You’re Invited! The Official Bay Area Screening of the NIN Fan-Made Concert DVD- Another Version of the Truth  

by hardrockchick [about 4 months, 29 days ago.]

Many of you know that NIN is very near and dear to my heart. I’m happy to be able to host the official Bay Area screening of the fan-made NIN concert DVD, Another Version of the Truth,

Who:

NIN fans!

What:

From www.thisoneisonus.org

On 5th May, 2008, Nine Inch Nails released “The Slip” for free via their website, as a gift to their fans. Or as Trent Reznor put it: “This one’s on me”.

On December 13th, 2008, dozens of Nine Inch Nails fans recorded the last show of the Lights In The Sky tour at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. (HRC included)

On January 7th, 2009, over 400Gb of video from the Victoria, Portland and Sacramento shows from the same tour were unofficially released by the band.

By working together, the Nine Inch Nails fan community have created “Another Version of the Truth” – a 3 disc release bringing together numerous editors, designers, and web programmers to create a professional digital film, followed by a physical release created by fans for fans.

When:

April 23, 2010

Doors at 11:30p

Show at Midnight

Where:

Landmark Guild Theater
949 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 266-9260

Why:

Tickets are a $5 donation which goes to Hope For Hearts, a memorial fund set up for Eric De La Cruz. This fund aims to help families pay medical bills.

Read about the history of EDLC and NIN here.

By coming to the screening, not only will you be able to relive some NIN concert memories on the big screen in a year so deprived of NIN shows, but you’ll get a cool keepsake ticket and button. I’m also putting together a few other little things you may receive if you are lucky

Please come and help me spread the word!

Facebook event
Ticket page

You can also donate if you are unable to make it.

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN

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We Demand an Apology from Ms. Cheney  

by hardrockchick [about 10 months, 11 days ago.]

My quick letter to this organization that calls themselves ‘Keep America Safe‘ who recently said offensive things about two of my favorite rock stars, Trent Reznor and Tom Morello:

To Whom It May Concern:

I can distinctly remember when I heard that ‘March of the Pigs’ was used to torture prisoners at Gitmo. I was appalled to say the least. A few days later, I would see Trent Reznor perform that very song in Sacramento, CA for the first time since that news broke. I always wondered how that felt for him.

Fast forward almost one year, and the issue has come up again. It seems that not only has progress not been made to stop this, but that backpedaling organizations such as ‘Keep America Safe’ are adding insult to injury by calling these musicians’ efforts to stop their art from being used in ways they didn’t intend “pathetic”.

There are so many things wrong with this I don’t know where to begin. So here are some easy to reference bullet points to give you a topline summary of my thoughts on the matter:

* A commercial has to license music to use it. A store has to license music to play it. But a government run facility can use songs without permission to torture prisoners? I’m sure there are some artists out there that would gladly license their music for use in torture.
* Do you know who Tom Morello is? Google him. Pretty much the only thing that separates him from Barack Obama on paper is the guitar thing.
* Why does someone in a metal band not “have a moral authority on national security issues”? Are you telling me that Toby Keith, someone who sings ‘Beer For My Horses’, does? If you do a content analysis of metal lyrics, I’m pretty sure you’ll find some of the most sophisticated themes of any music genre.
* Remember that time you worked really hard making dinner, only to have one of it’s recipients pour ketchup all over it? Pretty insulting, right? Well, there’s really no comparison to having songs these artists created used for torture, but perhaps that’s a good point of reference for you.
* May I ask what you are personally doing to Keep America Safe? These artists have devoted their lives to creating music that make people who choose to listen to it feel good. Perhaps this music has saved some of those people from doing bad things. Creating an organization that is run on fearmongering and finger pointing seems counterproductive to the cause it claims to support.
* This entire debate seem diversionary from the real issue at hand: torture! It’s wrong…..whether it be music or waterboarding; we shouldn’t be doing it. Any person with real human feelings will intuitively understand this.

With that said, I’d like to add my voice to the mix and request a public apology from Keep America Safe, Ms. Cheney, and Ms. Debra Burlingame in particular.

Thanks to the NIN Hotline for spearheading this effort.

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN

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The Day That NIN Went Away: Nine Inch Nails, Io Echo @ The Wiltern, 9/10/09  

by hardrockchick [about 11 months, 25 days ago.]

Let’s just say that Nine Inch Nails has been like my lover…perhaps my best friend….for a long time. NIN has been there with me through a lot. It has comforted me when I was sad; it has turned me on; it has introduced me to new people; it has given me inspiration.

The break up began in December in Las Vegas. But then we got back together for a brief fling earlier this summer. I thought it was over in Holmdel. And then, we went on a couple dates in New York. But NIN made it official on September 10th, 2009. That was the day the movers came, and the keys were left on the counter.

My final pilgrimage to LA started like this: I was hardcore frisked by security because my bondage pants (hey- I was dressed for the show!) set off the alarms, then my flight was delayed and I was freaking out amidst all of these suits who were staring at me in my outfit. It was only delayed 20 minutes, but that was enough time to know that I wouldn’t make it for wristbanding. The Wiltern has a bunch of tiers, and the pit is limited to a couple hundred people. Luckily my friend and +1 who had been waiting all day was able to find another person to use their +1, so she could get in the pit (scalper rules say both people have to be present to fetch the tickets). But I was very sad knowing that I wouldn’t be close for this show.

A stiff drink and the now familiar 55 minute plane ride later, I was in a cab and off to the venue. Then I walked down the ticketing line to see if anyone waiting needed a ticket, and I found one! So I was able to skip the line and give this guy my extra ticket. It wouldn’t have been a NIN show if I didn’t stress about tickets or lines somehow.

Everyone was in quite the mood for this last show. You could cut the tension with a knife. The outpouring of emotion by the fanbase was an amazing thing to witness. I’d liken it to attending a wake; everyone was sad, but sharing positive NIN memories while waiting in line. But everyone was stressed about having the perfect spot at their final NIN show.

It was NIN magic- somehow, me, @trzdnsmommie, and @Capital_M were able to score the center of the first tier, which was eye level with the stage- and we all came in at different times. I couldn’t believe it. It was meant to be. After spending most of the last shows standing by myself, I got to stand in between two of my favorite NIN friends.

The roaming cocktail waitresses helped us celebrate- we got three rounds of shots brought right to us! Everything had fallen into place.

Celebrity spotting was fun: Adrienne Curry was in the pit, Ron Jeremy, Penn Jillette, Tony Kanal, and Rick Rubin were in the balcony. Ron Jeremy always gets a lot of attention from the NIN fans (we like to yell at him…in a good way)- he’s at every Vegas or LA show. Tony Hawk was around somewhere.

Io Echo really scored a gig opening for this show. I had seen them before, opening for She Wants Revenge. The NIN connection is that the lead guitarist is Atticus Ross’ little brother.

I think they won some new fans with their set. Io is a great performer, running around onstage in her chic hospital gown. ‘I’m On Fire’ is my favorite song of theirs.

In between sets, my girls and I chatted about the meaning of this moment. Pretty much everything that was said started with “I can’t believe…” A brief check in on twitter revealed that all the NIN fans around the world had succeeded in making #NIN the #1 trending topic on twitter….amazing! It felt like all the NIN fans were there with us, sharing in the moment virtually. I never partake in the trending topic thing, but I felt compelled to share my favorite NIN memory as everyone else was:

Story here.

And then it began.

Robin’s guitar intro to ‘Home’ swam into my ears to kick off the show. We linked arms and breathed in, as Ilan started assaulting the drums. JMJ started plucking away, and Trent Reznor emerged to sing for us. This, ladies and gents, was the true beginning of the end. My heart started beating faster, my eyes welled up, my mind focused to a sharp point at what was onstage. “I return to the only place I’ve ever felt that I belong”.

‘Somewhat Damaged’…we are in the best spot in the entire building. Out of harm’s way, on the same level as the band, able to leverage the barrier to go wild. And this is a song I like to do that to. “Where the fuck were you?!?!?!”

‘The Collector’…hmmmm…sad thing about this show was the fact that there were some casual fans in our vicinity. Songs like this make me aware of their dumb chatter. ‘Discipline’: the girls and I bump hips as we dance. ‘March of the Pigs’….I will SO miss seeing this song live and feeling the energy it brings. This is the ‘brace yourself, we’re at a fucking NIN show’ song….even outside of the pit.

‘Something I Can Never Have’ just had to be in this set. This song puts into words so many of my emotions that I can hardly stand it. “You make this all go away”…..le sigh.

‘The Frail’ into ‘The Wretched’ was perfect. ‘Ruiner’->’Head Down’->’Burn’…..I was grasping at every note. A crowd surfer came over our head around this point- wasn’t expecting that from this spot- but as he fell to the ground I noticed that he was desperately grasping onto the sole tambourine that Reznor threw out at this show. He had probably been attacked and was trying to get the hell out of there.

Mike Garson came onstage for ‘Just Like You Imagined’, ‘La Mer’, ‘The Becoming’, and ‘Down in the Park’. ‘La Mer’ nearly made me crumple where I stood. It’s truly one of Reznor’s best compositions.

Gary Numan came out again for ‘Down in the Park’, ‘Metal’, and ‘I Die: You Die’. This wrapped up the main set.

The first encore could be entitled ‘new meets old’. Some of the newer tracks: ’1,000,000′, ‘Letting You’, ‘Survivalism’, ‘The Hand That Feeds’ were paired with some of the oldest: ‘Suck’, ‘Down In It’, and ‘Head Like A Hole’. It was really eerie that everyone in front of me knew now that Reznor changes the lyrics in ‘Down In It’ to “I looked him right in the eye and waved goodbye”, and everyone did so in unison. ‘HLAH’ always signals the end of a show for me, so having it at this point meant that for the rest of the set, anything goes.

from synthetikz

The second encore was my favorite. I could tell something very different was going to happen because the set change took quite a while. And then out walks Reznor and Atticus Ross, and they launch into ‘Me, I’m Not’. YES! I had never heard it live before. I like Atticus’ dance moves. It was like a NIN DJ set.

They launch into ‘The Warning’, and out strolls Dave Navarro. Or, as most of us say, ‘Dave-Fucking-Navarro!’ I had expected this to happen during the NIN/JA tour, and was so sad when it never did. Good things come to those who wait! Atticus left after ‘The Warning’, and Reznor tossed his voice manipulator into the crowd, causing a massive fight.

Navarro stayed to spice up ‘Piggy’ (Nothing Can Stop Me Now…otherwise know as Remix) and ‘Gave Up’. Having Navarro perform Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) was significant because he played guitar on the recorded track. Plus Rick Rubin, who remixed it, was sitting in the balcony. Full circle.

from synthetikz

from discobunny9

from synthetikz

from okeastron2008

For the third encore, a second drum set appeared. And then everyone from The Dillinger Escape Plan appeared. And they FUCKED SHIT UP! The quote, “If you don’t know, now you know” comes to mind…..afterward the NIN fans were buzzing about these guys…I have a feeling I’ll run into more NIN fans at DEP shows now. ‘Mr. Self Destruct’ and ‘Wish’ were accompanied by equipment being tossed around and mutilated. Puciato dove into the crowd. It was total chaos, and it was lovely to observe.

from synthetikz

To go from that into ‘Atmosphere’ was jarring…and it was the beginning of the comedown that would be the end of the show. ‘Dead Souls’, ‘The Good Soldier’….and then ‘The Day the World Went Away’….with two false starts. The song was preceded by a thank you speech to the band and crew by Trent. “I just don’t want to be touring..I’m gonna die if I keep it up” He stopped the song twice to add people to the thank you list. It was interesting to hear him say all of their names and realize how many of them I know due to following the band around. The speech and the false starts were humorous and touching all at the same time.

from okeastron2008

This is the point when my ‘NIN life’ flashed before my eyes. Really, the last year of it….which was the most meaningful. 20 shows in 4 years; 16 of which were in the past 15 months: 5 LITS shows, 6 NIN/JA shows, and 5 Wave Goodbye shows. All of the waiting in line for rail, all of the people I’ve met, all of the travel, the three times I met Trent Reznor, all of the blogs I’ve written, all of the pictures I’ve taken, all of the video I’ve shot, all of the times I stressed about getting tickets. Really overwhelming.

I don’t care if you tell me this isn’t the end. A lot of people kept saying to me, “why are you making such a big deal about this, Jamie; you know this isn’t the end! It’s just a marketing thing”. I don’t really buy that. I think it will be at least five years before we see something. Reznor’s getting married. He’ll probably have kids. He’ll change. I’ll change. I could be dead in five years! I’ll definitely be older….I probably won’t ever be able to hit the road with a band like I have been able to do this past year. It’s fucking heartbreaking, but I feel good about the fact that I took every opportunity I could to do so. Because I’ll never be at this point in my life at this time in society with this band ever again.

‘Hurt’….

‘In This Twilight’ is when the sorrow manifested and the tears started rolling down my cheeks, as they are as I write this. The girls and I held hands and cried and watched the band leave the stage one by one. And we stood there. “I don’t know what to do”. “I don’t want to leave”. “It’s really over”.

from synthetikz

Now what? After a lot of quiet looks at each other as we made our way out of the venue, the subject was broached…who do we follow now???

I feel lost, but hopeful. I will find this feeling again somewhere along my journey, but it will never be quite the same as with Nine Inch Nails.

Setlist/Special Guests Tracker (from nin.com)
1. Home
2. Somewhat Damaged
3. The Collector
4. Discipline
5. March of The Pigs
6. Something I Can Never Have
7. The Frail
8. The Wretched
9. Ruiner
10. Head Down
11. Burn
12. Just Like You Imagined (w Mike Garson)
13. La Mer (w Mike Garson)
14. Eraser (w Mike Garson)
15. The Becoming (Still) (w Mike Garson)
16. Down In The Park (w Gary Numan & Mike Garson intro(?) )
17. Metal (w Gary Numan)
18. I Die: You Die (w Gary Numan)

19. 1,000,000
20. Letting You
21. Survivalism
22. Suck
23. Down In It
24. The Hand That Feeds
25. Head Like A Hole

26. Me, I’m Not (w Atticus Ross)
27. The Warning (w Atticus Ross & Dave Navarro)
28. Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) (w Dave Navarro)
29. Gave Up (w Dave Navarro)

30. Mr. Self Destruct (w The Dillinger Escape Plan)
31. Wish (w The Dillinger Escape Plan)
32. Atmosphere (cover – Joy Division)
33. Dead Souls (cover – Joy Division)
34. The Good Soldier
35. The Day The World Went Away
36. Hurt
37. In This Twilight

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

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Just Like I Imagined: Nine Inch Nails, HEALTH @ Henry Fonda, 9/8/09  

by hardrockchick [about 11 months, 25 days ago.]

It was one of the craziest decisions I’ve ever made.

I had decided to not go to the rescheduled NIN show at the Henry Fonda Theater. I had a ticket, but it was as someone’s plus one that would be waiting in line and going in early. I knew there was no way that I would be able to make it back to LA in time for the early bird wristbanding schedule. The only way I’d be able to go is if I were able to score a ticket in my name.

I was driving the rental car to LAX on Monday when a batch of Fonda tickets are released. Apparently you can’t buy them on an iPhone while driving down the 405. So I’m thinking, “OK, this is definitely a sign that I’m not supposed to go to this show”, because I believe in stuff like that.

On Monday night, I finish up my Echoplex review, and then I stayed up for a couple of hours trying to figure out how I could find someone who would take me to the show that would go in late, if I should just fly down there without a ticket and try to get in that way, what to do about my job….I just had a strong feeling that I needed to be there, that if I missed the show and something incredible happened, I couldn’t live with myself.

So I get to work the next morning, totally bummed out, and a Twitter update from @nineinchnails pops up on my phone- ‘A limited number of Henry Fonda tickets have become available’. I bought a ticket. I didn’t even think about it. I had already completed the transaction when my phone blew up with texts from friends telling me to get a ticket because they knew of my situation….all of my enablers!

I quickly found a flight for a few hours later (flights from SF to LA are normally very cheap, so I paid close to three times that for same day booking…3x cheap = mildly expensive), told my friend with a hotel to leave a key for me at the front desk, and then told my boss. Luckily, he is really into music, so he understood…best boss ever! Otherwise, I was going to have to go with the ‘don’t ask permission, ask for forgiveness’ method.

Instead of eating lunch, I ran home and showered and packed. Then I went to two meetings and was off to the airport. I changed in the car in the airport parking garage. I made better time then I thought, so I was able to hop on a flight an hour earlier…which totally saved me in the end.

Landing in LA a little ahead of schedule, I decided to try to save some money and take the Super Shuttle….two hours later I made it to the hotel. I threw my stuff in the room and hopped in a cab to the venue.

When I stepped out of that cab, I had a perma-smile on my face…shaking….I can’t believe I made it!

The line was still to the end of the block, but I didn’t care. For the first time ever at a NIN show, I didn’t care about my spot, I just wanted INSIDE! Due to the projection of the show upstairs, I could tell that HEALTH took the stage the moment I stepped in line.

As I’m moving up, I hear the unmistakable sound of a car crash- there was a head on collision at the corner. I stood there and thought to myself, ‘Here I am, seizing the moment, because you never know what might happen next”.

Once I made it inside, I walked onto the GA floor, which seemed packed. My friends had texted me where they were at the rail, but I grabbed a drink first to celebrate. I’ve never been to the bar at a NIN show before- CRAZY! But the real crazy part was when I was able to walk through the crowd only to find that there was a huge empty space right where I would have stood anyway, right behind my friends who had waited all day! Unbelievable.

I did a happy dance all throughout HEALTH.

I had a much better view of them this time. Their passion and intensity are really admirable.

During the break, I observed Shooter Jennings sitting up in the VIP balcony, which made me insanely happy. I looked around the venue and quickly fell in love with it. Definitely one the most well set up venues I’ve been to. I spoke with a few people around me- it seemed like everyone had an interesting story to share about how they got in, how much they love the band…it’s truly a great feeling to be in a crowd of people who all feel the same as me.

When the band hit the stage and launched into Head Like A Hole->Terrible Lie, I can’t even describe how I felt. Well, perhaps my tweets will convey it:

I was literally jumping up and down with the people around me, grabbing onto them, shouting “PHM all the way through!!!!!” I think a taper had to move away from me.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so upset to hear ‘Sin’. Trent Reznor, you are such a fucking tease!

Onto ‘March of the Pigs’, I started to laugh….it was pretty comical, actually. Especially when we got to ‘Echoplex’- which we all thought FOR SURE we were going to hear at the Echoplex show. This setlist was quickly becoming one big message from TR- ‘Remember, pigs, you never know what I am going to do’.

‘Reptile’. ‘Head Down’. ‘Letting You’. ‘Burn’. ‘Eraser’. Songs I will never tire of, but I must soak them up, because it might be the last time I ever hear them live.

Over the course of the evening, Reznor played keys with a towel over his head two or three times. I’ve never seen him do this before, and couldn’t get a picture of it…but I thought it was interesting. Perhaps it had some aromatherapy treatment on it for his cold….

After ‘Eraser’ (which was great, but will never match the Webster Hall show), Reznor introduced Mike Garson, a pianist who worked on The Fragile. Being able to hear ‘Just Like You Imagined’, ‘The Becoming’, and ‘I Do Not Want This’ with a piano accompaniment was so beautiful.

Gary Numan came out to perform ‘Down in the Park’ and ‘Metal’, with Garson still on piano. It’s weird to say that this was expected- and became the lull in the show for me- but I guess that’s just how NIN shows are: Gary Numan as a special guest was not the highlight of the show. Wow.

The exact moment when the set took a turn was when Eric Avery walked out onstage to play ‘Cars’. So we have Garson, Numan, and Avery onstage with NIN. Seeing Eric play with them brought back a flood of NIN/JA memories.

They were all then joined by members of HEALTH for ‘Anthrax’. That was a lot of people on one stage. And then they all left. The house lights came on, and out comes Reznor. “As you may or may not know, we are kinda winging this right now….it’s supposed to be that the song is over, everyone finishes, and then we come out an surprise you with an encore, but we kinda fucked up with the house lights so just pretend that was the end…thank you, good night!” And he goes to the back of the stage, takes a bow, and blows a kiss! Trent Reznor blew a kiss….hilarious.

It was interesting to see Reznor take an almost ‘Tom Morello-ish during his Justice Tour shows‘ role this evening. What I mean by this is, because of all of the coordination with special guests, Reznor would have to go up and whisper instructions or cues to people throughout the show. It made for a feeling of spontaneity- anything can and will happen.

via synthetik

I had read on twitter that Danny Lohner and Dillinger Escape Plan would be in attendance, but I tried to not make any assumptions, though I insanely desired for them to be special guests. Earlier in the week, there had been rumors that Chris Vrenna would be there- but I knew that was near impossible as he is on tour with Manson.

So when Danny Lohner walked on stage, I was ecstatic. I never saw him play with NIN, so for me, this was a great gift. ‘Heresy’….and then ‘Get Down, Make Love’! I thought I was never going to hear that one.

From synthetik

And then out runs Greg Puciato. I have a hunch that a lot of people in that crowd had no idea who he is. Well, he is the vocalist for The Dillinger Escape Plan- one of the best live bands around, and thusly, one of HRC’s faves. I had been fantasizing about this moment ever since NIN and DEP had a ‘bromance’ (Reznor’s words, not mine!) back when they toured Australia earlier this year. An intense performer to no end, he killed it during ‘Mr. Self Destruct’ and ‘Wish’ (even though his mic wasn’t working well).

From synthetik

And this is where I’d like to present the MVP award to none other than JMJ. The first time I saw him play with NIN, last year in Seattle, I had very mixed feelings (was that really only last year?!). Thinking back to how he seemed awkward and incongruous then, to watching him throw off his bass, take a running start, and dive in to the crowd this evening during ‘Wish’….what a transformation. JMJ, HRC <3's you. He got back on stage and pushed Lohner. He was on fire.

Lohner and Puciato exited the stage, and ‘The Hand That Feeds’ signaled the wrapping up of the show. ‘Atmosphere’ was great to hear after it was scrapped at Echoplex. ‘Dead Souls’, ‘The Day the World Went Away’, all culminating with ‘Hurt’. I couldn’t cry. I wanted to. But I was so happy with this set, that I had made the choice to come, and knowing that I would still have one more show, that I had a smile on my face the entire time.

I hopped on a 6am flight and went to work the next day.

No regrets.

When I receive my credit card bill this month, and am forced to stay home and eat Ramen until the end of the year, I’ll think back on this evening.

