSSC doing ‘Kick Out the Jams’ with Trent…how did that come about?

CR: Basically Tom and Trent had been texting about doing something. He (Trent) was either going to perform on one of our songs that we hadn’t played yet, or a cover. I suggested a bunch of things, like War Pigs, Get Down Make Love (’cause he covered that back in the dizzay), and more really show-stopping songs but it was agreed that KOTJ would slay, and boy, it did.

HRC: How did you get your name ‘The Wizard’?

CR: It is an inherited nickname. My Great-Grandfather was a professional accordion player back in the early, early 1900’s through the 60’s. Mostly vaudeville places…he died in 1980. He was billed as Carlo Restivo, Wizard of the Accordion.

HRC: You’ve been involved in so many collaborations: Wyclef Jean, 50 Cent, Shakira…is there anyone who is on your wishlist of people to work with?

CR: Wishlist? Hmmm…Jay-Z, Stephin Merritt, Britney Spears, Rick Rubin

HRC: Tell me about your work with the School of Rock.

“I love working with kids and inspiring them to get really good and take it seriously while having a ton of fun.”

CR: I am the Music Director of the Paul Green School Of Rock in Los Angeles, CA. Currently, the school is in Hollywood and I opened it in 2006 when I moved out here. I love working with kids and inspiring them to get really good and take it seriously while having a ton of fun. We opened with 12 kids, and the first show was Pink Floyd: The Wall. Out of those first 12, six are still in the school and we are up to about 100 kids. This season, we are doing a Jimi Hendrix Tribute (Aug 29/30 in Hollywood), Metallica in September, Funk in September, and Women Who Rock at the end of September. Next season we are doing Aerosmith, Best of 80’s, Prog Rock, and Alice In Chains vs Soundgarden.

HRC: What can we expect to see in the future from you?

CR: A new album that I have been working on for a while – either a solo or band project. Not sure which yet, but sooner than you think.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Read Carl’s touching piece he wrote regarding Les Paul’s death.

See Carl in Street Sweeper Social Club with Boots Riley and Tom Morello this Friday at The Independent, and Saturday at Outside Lands.

Genre(s): Interviews

2685Comments (0)2009-08-25+17%3A07%3A56hardrockchick

A Warm Place: Nine Inch Nails @ Webster Hall, 8/23/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 20 days ago.]

Last night, the unthinkable happened.

When Trent Reznor told us that there would be special guests and surprises on this final mini-tour, I don’t think any of us guessed this. I’ve been hearing Bowie rumors, making rare song wishlists….but The Downward Spiral in it’s entirety??? It’s as if TR reads what we guess and goes with the craziest thing no one has thought of.

Well…to be honest, I had thought of it. I started a thread on the very subject in the forums last year.

I may have had a little too much fun at the Bowery show, because I was not feeling 100% on Sunday. So, once again, we waltzed in right as The Horrors were taking the stage. This time we stopped for posters and were luckily able to coat check them.

Walking into the actual hall was like walking into a NIN sauna. The heat was stifling and the dampness of everyone’s sweat that early on in the evening did not bode well of things to come. Once again, I was surprised to be able to waltz up fairly close to Robin’s side. There were a lot of professional cameras around me.

As Faris sang The Horrors tunes, I started mentally preparing myself for not being able to physically make it through this set. I was already starting out feeling crappy, but the heat factor was making it worse. Plus, I was getting some bad vibes from loud people behind me- marginal squeaky wheel type fans (people who won’t know all the songs and will bitch about everything). To me, these shows should be filled with the most hardcore fans- like Bowery was the night before. The Horrors dreamy songs were helping soothe my worries….though I missed Faris’ Hawaiian shirt. It would have fit better in tonight’s heat.

When the band hit the stage, the surge was crazy. But, it pushed me up a bit further and next to a big guy who ended up protecting me from harm most of the night. ‘Mr. Self Destruct’….hmmm, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this as an opener. I’m doing my usual mouthing the words and dancing, but trying to be mindful of the filmers all around me. It’s annoying to a certain extent, but I know I’ll want to see their footage after, so I somewhat restrain myself.

‘Piggy’…Trent is practically in the faces of those in the front row. I thought I sensed it during MSD, but it was really during the vengeance underlying the performance of the quietish Piggy that confirmed that the heat from the room was because the band was on fire. I’ve seen NIN enough times to know when something different is going on, and there was a certain intensity present that I have only witnessed at a few shows. And when I say that NIN was more intense than normal, that says a lot.

‘Heresy’…huh. I think this is when Robin went to the other side of the stage and dove into the crowd. “If there is a hell, I’ll see you there”. That quote kind of summed up the moment. The floor had become slippery with sweat; everyone looked like they had been caught in a rainstorm. People were getting pulled out of the pit. However, it was at this point that I realized that my migraine was gone, my body aches from the night before were gone. It’s amazing what adrenaline can do to you.

‘March of the Pigs’….interesting. Did I take one too many vicodin? Because a thought is creeping into my head. MotP is license to be unruly. Sorry, camera people.

‘Closer’….yep. It’s really fucking happening. The first five songs on tonight’s setlist synch up to the first five songs of ‘The Downward Spiral’. I’m looking around at people to see if anyone else is catching on to this. I’m by myself at this point…I’ve never missed my NIN friends more in my life! Someone get excited with me, please. Someone share the moment with me, and confirm this is real. But it was somehow appropriate to experience this set alone in a sea of strangers, which is just how I felt when I listened to the album when I was 14.

‘Ruiner’…I’ll be honest, it’s not my favorite live. It was at this point that I began to notice that Robin was having to take breaks on the side of the stage where I was standing. For the rest of the night, he would walk off stage and throw his guitar to the tech, and crouch down to catch his breath. The heat, the intensity, was weighing heavily on him.

‘The Becoming’…this emerged as one of my favorite live songs after the NIN/JA tour. Tonight it was even better. At the end of the song, Trent stood there at his keys, eyes closed, definitely having a moment. He raised his head and took a deep breath.

‘I Do Not Want This’….the band started and Trent missed the first line as he was late walking up from his keys. I realized that, as I’m standing here thinking about how hearing this album live is making us feel; holy fuck, how is it making him feel!? We’ve all read and heard stories about what was going on with him at the point in his life when he wrote this. Playing this record in its entirety has to be the closest thing to reliving those years that he’s had to do in a while.

‘Big Man With A Gun’…finger pistol in the air!

‘A Warm Place’….had never been played live until tonight. It was simply beautiful…I can’t even try to explain it. Go Ilan.

‘Eraser’ was probably my favorite of the night. I don’t know what instrument Trent was playing, but I had heard of his sax solos back in the nineties, and this is probably as close as I’ll get to witnessing that. The song is so fucking intense, and this was mirrored by a particular woman in the audience. I caught out of the corner of my eye a girl on someone’s shoulders. My first thought was, “if some dumb ho is about to tit flash during eraser, I may be forced to kill her”. But as I looked at her, dripping in sweat, arms extended towards the band in this state of desperate ecstasy, I was brought to tears.

‘Reptile’…I really can’t say any more than I already have about how much I love this song. And ‘A Warm Place’ into ‘Eraser’ into ‘Reptile’ is truly an auditory orgasm.

‘The Downward Spiral’…the title track. It was almost as if some people around me finally ‘got it’ at that point.

‘Hurt’…could only have been made more powerful in this context.

I thought it would end there, but they launched into ‘1,000,000′, which was like hitting a reset button. Now onto ‘Terrible Lie’, another all time favorite live song. This was like melding two worlds together- Nineties TDS into a very LITS/NIN/JA tour setlist. Trent took a moment to say that he’d “always wanted to play that album live”.

And then came ‘Lights in the Sky’. I had never heard it live, and those that have heard it had mixed things to say. Well, on this particular evening, it sounded better than the record. Absolutely beautiful. Except for when the security guard’s walkie talkie went off during it.

