[kj] (OT) NIN

[Brendan]

Oh please don't get me going about RHCP, can't stand em. NIN I can still
listen to, but most of RHCP gives me the total shits.


> I think I would have to agree that the Lollapalooser tours and bands like

> Jane's, NIN (plus RHCP, RATM etc etc) did have a hefty influence on the US

> alternative scene...

>

> --- On Fri, 20/2/09, Brendan <bq at soundgardener.co.nz> wrote:

>

> From: Brendan <bq at soundgardener.co.nz>

> Subject: Re: [kj] (OT) NIN

> To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)"

> <gathering at misera.net>

> Date: Friday, 20 February, 2009, 1:54 AM

>

> Trentnor reckons he invented alternative music, Lollapaloser, and paved

> the way for Nirvana:

>

> http://www.nin.com/

>

>>

>> I read in one review that Trent Reznor is an heir to a large fortune.  I

>> am not saying money is happiness, but it does make a nice down payment.

>> Do any of the musos floating around here know what he is heir to?  It is

>> something electrical (I am *so* technical in my descriptions, I

>> know)........

>>

>>> Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:37:48 +1300

>>> From: bq at soundgardener.co.nz

>>> To: gathering at misera.net

>>> Subject: Re: [kj] (OT) Jane's Addiction at Echoplex in LA Last

> Night

>>>

>>> Gonna be 'interesting' to see how the NIN / Jane's

> Addiction shows pan

>>> out.

>>>

>>> My impressions of last night's NIN gig:

>>>

>>> Meh. With the emphasis on the 'eh'.

>>>

>>> I TRIED to like NIN. I went to all the effort of stealing

> Trentnor's

>>> life's work, listening to it on train and plane journeys, walking

> in to

>>> work and feeling incongruously anti-social (and anachronistic) while

>>> docile passersby passed by, oblivious to the fact that I was listening

>>> to

>>> something that sounded like a hardcore remake of the Metropolis

>>> soundtrack

>>> (1994 Crack Remix).

>>>

>>> ...familiarised myself with Pretty Hate Machine (I passed on the 2/3

> of

>>> his album collection where he remixes his own stuff…yawn), which I

> had

>>> never picked up before because of the awful name.

>>>

>>> So I was relatively familiar with NIN, at least moreso than

> previously,

>>> when my appreciation was limited to the Quake soundtrack (sounds like

>>> Tool

>>> lite) and "that song that Johnny Cash does better." And

> Perfect

>>> Drug...which always had me scratching my head as to why it was on such

>>> high rotate. (Surely these guys do better stuff than this?)

>>>

>>> The opening band's promo photo looked so shit I didn't even

> bother

>>> listening to anything online to see what they were like. (This

>>> admittedly

>>> renders the rest of my review useless due to extreme prejudice but

>>> hey...just being honest. Don't pretend you're not the same).

>>>

>>> NIN - sound quality was mildly mucky, not awful, and probably not

> their

>>> fault. Smallish crowd for the venue (half to two thirds of the ~10 000

>>> seat venue filled). Good light show, basic but good impact.

>>> Overall...some

>>> pretty solid material. A fair bit of it sounds samey to me, and I

> really

>>> wouldn’t rate them up there with their 90s contemporaries

> (Soundgarden,

>>> Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Ministry) for impact, depth, breadth,

> or

>>> range. Anyway, a *relatively* solid gig, but a few things gave away

> that

>>> it was a phone-in, in a disappointing way. Practically no

>>> acknowledgement

>>> of the crowd, no encore, and “this is probably going to be our last

> show

>>> in New Zealand" quoth Trentnor half-way through, in one of the

> perhaps

>>> two

>>> times he deigned to address the audience. Seemed to fuck half the

>>> audience

>>> off, and rightly so. That was it, not "hey this might be the last

> time I

>>> play here so let's rip shit up." More like..."this is

> probably the last

>>> time I'm gonna fuck you up the ass, not sure if I can come,

> anyway, just

>>> thought I'd share...FYI. Now breathe out and clench."

>>>

>>> Yeah no worries, thanks for the newsflash, it's certainly gonna be

> the

>>> last time you get any money from me (I bought 2 tix), and a lot of

>>> others

>>> in the crowd like me who have seen better, more considerate bands try

> to

>>> disguise a phone-in, or dredge up enough energy from the crowd to find

>>> some reason to enjoy being there.

>>>

>>> No encore despite most of the crowd giving it heaps for 10 mins,

> futiley

>>> as the stage was dismantled immediately the black-clad phoners in

> left.