Setlist/Special Guests Tracker (from nin.com)
1. Head like a Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Sin
4. March of the Pigs
5. Piggy
6. Echoplex
7. Reptile
8. I’m Afraid of Americans
9. Survivalism
10. Head Down
11. 1,000,000
12. Letting You
13. Burn
14. Gave Up
15. Eraser
16. Just like You Imagined (w/ badass Pianist Mike Garson)
17. The Becoming (w/ Mike Garson)
18. I Do Not Want This (w/ Mike Garson)
19. Down in the Park (w/ Mike Garson & Gary Numan)
20. Metal (w/ Mike Garson & Gary Numan)
21. Cars (w/ Mike Garson & Gary Numan & Eric Avery of Jane’s Addiction)
22. Anthrax (w/ Gary Numan, Eric Avery of Jane’s Addiction & the four members of HEALTH… )
23. Heresy (w/ Danny Lohner)
24. Get Down, Make Love (w/ Danny Lohner)
25. Mr. Self Destruct (w/ Danny Lohner & Greg Puciato of Dillinger Escape Plan)
26. Wish (w/ Danny Lohner & Greg Puciato of Dillinger Escape Plan)
27. The Hand that Feeds
28. Atmosphere
29. Dead Souls
30. The Day the World Went Away
31. Hurt

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

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And All That Could Have Been: Nine Inch Nails, HEALTH @ Echoplex, 9/6/09  

by hardrockchick [about 12 months, 0 days ago.]

With the amount of shows I travel to, it was bound to happen at some point.

Canceled. The C word.

The final Nine Inch Nails shows that people had traveled from all over the world for- two of the last three were canceled and then rescheduled for the following week. Trent was sick and had to postpone the shows under doctor’s orders.

I could talk about how this affected the NIN community- ruined birthday plans, canceled flights, screwed over people who traveled and ended up not being able to go to a show, ticket +1 losses due to non-transferable names, people that may forever go unmet in real life, heartache, anger, dissatisfaction. I could analyze the economic impact of these final NIN shows, and how it has probably doubled with people who have extended their travel with expensive last minute changes. I could mention how people have put their jobs in jeopardy for these shows, maxed out credit cards, fought with significant others and friends over this. But I won’t.

I could also tell you all that I learned about LA since I didn’t have shows to go to. I could tell you about how I would love to live at the Sunset Marquis, how having separate run ins with That 70s Show cast members was odd, or how short the dude from Sum 41 is, or how DJ AMs tribute night was sad, or how we barely missed seeing Posh and Becks at the Chateau Marmont, or that Teddy’s at The Roosevelt severely lacks male eye candy. I could tell you about how I lived on a straight diet of dirty martinis and shots of Patron to forget about this NIN trip clusterfuck, how I did some ghetto booty dancing in 4 inch studded heels, and how I ended up skinnydipping, all without getting hit on by a decent guy the entire time I was in LA. But I won’t.

We did spend a lot of time like this though:

how did we live without iphones?

I didn’t think this Echoplex show could get more stressful…but it did, even up until the music started. I had been locked out of getting tickets, but had finally secured one due to help from lots of people about a week before. This was such a hot ticket that even people who should have pull with getting on lists couldn’t do so for this show. Once the other shows were canceled and rescheduled, this became the only show some people could attend. And the Echoplex only holds 450 people.

hardrockchick and trzdnsmommie ready to go!

The person who bought my ticket was late, but luckily a good friend held a spot for me. Then security wouldn’t let me take my purse in because of the chains on it, so I had to leave it in the car and try to stuff things in my pocket, which meant no camera. Luckily, the line situation was made better because I got to see several old friends and meet some new ones that I’d known online for awhile but had never met in real life.

Let me take a moment to say that I’m touched by the people who came up to me over the course of this LA trip- once even in the Rainbow Room- to introduce themselves and say they read my site. It means a lot. I felt like a mini-celeb.

It surprised me when I went inside that I was able to take a spot on the rail at the extreme left side of the stage. No one wanted it; perhaps because it was in front of a huge stack of speakers- but I got good earplugs. The Echoplex is not meant to be a music venue for bands like this- the area in front of the stage probably only holds 200 people. I didn’t go to the back bar room, but I can tell you it can’t be ideal for watching a show. It’s interesting that this venue felt so much smaller than the slightly larger Bowery Ballroom, but the stage was bigger.

There was no point in trying to get merch. Some professional scalper types have decided to buy the merch in hordes and leave the show before the band even goes on and go sell them for ridiculous amounts on eBay. Ridiculous. None of this crap was happening at the NYC shows- everyone was so much more easygoing and not whipped up into this ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ mentality.

HEALTH took the stage and, boy, do they have energy. I was watching them jump around when a dark figure appeared at the door the band had entered through. I realize that I’m eye level with Trent Reznor while he watches the band. I was pleased to notice that, like myself, he rocks out a bit to the beat of the songs. He was standing there for a while until Gary Numan joined him- who seemed particularly dazzled by the performance. Coulda been the eyeliner though. HEALTH thanked Trent a couple times for inviting them back for these shows. I really enjoyed their performance. They are loud and are a busy band- all of them play multiple instruments and are constantly shifting things around. They are really into it as well. My girlfriend (who flew in for these shows, couldn’t get into Echoplex, and thus didn’t get to go to any shows) pointed out that its ironic that the opener is called HEALTH considering TR’s NINfluenza and JMJ’s mom.

During the changeover, I looked around and surveyed the crowd. It seemed that it was only the real fans that got in- but the mood wasn’t as happy/excited as the Bowery show. I could hear some of them talking about this potentially being their last show ever- hugging their friends and reliving memories. I looked further down the barrier towards the middle where my girlfriend and others I’ve come to know over the years are standing front and center- sleepless due to their near 72 hour wait (they started doing shifts in line on Friday), emotional, but still excited. That 15 feet of center rail at a NIN show has got to be some of the most valuable real estate in music. A cameraman sets up in front of the rail, and then oddly enough one came into the middle of the pit. I felt bad for everyone around him….and I don’t know how the cameraman did it. Humpty Dance played during the setup music…which I thought was odd, especially since there was a Burger King across the street.

