last night's show: nin at house of blues, atlantic city
These are just my raw impressions on waking the next morning. Forgot to bring my own camera, but I'm sure there will be plenty of photos online. Rob Sheridan was actually standing about two feet away taking photos from the balcony rail, so his will be better than mine would be anyway! Plus, he gets to use a professional camera....

It was an excellent show. I am hoarse and deaf, and in typical NJ fashion we nearly died on the highway getting there, but it was completely worth it.


The opening band, HEALTH, was so much better suited as an opener for NIN than Does it Offend You, Yeah? was. They came out on stage and burst into a noise that I can only describe as blinding. The bassist, in center stage, was tall and lanky with long hair and was dancing and thrashing like a madman. The drummer laid down some amazing, heavy beats, and the singer alternated between a distorted yell and Thom Yorke-like crooning. The only CD I have of theirs is their latest, a remix album, and obviously that was a tactical error on my part - must get my hands on some of their heavier stuff. Looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow night.

Of course all of this did not prevent the loser behind me from booing HEALTH, because as he told his date, he had never heard of them. Grr. There was also some drunk, rich idiot in the row in front of us (we were 2nd row center balcony), making a complete ass of himself until eventually it became clear that he and the girls he was with did not have tickets for those seats. The guy next to me pointed that fact out to security, who made the guy go to his actual seat (duh). The asshole actually threatened the guy next to me as he was leaving, saying "I'll take care of you later" like this was some sort of bad after-school special and not a freaking NIN show. So hopefully nothing came of that threat.

So NIN came out and of course the crowd went nuts. I'm not good at remembering set lists, but I'm sure NIN.com has one if anyone wants that. They did play "The Collector" and "Starfuckers," neither of which I think they've been playing on this tour. They also played "Down In It," which Trent introduced as their "first single." Trent was a little talkative, which is always nice. He mentioned that they've been doing a big tour (everyone cheered) and that by halfway through the show the robots have usually taken over and the band is back stage. Then he said that there was "no faking it tonight." Ah, the Trent LOLZ. Also today is apparently Robin Finck's birthday, and Trent told us all to wish him a happy birthday. Trent said Robin was turning 22, and Josh - right on cue - did a rimshot.

Playing a lot of the same songs night after night must get annoying at times. But, everything last night had some extra freshness and energy in it. Trent also looked very healthy compared to the IZOD Center show a couple of months ago (where he seemed like he had a cold), which may account for some of the energy. It also seemed like it was a nice change of pace for everyone to be able to rock out without worrying about lighting cues, screens, etc.

Peter Murphy of Bauhaus did a guest appearance and sang "Reptile." Trent spoke highly of Peter and said that he had invited NIN on a tour with them when they were starting out, and that Peter had been a great friend ever since. Later, he said that Peter was "probably hanging upside-down somewhere." Heh.

What else... Trent is a sexy beast as always... holding the microphone in a, ahem, suggestive way, rubbing his lower abs under his shirt. Enough to make someone feel lightheaded. Lucky for Trent, I'm married and therefore will not be finding my way backstage.

And I guess that's about it. Looking forward to tomorrow's big, complex, lighted show!! I love both formats - can't really go wrong as long as it's NIN.

Edited to add: Someone from the NIN boards posted this, which was very cool and I forgot to mention.

Trent had a little speech between Closer & Discipline, mentioned all the "Super Fans" and how they have been giving him shit for "fucking up the words for closer", then asked if anyone knew the words, tossed the mic to a fan in the audience who began "Through every forest..." at which point he made the gesture for the guy to give back the mic. Couldn't hear what he said after that, but then in Discipline he sang that whole part.