All the Concerts Fit to Print

I forgot how much fun the people watching is at shows like this. Lots of black. Lots of style.

I missed Autolux, the first opener. Queens of the Stone Age were next. They were decent. Metal with shades of glam and Pink Floyd. They did a long set for an opener. They had pretty liberal use of the lights too. You don't see that much.

Nine Inch Nails went on a little before 9:30 and finished at 11:00. They started the show behind a sheer curtain. They had LED effects, and a screen behind the stage. In the middle of the show, they dropped the curtain again, and projected film onto it. The first film started with bacteria swarming, then moved up in scale to bugs, and then fish, birds, grass and waves. The next juxtaposed scenes of war and death with money, happy couples, a happy President Bush and suburbia.

Pinion led off the show, but I think they remixed it. I was disappointed not to hear "The Wretched," but they played it, so I just didn't recognize it. "Wish" was my favorite.

The sound was good. I was just in front of the sound board, and it was packed. I heard people were getting hurt up front, including a security guy who got hit with a mic stand. The guitarist was a wildman. I guess the drummer was a replacement, but he was pretty damn good. Some of the drum tracks were recorded, but most were him.

( setlist )

I went to this show by myself. Phil must still have been away to school.

Pop Will Eat Itself (PWEI, pronounced "pee-wee", as someone nearby me liked to shout) was the opener. They were okay.

It was pretty packed out on the floor. Then the music started. "Pinion", which led into the raw power of "Mr. Self Destruct". The audience went wild. There was no mosh pit, there was just one giant mosh. Nothing but a huge mass of bodies pushing and shoving. It was awesome!

Setlist:
1. Pinion
2. Mr. Self Destruct
3. Sin
4. March of the Pigs
5. Piggy
6. Reptile
7. Gave Up
8. Happiness in Slavery
9. Eraser
10. Hurt
11. The Downward Spiral
12. Wish
13. Suck
14. Physical
15. Down In It
16. Head Like a Hole
Encore:
17. Closer
18. Dead Souls
19. I Do Not Want This
20. Something I Can Never Have
Since the previous show, they put "Happiness In Slavery" back in, but before "Eraser" rather than after, and they replaced "Ruiner" with "Physical". Assuming these setlists are accurate.

Me, Phil, Chuck and Nick at The Riverside. General admission, $23.50. They had pulled the seats out, down front, so that's where we were.

Marilyn Manson opened the show. That was the first time I'd seen anything like them. I vividly recall Manson's long rubber schlong hanging off the front of his shorts. The second band was Courtney Love's Hole. Wait, that doesn't sound right... no, it does sound about right.

NIN began with "Pinion" starting low. As people caught on, the tension rose, and people made a beeline for the stage. Mass chaos on the floor when "Wish" hit. It was great. They played all their great songs from PHM, Broken and Spiral. I recall "Hurt" with black and white scenes of decay projected on the band and backdrop.

I didn't recall, until Phil reminded me, that we felt the set was cut short. Maybe due to a technical problem. That's why we decided we should go see them in Madison, the following month. The setlist I found online bears this out. There was no encore.

1 Pinion
2 Mr. Self Destruct
3 Sin
4 March of the Pigs
5 Piggy
6 Reptile
7 Gave Up
8 Happiness in Slavery
9 Eraser
10 Hurt
11 The Downward Spiral
12 Wish
13 Suck
14 Ruiner
15 Down In It
16 Head Like a Hole