For the rest of the set, people were starting to have to duck out. I continued my forward plight a bit more. ‘Burn’ and ‘Suck’ were the highlights for the rest of the set for me. The heat and sweat continued to infect everyone- at one point Trent had to hike up his pants because the water was weighing them down so much.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Bowery show that was also happening at Webster was the ‘thank you’s and ‘we love you’s being shouted at Trent and the band between songs. Everyone knows this is really it, and these shows are a display of our mutual appreciation for each other as we wave goodbye.

After HLAH, the lights came up, and no one wanted to leave. We were all confused- not that the setlist needed an encore, but because mics were placed on the stage. Plus, security wasn’t telling us to leave like they did at Bowery. Perhaps our minds really were blown- there wasn’t a lot of clapping; we all just stood there and stared at the stage….for like 10 minutes.

When people started to leave, some of my twitter followers and readers immediately started coming up to me or tweeting me and asking which show I thought was better. I know everyone wants and expects me to say Webster…it was NIN history….but making me choose between Bowery and Webster is like asking me to pick my favorite kid, if I had kids. Bowery was a truly unique and intimate experience with great personal stories surrounding the show; Webster will be legendary in NIN history. I’m just glad I was able to be at both.

After almost exactly 48 hours in NYC, I boarded a flight home to SF. It’s amazing the things that can happen within that short span of time.

When I’m old, alone, and childless, I’ll think back to weekends like this to keep me going.

Setlist (from nin.com)

1. “Mr. Self Destruct”
2. “Piggy”
3. “Heresy”
4. “March of the Pigs”
5. “Closer”
6. “Ruiner”
7. “The Becoming”
8. “I Do Not Want This”
9. “Big Man with a Gun”
10. “A Warm Place”
11. “Eraser”
12. “Reptile”
13. “The Downward Spiral”
14. “Hurt”
15. 1,000,000
16. Terrible Lie
17. Metal
18. Lights In the Sky
19. Burn
20. Gave Up
21. Suck
22. Physical
23. The Hand That Feeds
24. Head Like A Hole

Read Gary Suarez’s review on Metal Sucks

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN, My Musical Adventures

2679Comments (2)2009-08-24+19%3A55%3A33hardrockchick

The Beginning of the End: Nine Inch Nails, The Horrors @ Bowery Ballroom, 8/22/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 21 days ago.]

I decided to approach this show like I was going to see any other band. I went to dinner, and went to the show shortly after the doors opened. It felt weird to not wait in line all day, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while. I just wanted to see what it felt like to casually approach a NIN show; plus, I wanted to spend time with my friend and in NYC instead of being in NIN tunnel vision mode. And since the venue only held 500 people, I thought my chances of still getting a good spot were high.

The line was long, but it didn’t take long to get inside. We saw quite a few people with signs looking for tickets, and it was nice to see that some of them made it in later on. Upon entering the venue, we went straight for the bar and took shots. I was definitely in full celebration mode for this show.

To be able to have the opportunity to see my favorite band play in such a small venue really overwhelmed me. I kept it pretty cool all day, but it all hit me once I walked onto the main floor. Holy shit- it was an amazing space to see any band, nonetheless, my absolute favorite. We walked in and were able to stand 4 people from the barrier on Robin’s side- an amazing spot.

The Horrors promptly came on as we took our spots. I turn around to check on my friend, and JMJ and Brett are standing there enjoying the show. We say hi, and some others notice JMJ and start asking for pics, so he leaves soon after. I saw The Horrors between NIN/JA shows in May. I really love their first album, Strange House, and was looking forward to hearing songs from that since they didn’t play any at the last show. However, they are still on a Primary Colours only streak. I enjoyed the set more this time because I was prepared for that. Faris was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, which I thought was a hilarious contrast to their Joy Division meet The Smiths dynamic. They played for about thirty minutes. Towards the end of the set, JMJ came back and chatted with my friend some more…then Trent and Mariqueen walked by. It was as if they were all just attending the show, and weren’t about to go on stage and play. Surreal.

