jane q. public

DISCLAIMER TO ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE MY MOM: I would like to request, Mom, that you do not read this, and instead, (I’m taking a page from Newscoma’s book here) go and look at this picture of a scary doll.

The reality of this happening (after I have most likely piqued your interest) is fleeting, I’m sure, but you were warned.

On with it…

About a month ago I randomly decided to buy tickets to the Nine Inch Nails show here in town on Halloween. Starting at age 12, I was a die-hard fan, and Trent Reznor was the man of my dreams. My interest had waned by the time The Fragile was released, so I hadn’t paid much attention since. Buying the tickets was just done on a whim (and a costly one, at that).

My expectations for the music weren’t incredibly high, but I knew from the first time I’d seen a NIN show (September 13, 1994 at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym with Marilyn Manson and The Jim Rose Circus – still the best show I’ve ever seen) that the stage show would be good.

I wasn’t disappointed.

I was entirely unfamiliar with the opening act, HEALTH, and wasn’t particularly interested in seeing them play. I wrongly guessed that they’d probably be some shitty goth band, but was pleasantly surprised when they weren’t. I guess they were bordering on being a noise band, but a little bit more post-punk. They were energetic and the base and kick drum (and crazy tribal drum thing) were so strong I could feel it in my chest. It kind of sucked me in, so after a little deliberation, I decided that I enjoyed them.

When it was time for NIN, I surprised myself with how excited I was. First of all, I was 12-years-old all over again and googly-eyed over Trent Reznor. Whether or not you like the music, you kind of have to admit that the man works hard and is pretty much a genius. Oh, and he’s totally do-able.

Which brings me to what really got to me during the show.

Sex.

His music just drips with sex. Whether it’s an overtly sexual song like “Closer” or some subtle, haunting tune that lilts off of the Ghosts I-IV album, it all just seems pitch-perfect for sex.   Some of it is made for the romantic love stuff, some of it for, well… fucking.

I had a lot more to say on that line, but luckily, it’s all left my brain in the distractions of the weekend, but yeah: Nine Inch Nails = sex.

Anyway, the lighting* and stagecraft was phenomenal. I’m not big on concert DVDs, but I wouldn’t mind finding one of the Lights in the Sky tour simply because it was so visually stunning. Plus, I have a short attention span, so the optical stimulus was much appreciated. Not that Reznor wasn’t stimulus enough.

I was rapt the entire time, even with songs I didn’t know, just because everything was so beautifully presented. So my final verdict is: AWESOME.

Predictably, a great deal of the audience was highly irritating. It just so happens that we found ourselves standing in front of a white trash family – I’ve been describing them as people who took a break from their meth lab in Kentucky to come to the show – who kept getting drunker and rowdier in the lead up to NIN taking the stage.

As soon as it started, they started a pit, and damn it if that didn’t irritate the living shit out of me. I explained to my friends later that I identified the moment that I truly knew I was old in the middle of the show: when I realized that I no longer thought it was cool when someone started a pit, but was instead annoyed because I wanted “to see the show.” So, yeah, I guess I’m a buzzkill like that, but whatever.

When it was all over, I was hurting and tired, but happy. We headed to Belcourt after that for the requisite viewing of RHPS, which was fun even if I was yawning the whole time.

Halloween was a success.

I took some pictures from the show, none of which turned out particularly well, but they might give you a slight idea of what it looked like (though they do the real thing ZERO justice).  Click the image below to view the photo set on Flickr.  Also, check out the band’s Flickr set of photos from the tour, which are 700 billion times better.

click to view the set

*In between a couple of the encore songs, my heartthrob decided to speak to the crowd. He said that the guy that handled the lights had gone missing earlier in the day and they hadn’t been able to locate him, so they were winging it. In my estimation, they did a fabulous job. I hope they found their guy, though. That was a little creepy.

• Here’s what The Tennessean had to say about Reznor’s visit.

If you can still get tickets, come see my friends do Rocky Horror Picture Show at Belcourt tonight!

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Sort of related: Silence Isn’t Golden: Feel Good Friday–Happy Halloween!

Because I’m horrible at moderation (you should’ve seen me in my beer days!), today I’m giving you an incredibly long one for Feel Good Friday, plus two honorable mention links.  I also can’t help but think that, as a huge music fan and a huge fan of all things horror, I’m forgetting something totally brilliant [EDITED TO ADD: GingerSnaps found the totally brilliant one], but I’m working with an election-fried brain.

Here it is – an early childhood favorite.  When I was a little girl, I loved Jacko.  MTV and I were born in the same year, and I grew up watching it (before they quit playing music videos).  Mom taped the “Thriller” video for me (I may have been the only toddler who could identify Vincent Price), and I loved to watch it, but I always had to sit in somebody’s lap and hold on tight to watch… (also, I called it “Friller” and talked about “the funk of forty fowsend years”) – Here it is in its full nearly 14-minute glory:

HONORABLE MENTION:

• The Ramones – Pet Sematary (love the Ramones, love the song, love the movie, love that I couldn’t spell “cemetery” as a kid because of this)
• The Misfits – Halloween (they have plenty of appropriate songs, but this is the most obvious choice)

NOW GIMME SOME CANDY!

Mom’s boyfriend killed Bambi’s mother last week, and sent along a piece of her for Sully to enjoy – much to my horror.  Anyway, happy early Halloween!  (and don’t call PETA – I didn’t do it)

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CRAZY EAR! (notice hoof part is now missing)

vicious beast!

so over it

From an e-mail at work:

So here’s what you’re doing on Halloween: