As I type this, I am listening to a recently compiled playlist, an exact replica of NIN's set from last night. But let me explain to you why June 18th, 2006 was the best day ever.
Around 12 AM. Justin, Tom, Casey, Rob and I are sleeping over Jay's house, and having a blast. DDR, screwing around outside, general tomfoolery. It was a hell of a sequel to Jay's party earlier the day before. This continued until aound 4 AM, when everyone else decided to turn in. I myself stayed up for another hour and typed up my last blog, before turning in.
9:30ish. At this point, I wake up, staring at Jay's ceiling, back throbbing with pain because I had decided to sleep on a chair positioned at a very strange angle. Soon after this, everyone else slowly regained their consciousness, and more general tomfoolery took place until noon, when I headed home to prepare for the amazing day ahead of me.
3:30. Showered, dressed, amped. Rob and Casey show up at my house en route to Saratoga. We get onto the road around 4, fun and good times in the car follow this. About an hour and a half later, we arrive early at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, SPAC for short, now just hours from what could be the most amazing show of all time (biased? Maybe).
Our arrival it met by the typical concert scenario: Tons of very freaky looking people, people illegally selling shirts for a discounted price in order to make a quick buck, and of course, drugs. It only took about five minutes of walking around to notice a small baggy of pills on the ground. Interesting...
Soon after, I pickup a concert shirt (full pricefrom a legal vendor, bitches) and quickly put it on, hooking my beautiful but worn Pretty Hate Machine T around my waist. Rob and Casey pick up some not-so-fairly priced foodstuffs, and then we attempt to even out the costs with free water - free for a reason. I decide on Pepsi instead, and after a quick bathroom break it is very apparent that the first stage act, Peaches, has already begun her routine. We arrive toour seats about halfway through the first song.
The following is going to make it seem like I was not a fan of the act of Peaches. Don't get me wrong. She had a great backup band, and she has a great voice. The sound is very good. The subject matter, however... well, let's just say that I disagree with the sentiment that there are two boys for every girl. The scantily clad electropop artist with the very eighties hair finished her set in around half an hour to fourty minutes - I can't say much about it in a very detailed manor, because I haven't heard all that much of her stuff to recognize it, but it was a good set. I may or may not pick up Impeach My Bush, and I may or may not have already downloaded the song Fuck The Pain Away...
I was kind of surprised how long it took to set up for Bauhaus, but I must say they set the stage for their performance very well, with eerie Latin sounding chanting, smoke machines, and set of orange lights that gave an image VERY close to that of the shine of a full moon on a very foggy night. Finally, the band took the stage, and I must say that they have a very unique look. I was kind of reminded of The Wall, the sheer image of each member of the band made me think I was going to be coaxed into a genocide. I half expected them to stop and say "Are there any queers in the audience tonight Get them up against the wall!" Once again, I can't personally say much for their set, because I'd never listened to them before this show (with the exception of the song Crowds, but they didn't play it live). All I can say is that I thought they had a very great sound, the vocalist had a range that any singer would be proud to posess, and the band complimented it in a duo almost as perfect as peanut butter and jelly. Then again, I may just be biased because the vampiric lead singer brainwashed me, but I thought it was truly amazing, and will personally be looking into buying a CD or two of theirs in the very, very near future.
The conclusion of their set brought to me the chilling realization that at that very moment, I was only a dozen or two yards from Trent Reznor, a man who I would consider to be the closest living thing to God that actually exists - he has the all powerful ability to make you feel any emotion, the all knowing thoughtful intellience to make any song sound like it was written for every listener personally. It's almost chilling how great he is. We took a short "intermission" while they set up, walking out of the seating area onto a ramp leading into the venue. After musing at the people below, we ventured back to our seats, and I saw something that at the time I could only percieve at that moment as sucky (although I was soon proven mistaken) - a large metal wall that you would recognize if you've ever ventured into the mall after hours and seen a closed store - seperating the stage from the arena.
At that point, I thought it was a safety precaution, but also as stupid because the intersecting bars very much obstructed the view of the band. Much to my delight, however, I WAS mistaken... because as the perfect accent to the screens in the back of the stage, this wall of sorts actually had lights installed in it to create visualizations! Yes! A pool filling up with red water, blood cells, intersecting growing blue weeds and vines, it was one big Windows Media Player visualization! And it was also folded away above the stage during certain songs as well, so it wasn't just a big eyesore.
Now, I could go into song by song detail about the show, but I won't. I'll give a quick overview of the set and then give you a set list at the end. Easier for all.
Trent Reznor, decked in an all black outfit destined to become soaked in sweat, literally drenched, played the audience through a list of some of Nine Inch Nails' most prominent songs - the popular singles, the obscure diamonds unmined, even a few beautiful eyboard interludes (La Mer, anyone?) I find it so amazing the songs chosen to be played, because about half of them are NIN songs that I've felt personally attached to and have helped me through some really rough times. The songs blended together personally, as if they belonged on a CD together, or even just one long track with several different moods.This clashing with the almost hypnotic aforementioned special effects and the fact that the indoor/outdoor arena, and the fact that, in the words of Trent himself "It. Is. So. Fuck. Ing. Hot.", could only leave one with a feeling of complete spiritual wholeness- as if it was an alternate reality in itself where the universe was one and everything made sense. And the songs were played so perfectly! Aside from a few hinderences in the forms of technical problems (which could only mean one thing - SMASHING!) the band played perfectly on cue, and unlike the problems experienced with Bauhaus where the singer had to sturggle to maintain a volume on level with the band, Trent and Company were like a very well oiled machine, blasting through the set with an air of attitude that could only be described as calm, expectant mayhem but with a physical appeance of "we're about to have an orgy of vomit, spasms, and eventually death". How they do it I will never know. Trent himself looked like he sweat more liquid than that which was in the around a dozen bottles of water tossed into the crowd.
As a perfect finish to the show, after an amazing rendition of Head Like A Hole, the steel wall of doom that I thought was going to cause nothing but problems lowered one more time. This time, not to deliver a fancy, flashy animation, but simply the three letters that had brought this crowd of freaks and weirdos together for two hours...
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After a huge standing ovation, the arena of people spilled out rapidly. We made a beeline for the front entrance, stopping only for some final souveniers: I picked up a Saratoga concert poster, Rob, our newest Nine Inch Nails fan got himself a tour shirt, and Casey picked up a Bauhaus T, amazing in it's own right and a great homage to a band that we all agreed was worth getting into. A few short hours later, and finally some sleep was to be had, a night that will not soon be forgotten behind us but never truly out of our thoughts.
NIN Set List, In Order:
Somewhat Damaged
You Know What You Are?
Terrible Lie
March Of The Pigs
Something I Can Never Have
Closer
Burn
Gave Up
Help Me I Am In Hell
Non Entity
Only
Wish
The Way Out Is Through
La Mer
Into The Void
The Big Come Down
Reptile
Suck
Down In It
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
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Topic: Peaches, Bauhaus, NIN rocked my face off, says local Hobo. (Read 12670 times)