In between sets, I chatted with some random fans about how exciting all of this was, and how lucky we felt for being there. Then I heard someone call my name. My real name. Most of the NIN community only know me by HRC, so I kept thinking it wasn’t me they were talking to. And then a girl emerges from the pit, points at this guy, and says, “he has an Echoplex ticket for you”. Amazing! I don’t know how they know me, my name, and my need for that ticket, but I almost broke down in tears from the gesture right there. I was supposed to meet this guy after the show, but couldn’t find him….so who knows if it’s true, but it is seriously the thought that counts.

When the band hit the stage, the crowd roared to life, and every inch of space was promptly sucked out of the pit area. I had purposefully worn an outfit that was not pit- friendly so that I wouldn’t be tempted…but I was able to work my way into such a good spot that I couldn’t resist. I was leveraging my 3.5 inch bitch boot heels to keep me upright. They worked pretty damn good.

‘Somewhat Damaged’ is my favorite opener for a NIN set. I’m glad they went straight into ‘The Beginning of the End’ after that- because it fit perfectly. The pit was sweaty but not too ridiculously rough. I’ve realized that I enjoy NIN shows more when I’ve slept, eaten, and am a bit back from the rail in the energy of the crowd. I just felt like I was a part of the music, moving along with the crowd.

I knew it was coming before it happened. I heard the first note and made the leap…’Something I Can Never Have’. If you read this, you know that this song has special meaning for me. I hadn’t heard it live in years. I did pretty well until the end, when my eyes welled up and tears started rolling down my face. It was a good cry. Yay for waterproof mascara! And then they went straight into ‘Reptile’, which is one of my all time favorites. Definitely one of the best song pairings I’ve experienced at a NIN show.

I was in ‘the zone’. The show, maybe more than other NIN shows I’ve been to, had no place and time. Even though the impressively small venue and the importance of the beginning of the final shows weighed heavily on the beginning of the set, I soon lost all of those parameters and floated through the rest of the set inside of every NIN record and memory I have. I wasn’t in New York City, it wasn’t 2009, it was just NIN. And it felt amazing.

Trent had a few short speeches throughout the night. First, he spoke of how it felt good to play in a small venue again, where he can see faces. Later on, he talked about how they used to play a lot of NYC shows in the beginning, when they ’sucked’. “We’ve done some sucking in our day”. He asked who had seen them back then, and a few people shouted and raised their hands. This was indicative of the mostly young crowd. He also commented on how the stage was so small, there was no place for him to hide out and drink tea. Later on, he introduced the band.

When introducing ‘Down In It’, another song that I hadn’t heard in a long time, he talked about how this was an old one, and they had started the rap/rock genre.

The crowd surfer situation was very interesting. Surfers who came over the barrier had to jump on stage and exit at the back. I was waiting for someone to behave badly and lunge for a mic and/or a band member, but everyone was well behaved. It was awesome.

The set was long- over two hours. And, like during the LITS tour, it ended with ‘In This Twilight’. It was interesting to go back to that format….that song is so tied to the visuals for me that it felt like something was missing at first. But, it is a great final song.

This might have been my favorite NIN show ever. If this was the only final show I’d gotten tickets for, I’d have been happy. It was raw, small, emotional, and unpredictable in comparison to other recent shows. I didn’t get any of my wishlist songs…but I still have a few more chances for that.

After the show, we had a drink in the bar before leaving. JMJ was leaving, and stopped and asked us if we enjoyed the show. We chatted with him for a bit, reconfirming that he’s the nicest person in music. He talked about how they are already getting sentimental about this being the end. It was great to be able to tell him that of all the NIN shows I’ve seen, this was probably my favorite.

In a few hours, I’ll be doing this all again at Webster Hall. Today, I love my life.

Setlist (from nin.com)

1.Somewhat Damaged
2.The Beginning Of The End
3.Last
4.The Collector
5.Discipline
6.March Of The Pigs
7.Something I Can Never Have
8.Reptile
9.Meet Your Master
10.Banged And Blown Through
11. Burn
12. Gave Up
13. La Mer
14. Non-Entity
15. Gone, Still
16. The Downward Spiral
17. Wish
18. Heresy
19. Survivalism
20. Down In It
21. Hurt
22. The Hand That Feeds
23. Head Like a Hole

— encore —

24. Echoplex
25. The Good Soldier
26. Dead Souls
27. In This Twilight

~All photos by Christine Kohler / @bluelily425

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN, My Musical Adventures

2671Comments (0)2009-08-23+20%3A26%3A32hardrockchick

My Life According to NIN

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 23 days ago.]

1992: I’m twelve years old, and I’m sneaking MTV late at night. My parents did not like me watching MTV- not because it was ‘the devil’- they aren’t religious freaks- but because it was part of the liberal media machine. Maybe it was Headbanger’s Ball…I can’t remember, but the video for ‘Wish’ came on. I can remember thinking, ‘this is different than the rest of the things I’ve ever heard…and I like it!’. It wasn’t until the following year, when I was thirteen, that my family got a CD player….and then it wasn’t until late in my year of being thirteen that I was able to somehow obtain a copy of Pretty Hate Machine and Broken. Damn Parental Advisory stickers. They came in longboxes…I wish I had kept those, but I used to cut them apart and line them up along my walls.

I carried around the insert from that PHM CD to every NIN show I ever went to in hopes of having it signed by the man himself….and that finally came true in May.

1994: I’m fourteen. I remember listening to The Downward Spiral in its entirety the day it came out….on tape….in a car, since we had to drive to a Hastings in the next town over to find it. I believe we had already heard, and been delightedly shocked by, Closer. But it was Hurt that was *rewound* and listened to again because it was so unexpected from this band. We had to listen to the words again.

My parents had moved me to a small town that I hated. I started hanging out with an older crowd, and doing things fourteen year olds shouldn’t do. I believe that when I saw the video for Closer, I was in a heavily altered state. It blew my mind.

My original life path was to be a professional dancer. I was still heavily involved in dance school at this point, but the small town factor left little options for training. I was taking lessons from a young woman who taught out of her home, and she would teach me routines to popular music. One of those was to Closer. I wish I remembered it.

1995: I’m fifteen. The Downward Spiral is still the soundtrack for my life. This is when NIN goes on tour with Bowie. I’m dying to go…all of my friends are going. I’ve been in love with Bowie because I learned about him through…The Labyrinth. None of my friends give a shit about him, though. My parents banned me from attending, so I cry as everyone I know (it seemed) leaves to caravan to San Antonio. They all take massive amounts of acid and the stories that return are insane. They are bruised and broken from the pit, they thought Bowie sucked, one didn’t come down from his trip for three days and thought he had killed someone in the pit and that the cops were looking for him. Oh, and Trent Reznor is God, they say.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, I had my first serious boyfriend. I made one of those ‘important life decisions’ with this person, set to the tune of….’Something I Can Never Have’. I remember hearing the song at that moment, and thinking, ’shoulda gone with The Downward Spiral’. I have trouble listening to that song to this day. Perhaps this moment and song set the tone for my fucked up history of relationships.

1996: I’m sixteen…and in Texas that means one thing: Driver’s License! My dad bought me a rad car- a Nissan 240SX. Because I love loud music, I promptly installed a stereo system in there- two 10″ JL W0 woofers, thank you very much. The boys did it, why not me? I was the only girl who had that set up for miles. So I bumped along everywhere in my car. I have a vivid memory of my boyfriend at the time borrowing the car and picking me up from school, blasting Fixed. He had acquired that album and the Closer remix album for me…the remix albums had been off my radar until then. The entire high school was infiltrated with the loud sound of my car blasting the remix of ‘Gave Up’.

1997: I’m seventeen. I fell in love with David Lynch when I was thirteen and saw Twin Peaks. When I find out that Reznor is working with Lynch on the Lost Highway soundtrack, it was like everything made sense. Or not, because Lynch movies never really make sense….but you know what I mean.