When the band hit the stage and launched into ‘Somewhat Damaged’, I wished that I could think that we were getting The Fragile front to back, but the Gary Numan sighting proved that unlikely. By song three, I determined that this was going to be very similar to the Bowery setlist as well- a survey of all the albums. My spot obstructed any view of Ilan and most of JMJ, though I could peep at him between the speakers. But I was able to stay upright against the rail and had a great view of Robin and Reznor.

At first Reznor’s voice sounded really good, but it started to strain about a third of the way through. ‘The Frail’ into ‘The Wretched’ was the first highlight as it had been a while since I’d heard that.

The band seemed to be in a great mood considering everything that has happened over the past week. Trent was pulling out his moves for some of the songs, and changing up the words and endings of some tracks to either make them dirtier or make us giggle: excessive breathing at the end of ‘Discipline’ is one example. He talked a bit; apologizing for the situation with the shows, thanking everyone, and talking about how the venue needed to turn the AC on. It was hot in there, but nowhere near the Webster show.

It’s interesting that Trent is not throwing the prized tambourines anymore. Guess I missed my shot…

‘Down In It’ was another highlight for me. I heard it again at Bowery, but for some reason on that evening it sounded ‘rap-ier’ and fit the venue better. Plus I now know that he changes the lyrics to ‘I looked him right in the eye and Waved Goodbye‘, and I was able to wave at exactly that point.

Standing in front of the speakers allowed me to hear every single detail. When Robin would play the slide guitar, I could hear him set down the metal piece he wears on his finger at the end. It was also eerily quiet during most of the instrumentals- quiet in a super small space like this is different than arena quiet, which is never really that quiet.

Twice, a woman went crowd surfing in what looked like a wedding dress, bowing to the band when she came over. What a riot. Another crazy girl tried to sneak up in front of the barrier to potentially jump on stage, but her plans were thwarted. And yet another crazy crowdsurfer girl tripped over every single piece of the rail on her way out, bloopers style.

‘Metal’ and ‘I Die: You Die’ with Gary Numan was cool, even if it wasn’t a surprise. I have mixed feelings about the special guest thing. I think it’s a really cool thing when it’s truly a surprise, like the time I saw James Hetfield come out and sing ‘Rooster’ with Alice in Chains. Otherwise it kind of messes with the flow of the set. Numan is a funny little performer. I thought his NIN shirt was a nice touch.

For the encore, Trent launched into a song that got messed up…which I found out later would have been ‘Atmosphere’. It’s a shame he killed it- that would have been the one new one for me to hear. It was kind of funny to hear him go off about that not being the way to start an encore, and then turn around and kick the keyboard. It was the closest I’d ever seen NIN get to a fluid setlist as they chatted for a second and I could see Trent say ‘Dead Souls’. I’ve lucked out and seen this song a lot, but I know its special for many people. There were almost five cover songs in that setlist.

‘Hurt’ got me again at the end. This time, it had less to do with the moment and more to do with my personal state of mind. This week took a lot from me, and ‘Hurt’ was when it all hit. So, there I was, crying quietly at what was to be my last rail spot at a NIN show.

JMJ came around to wave…I never even saw Ilan through the whole show. I turned around and looked to see a lot of sad faces and drenched people. You could tell it was a lot of people’s last show, and emotions were high.

I knew that this Echoplex show could not meet all of the expectations bestowed upon it. It was by no means a bad show, but something about it felt wrong. It was not the bands fault; it was my own. I think that I personally couldn’t let go of thinking about everyone who wanted to be at this show, the stress of changing travel and not being able to go to the Henry Fonda show, plus some other personal stuff.

But, now I think I’ve got my head on straight and have all of that out of my system for the final show at the Wiltern.

Speaking of the final show….what will happen??? Will there be a mass orgy inside? A mass suicide after? Will Trent let us all hug him at the end? Will they play Pretty Hate Machine and Broken front to back, and then play every song they’ve never played? Will they play naked? Will I attend naked? Will I crowdsurf for the first and last time? One of these things is more likely than the others.

So I thought it’d be all over after Echoplex. This whole final tour thing has been like a break up- I keep thinking it’s over and NIN still finds its way back on my calendar. So Thursday night, I’ll have ex-sex with NIN one last time.

Setlist (from nin.com) And yes, no Echoplex at The Echoplex.

“Somewhat Damaged”
“The Beginning Of The End”
“The Collector”
“Discipline”
“March Of The Pigs”
“Something I Can Never Have”
“The Frail”
“The Wretched”
“Terrible Lie”
“Ruiner”
“Head Down”
“Burn”
“Gave Up”
“La Mer”
“Non-Entity”
“Gone, Still”
“The Big Come Down”
“The Way Out Is Through”
“Wish”
“Survivalism”
“Down In It”
“Metal” (Featuring Gary Numan)
“I Die: You Die” (Featuring Gary Numan)
“Physical”
“The Hand That Feeds”
“Head Like A Hole”
Encore
“Dead Souls”
“Hurt”

*I accidentally left my wristband in my hotel room, and I called and they dug it up and are mailing it to me. Another reason to love the Sunset Marquis.

My other NIN entries.

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

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

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 0 months 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

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

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 0 months 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

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My Life According to NIN  

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 0 months 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

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NIN/JA Tour Diary 9: Perspective & The Highlight Reel  

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 2 months ago.]

There had to be nine of these.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined everything that would happen to me over the course of six NIN/JA shows. They were highly anticipated, with expectations through the roof, and I was still blown away. I made new friends, crossed about five things off my bucket list, saw some of the best sets of my life, and, ultimately, found myself again. What does that mean? I started a new chapter in my life- one that won’t be easy, but is necessary.