1999: I’m nineteen. I’m living in Austin, in college, and in year three of an insanely abusive relationship. The day The Fragile comes out, we walk into the record store to purchase it. A fight ensues, because that’s what happened with us regarding anything, and we each had to buy our own copy of that album so that we could listen to it how we wanted to and each have one in our car. This was before we burned CDs for each other, kids. We crack one open to listen to on the way home and fight about which song to listen to first.

The Fragile is one of those albums that came along at the exact right time in my life. I’m not a delusional person (usually), but it felt like those songs were written for me. It helped me through a lot of emotional shit, and to this day I generally shed a tear to ‘The Fragile’. It’s the album I always turn people onto who only know NIN for the ‘fuck you like an animal song’.

2005: It’s my 25th birthday. I’m ecstatic because, finally, after all these years, I might have a chance to see NIN. Tickets go on sale for a small show at Stubb’s BBQ…and luckily I’m able to grab two.

It’s May, and I’m wrapping up my first year of grad school. I’ve only become marginally involved in NIN stuff online at this point- so I know nothing of how early to go or anything like that. I go to a friend’s pool party, drink all day, and then go to the venue about an hour before doors open. I’m astounded by how many people are there already. Ha! I laugh now…we ended up in an ok spot that turned into a brutal pit. Surprisingly we held our own pretty well. I remember feeling starstruck seeing *him* for the first time…though he was now all buff and stuff…but he still had the hair. I only got to see him once with long hair…god, I loved that hair. It was insanely hot…I think the only thing I heard him say was, “fuck, it’s hot”. I had an out of body experience. I cried during SICNH. I’d never felt that way in my life. It was like reliving every moment from above at once. It was like a drug. It was like a therapy session…and I had been going to a lot of those over the past couple years to get over the psychological damage from my ex. Who needs antidepressants when I can go to a NIN show?

I had always been into live music, and NIN, but it was after this show that I decided I wanted to ‘follow’ the band. While I haven’t done it as much as others, I did my best to see them every chance I got. I started getting involved in the online NIN community, and have since met tons of great people and had some of the coolest experiences attending shows all over the country. Because of this band.

2006: I had heard of this Bridge School event, and was awaiting the announcement of the lineup. I’m new to San Francisco, and was told that it’s a quintessential SF thing to do if you’re into music. Lo and behold, I see ‘Trent Reznor’ listed on the bill….and promptly freak out. The regular onsale did not give me tickets I liked, so I tried the new ticketmaster auction, went a little insane, and ended up with 7th row center tickets. Seeing him play that set is one of my most prized live music memories. You can read about it here, at my pre-HRC site.

2007: I’m twenty-seven. I’ve been really enjoying writing the blog I started in grad school to showcase my thinking for potential jobs. I’m attending tons of shows, and writing about them, so on the suggestion of my boyfriend at the time, I start up a music blog. And HardRockChick.com was born. I’d never been very confident in my writing- I always got my worst grades in English and Literature classes- but as time went on, people seemed to like what I was writing. What does this have to do with NIN? Well, sometime during this year I had a dream that I worked with Trent Reznor to write his biography much later in my life. Sure, it’s a lofty goal I think of from time to time….

So here we are in 2009. I thought I had attended my last NIN show in June, but now I get to do it over again. This time it feels right…club shows like my first one. It feels like the end of an era, like I’m about to get closure for a part of my life. I’ll never stop listening to NIN, but it’s time to move on, or as one of my NIN friends says, “it’s time to start seeing other bands”. I don’t think anyone will stop describing me to people as, ‘This is Jamie, she’s from Texas, and she’s really into NIN’.

And if you told me in 1992, at age twelve, on that fateful evening watching that Wish video on low volume in the dark, that that guy would one day sneak up on me in an airport, I would have told you to get your head checked. Life is funny.

Read my NIN related entries- including my NIN/JA tour diaries- here. I’ll be tweeting and keeping another diary for the final NIN shows that I’m attending: NINYC Bowery and Webster, and NIN/LA Henry Fonda and Wiltern….and maybe Echoplex if the stars align.

Update!

I forgot something…my Final NINventure Wishlist:

-The Only Time
-Deep
-Happiness in Slavery
-Sunspots
-I want a tambourine! It’s the only thing missing from my collection…..
-Oh, what the hell, The Perfect Drug

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN

2665Comments (2)My+Life+According+to+NIN2009-08-21+21%3A03%3A52hardrockchick

Mini Review: Oxbow, Negative Trend @ Eagle Tavern, 9/20/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 23 days ago.]

When I say I’m a live music addict, I’m not fucking around.

So when my friend asked me if I wanted to go check out this band at the Eagle Tavern yesterday, of course I said yes! Plus, this little writeup in SF Weekly intrigued me.

I had never been to the Eagle Tavern before…it’s notorious for being in the area where bald hairy men in leather go to meet other bald hairy men in leather….a bear bar, if you will. I’ve got nothing against bears, its just….not HRC’s scene.

It’s actually a cool space- there’s a large outside area with lots of nooks and crannies. The actual space for live music is a bit awkward though as the bar take up much of the floor space.

The first band offended my ears, so we didn’t watch most of it. The second band, Negative Trend, was much more fun. They are a local punk band that has been around for a long time. They played a set of mostly covers…which included ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’….one of my all time fave songs. Their cool looking logo adorned a banner behind them and all of their shirts- I was surprised at the effort behind this cohesive look. It was a fun set.

I really wish that I had seen Oxbow somewhere else. The avant garde rock within the context of this tavern made for an interesting dynamic…but perhaps that was part of the allure of the set. They started in the middle of the tiny floor; we could just barely see the singer’s head and the top of an upright bass. The sound was raw as the singer was without mic for this portion, speaking into the faces of those right in front of him.

After a couple of songs, they moved to the stage. Where at another venue, I might have gotten lost in the shrieks and discordant notes of the set, I kept getting distracted by the bartenders (one of which had crazy tattoos and piercings and wore a belt that said ‘tasty cakes’ along the back) and patrons in the back of the bar. A fight broke out mid set, and a bartender jumped over the bar to run after the guys….haven’t seen that in a while.

Distractions aside, it was an interesting set and I’m glad I was able to witness it as they don’t play very often. As for seeing shows at the Eagle Tavern in my future….maybe not.

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2661Comments (0)2009-08-21+18%3A52%3A12hardrockchick

Hot Blooded Reptiles: Crocodiles @ The Rickshaw, 8/19/09

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 24 days ago.]

The Rickshaw is an out of sight, out of mind venue for me. I’ve seen some phenomenal shows here: M.I.A., Goblin Cock….but it’s generally the epicenter for the hip young crowd where scene is first and music is second. Which means HRC only goes there for must see shows.

I walk in to the venue and three girls are on stage rattling out poppy rock. Pens, from the UK, seem almost purposefully amateurish. The chords go off key, the drumming off beat, as the girls spend their time looking at each other and half giggling. I cringed.

After waiting a while, the lights suddenly go off. And they stay off for a near uncomfortable amount of time before the stage is backlit by four lights and the two members of Crocodiles are already standing there. The duo roars to life- a barrage of guitar feedback and a drum machine fill the room. Singer Brandon Welchez animates, dancing around the stage in his moccasins, all the while looking like a very young Bob Dylan. Guitarist Charles Rowland wears Ray Bans as he shreds away, seeming detached and in his own little world.

One song leaks into another, their throwback yet fresh psych pop echoes The Jesus & Mary Chain and slides in with The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols’ sound nicely. Crocodiles has a great energy that the crowd seems to find infectious- three kids with Xs on their hands dance wildly in the front row. ‘I Wanna Kill’ has Welchez shooting into the crowd with a finger gun. Not a discernible word is spoken the entire time. ‘Neon Jesus’ wraps up the 45 minute set and the audience stands there and refuses to believe it is done. But, hey- no more songs to play.