Before the tour started, I chatted with several NIN fans separately about their hopes for this final tour. Almost all of them had never met the man. Despite years of following, many of us had never been lucky enough to say thank you in person. I think all of us were able to fulfill this wish, and help save a life along the way.

Over the course of my six shows, I think I met everyone in all three bands, plus a lot of the crew. Every single person was as nice as can be. I can’t imagine what it would be like to meet your idols and have them turn out to be assholes. Well, I met all of mine, and they only made me love them more.

This tour also made me realize how much technology is a part of my social life and aspiring career as a rock journalist. NIN : Access, Twitter, SMS, WordPress, YouTube, Flickr, NIN.com forums…..they all propped up my experience with the tour and allowed many of my experiences wouldn’t have happened without their existence.

There was only one thing that I expected that went unfulfilled- NIN + JA collaborations. I’m not sure why, but there is probably a good reason.

I also realized that vlogs aren’t for me. I’m cool to record bits and pieces of the shows, but I just can’t talk on camera very well…especially right after a set.

With that, I would like to go through the highlights that occurred over the course of my own little NIN/JA tour.

- Reading ninfan30′s tweets from the first show in West Palm Beach

Intro

Chula Vista
- Arriving at 7am in to be the sixth person in line. I fully expected lots more people.
- The mooning from a crew guy as a bus drove by
- The line cutters, and using NIN:Access to rat them out to the NIN camp, where JT came out and immediately booted them.
- The rabbit that ran across the amphitheater when we were about to be let in to the pit
- Getting near center rail for the first time ever
- Street Sweeper Social Club coming out to ‘California Love’
- The epic Trent guest appearance doing ‘Kick Out the Jams’ with SSSC
- Getting the SSSC setlist
- Terrible Lie had to be stopped and restarted with Trent saying, “It wouldn’t be a nine inch nail’s show without something fucking up!”
- Hearing ‘Metal’ for the first time with some interesting dance moves from Trent
- I’m Afraid of Americans
- Seeing Jane’s for the first time
- Being completely smashed in the pit up against the rail, and I’m pretty sure the guy behind me had an erection, and put his hand around my waist, but I was so packed in and tired I couldn’t do anything about it.
- The TR airport incident

Las Vegas
- Meeting up with my friends Araby and trzdnsmommie after doing the first show alone
- Making friends with Capital_M and KiMMY_L, who I had seen in Chula Vista, to unite in line strategry at The Pearl
- Starting the controversial list at 9pm the night before the Vegas show
- The feeling of being the first ones on that list
- Breaking the news of the list to people who started showing up later, and having to deal with a lot of bitching
- Playing penny slots until 4 in the morning, then again from 8-10a
- Getting that #2 wristband and getting to sleep
- Being led through the cavernous Pearl, and walking in and taking absolute center rail for the first time ever
- The smoke alarms going off before the NIN set
- Being amazed at how close we were to TR during that set
- Opening with Somewhat Damaged
- The Day the World Went Away
- Physical
- I Do Not Want This
- My favorite Jane’s set of the tour: song dedications, Perry’s anti-blog speeches, Perry’s speaker intimacy moment
- Backstage Pass #1

Santa Barbara
- Learning about the Eric donation, and deciding to split the $1K one with trzdnsmommie
- Driving to the Santa Barbara Bowl, and trying to find where to park and driving straight up into the venue by the buses
- Drinking vodka in line- pretty much the only show I drank at
- Doing second row center in heeled boots and getting massacred during the pit
- The brutal tambourine fight that caused JT to pull a guy out by his ear
- Trent laying on top of some friends in the crowd during Piggy
- “Brunch with NIN”
- A crowd surfer fell on my head during Jane’s- was bound to happen someday!
- Driving home 5 hours and starting to hallucinate

Mountain View
- VIP in Mountain View: Backstage Pass #2, rounding the corner for soundcheck, jamming out to four NIN songs and three SSSC songs during soundcheck
- Meeting TR for the second time and having him remember the airport incident, finally getting my PHM cover signed, meeting the rest of the band, and finally getting a picture
- Seeing SSSC on their way onto the stage and having Tom tell me that he saw me rocking out at their soundcheck
- Watching NIN take the stage from backstage
- Epic performance of Piggy
- Watching Jane’s from backstage

Part 3 Intro

Camden
- Lost in NJ w/ bluelily425- from Philly to Camden, Camden to Philly, Philly to Brooklyn, Brooklyn to Holmdel, and Holmdel to Brooklyn. All GPS failure, and full HRC meltdowns.
- Backstage pass #3- thanks to Lynn and her donation for Eric
- Watching Bill get his haircut in the production office
- Meeting TR for the third time
- Hugs from the band
- The TR short and tall pictures
- Eating cheesesteak with NIN fans listening to Closer
- Watching NIN from backstage
- Breaking Christine’s NIN cherry
- Catfight in the lobby

Holmdel
- Crazy traffic getting into the venue + the parking lots full of nailgaters that looked like they were following The Dead
- Backstage Pass #4
- Making someone’s day with extra tickets
- Running into Amanda Palmer backstage
- Epic final NIN set for me- Last, Reptile, tears over Hurt
- The moment the usually still Christine threw a fist in the air during MotP…I knew she was hooked
- Fighting with various security guards trying to tell them I’m supposed to get on the stage during Jane’s
- My second favorite Jane’s set
- Pulling an all nighter afterwards to catch my flight home

Were you there? Please leave comments and let me know about your highlights from the shows- I’d love to read them!

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

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NIN/JA Tour Diary 8: Last in Holmdel, 6/6/09  

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 2 months ago.]

It was to be the final show.

I slept like a baby in Philly, woke up late, and it was at this point we realized that we would need a place to get ready before the show tonight. So we decided to go back to Christine’s place in Brooklyn before going on to Holmdel. The GPS totally fucked us, at one point having us leave the freeway and go to a dead end road by a river. It was like it was taunting us to off ourselves or something. The rental car air conditioning didn’t work, and it was hot and we were totally stressed out. We finally made it back and had to quickly get ready and hit the road again….where we proceeded to get lost again…..and then stuck in traffic.

The traffic into the venue was really bad. We barely made it into the VIP lot at 7:30. I had to stop at will call to pick up some passes, and heard SSSC hit the stage. I had two extra tickets, which I gave away to some people who were desperately looking. I love being able to do that- I always tell people to pay it forward! I’ve had such good luck this tour, I try to help out others when I can.

So we essentially made it to our seats at the same point as yesterday, missing the first couple songs. But, man, the seats were great! I paid a lot for them…but it was worth it. The stage was curved, which gave the whole thing a different vibe. The weather was nice and warm, too. SSSC killed it, as usual. I could watch Boots dance all day. Perkins came out and was playing with the drum set a little.

Between sets, we went backstage for a bit and Christine ran into Debbie Harry, and then we both ran into Amanda Palmer by the restroom. Interesting…

We got back to our seats partway into Pinion/Wish. It was red leather pants night! The setlist was just amazing…I had asked for ‘Last’ at my final show, and I got it. When it started, it felt unreal…is it really happening? Am I hearing things? I full on freaked out the whole set, I felt bad for the people with cameras behind me. I barely filmed or took pictures because I didn’t want to miss a minute. My one remaining thing I wanted was a tambourine, and one was thrown near me but not close enough….oh well. It’ll be my goal for the reunion tour!

I was really overwhelmed with emotion this time. Reptile, Non-Entity, La Mer, Mr. Self Destruct (I sing ‘Little Miss Self Destruct’)…I was grabbing onto Christine all wild eyed going “oh…my…god….WOW!!!!” I just let it all out. TR made a small speech about how this was the last tour for a while, and that essentially, when he was planning it he thought of playing amphitheaters under weather conditions like this- as the sun goes down. The sun was setting on my final NIN set and there was a full moon! It was like being in a movie….I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

*thanks to the girl behind us that did the mini photo shoot to capture this shot- and apologies to those around us who were annoyed.

And then it came time for Hurt. Normally, I do not get emotional during Hurt. The only NIN song that makes me cry when I hear it live is SICNH, which I didn’t hear on this tour and I’m glad because I would have ruined my makeup for sure. But this time, Hurt got me. And it’s getting me right now….

There has been much discussion as to why Jane’s is closing, but on a personal level, they have become my medicine to get me over the NIN set. NIN has been then soundtrack for my life, and every time I see them, I’m reminded of a lot of dark times.

Tonight I was supposed to be backstage for the Jane’s set, but security would not let us back there. So I missed the beginning of ‘Three Days’ running back to my seat. Luckily it is ten minutes long.

At first I was pissed, but in reality, I enjoy shows much more out front, and my seats were so good that I was actually quite pleased that things turned out the way they did. The stage setup worked really well for them- Perry, Dave, and Eric seemed to use every inch of it. I’m increasingly impressed by how personal the guys make the performance to those of us up front. Perry is like the host of a party, checking in on his guests. Dave impresses with his ability to multitask while shredding. I’ve always read about Eric’s importance with the band- the bass driven songs and his talent as a musician, but witnessing it is a whole other affair. And Steven is just a different kind of drummer altogether- really unclassifiable in my opinion.

The most interesting thing about Jane’s to me is that these four guys couldn’t be more different from each other. And when playing, there are four little worlds going on up there. But there is something about the way that they fit together that creates some beautiful chemistry.

‘Three Days’ and ‘Then She Did’ will always hold a special place in my heart, but on this particular evening I enjoyed ‘Whores’, ‘Ocean Size’, ‘Mountain Song’ and ‘Summertime Rolls’ the most. There were a lot of Jane’s fans that moved down to the front during their set, and security was lax about letting them stand in the aisle and squish into rows, which was pretty annoying. But, their energy was really good. The ladies all swarm to try to get to Dave. Towards the end, some drunken guy started hopping over seats to try to get to Perry.

‘Jane Says’ was bittersweet. Perry poured wine into the cups of some people near me. I kinda teared up a bit here, too. This is it. The end, my friend.

“I’ve never been in love
I don’t know what it is
Only knows if someone wants her
I want them if they want me
I only know they want me”

But Jane’s has such a great positive energy that I pulled through.

I decided to stay up all night to catch my 9am flight back to SF. At about 4am, I was almost convinced to stay for Jones Beach…but unfortunately I am a responsible person . I ate my first real meal of the weekend at 4:30am, and watched the sun rise in Manhattan.

Tomorrow, look for a recap of the NIN/JA journey. It’s going to be a gusher.

NIN setlist:
Pinion
Wish
Last
Discipline
March of the Pigs
Reptile
Meet Your Master
Gave Up
La Mer
Non-Entity
The Way Out Is Through
Mr. Self Destruct
1,000,000
Echoplex
Survivalism
The Good Soldier
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Hurt

Jane’s Setlist:
Three Days
Whores
Ain’t No Right
Pigs In Zen
Then She Did…
Up The Beach
Mountain Song
Been Caught Stealing
Obvious
Ocean Size
Ted, Just Admit it…
Summertime Rolls
Stop!
Jane Says

Stats tracker:

Combined waiting time for six shows: 32.75 hours (Chula: 7am-7pm, Las Vegas: 9pm-4am, 7am-10am, 6pm-8pm, Santa Barbara: 1p-4:30p, Shoreline: 4-4:30p, Camden: 2:45-7:30p, Holmdel- 0)
Number in line- Chula: #6, Vegas: #2, Santa Barbara: #30ish?, MV: didn’t matter!, Camden- didn’t matter!, Holmdel- didn’t matter!
Total number of times seeing NIN: 15
Total number of times seeing Jane’s: 6

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

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