>>>

>>> That was the more objective impression. This is what part of me really

>>> thinks:

>>>

>>> Go home and polish your Grammys and play Hurt to yourself on your

> synth

>>> you never-really-has-been. There's a reason I wasn't into NIN

> and I'm

>>> glad

>>> I had my suspicions confirmed. 80% of their songs sound the same. Sub

>>> par

>>> lyrics, predictable anthems for 14-year old sexually ambivalent teens

> to

>>> half-heartedly self-harm to in the privacy of their bedrooms in

> between

>>> Evanescence CDs.

>>>

>>> Note to self: Don't ever bend over backwards trying to like

> something

>>> you

>>> don't.

>>>

>>> > Jane's Addiction, reunited with original bass player Eric

> Avery has

>>> been

>>> > doing a few low key warm-up bar and club shows in LA the past few

>>> months

>>> > before they go out on tour with Nine Inch Nails in late Spring. I

>>> caught

>>> > last night's show at the Echoplex club which was their third

>>> appearance

>>> > together since all four members began working together again.

>>> >

>>> > It turned out to be an excellent if short show, mostly better

> than the

>>> > tiny

>>> > El Cid bar show #2 which I caught last December. Only things I

> think

>>> El

>>> > Cid

>>> > was marginally better was being a tiny club, much more intense

> energy

>>> from

>>> > the crowd that show. I think Perry sounded better there as well.

>>> >

>>> > It had been raining really hard much of the day in Southern

> California

>>> and

>>> > I

>>> > was really on the fence about going or not right up to about 6pm.

> I

>>> went

>>> > for it and got to the Echoplex (in Echo Park) around 8:15 and a

> huge

>>> line

>>> > of 200 - 300 people was winding along the building and it quickly

>>> because

>>> > obvious some people didn't have or even know about the RSVP

> thing.

>>> Light

>>> > rain had just stopped and it was cool but at least dry. The line

>>> started

>>> > moving as they left small groups of about 10 - 15 people in at a

> time

>>> to

>>> > get

>>> > their ID checked for a wristband, then get their ID checked

> against a

>>> list

>>> > at the door from the website registration rsvps. Saw a couple

> people

>>> > turned

>>> > away in front of me but later saw them inside so its possible

> they had

>>> > enough room for people who basically walked up to see the show

> after

>>> the

>>> > majority of RSVP'ers got in. Considering my own feelings this

> method

>>> of

>>> > getting people in the show could have turned into a real mess, it

>>> seems

>>> > like

>>> > it turned out to be well run with few problems.

>>> >

>>> > My first time at Echoplex. Kind of a weird room, the mixing desk

> kinda

>>> > bisects the club in half so if your in the back, you gotta stand

> on

>>> some

>>> > boxes to get a decent view. Pretty laid back, almost too mellow

> of a

>>> > crowd

>>> > especially for the opening band "Dot," which was kind

> of a more

>>> ambient,

>>> > dissonant noise version of Secret Machines. Band shows some

> promise,

>>> but

>>> > the singer was hardly audible, partly because he rarely projected

>>> himself

>>> > but moreso because the vocals were mixed way too far down (same

> for

>>> Perry

>>> > during Jane's set). They got a decent response from the

> crowd, more

>>> > respect

>>> > than actual adoration. Frankly, I thought they were boring.

>>> >

>>> > There was a long wait, made somewhat manageable by the selections

>>> whoever

>>> > was DJ'ing played a good amount of Killing Joke

> ("Change"), Bauhaus,

>>> > Cramps

>>> > ("New Kind Of Kick" got a huge response), Bowie and a

> few other favs

>>> on

>>> > the

>>> > PA.

>>> >

>>> > About 11:15, Jane's strolled on the stage and ground into Up

> The

>>> Beach. I

>>> > think it was played half a step down and a bit slower. Eric had

> more

>>> room

>>> > to

>>> > prowl and stomp tonight so he'd either be doing his tribal

> stomp to

>>> songs

>>> > like Mountain Song or Ocean Size or locked into his zone often

> staring

>>> up

>>> > at

>>> > the ceiling playing Pigs in Zen. Tonight, Dave was more on the

> mark

>>> most

>>> > of

>>> > the show that the 2nd show, Perkins was simply 100% a precision

> human

>>> > piledriver. The man is simply an incredible drummer. Perry

>>> unfortunately

>>> > I

>>> > have to say was the weak link. Not a lot of power in his voice,

> didn't

>>> > really make a lot of use of his little echo toolbox and took a

> lot

>>> longer

>>> > than the rest of the band to loosen up as the set progressed. I

> will

>>> say

>>> > when they got to Been Caught Stealing, he was up with the rest of

> the

>>> band

>>> > and loosened up enough to bullshit and introduce most of the

> remaining

>>> > songs.

>>> >

>>> > I do think in a lot of ways this reunion, especially how Perry

> carries

>>> > himself these days reminds me of the recent David Lee Roth/Van

> Halen

>>> > reunion

>>> > in the way both frontmen have dropped the more manic, physical

> aspect

>>> of

>>> > their stage persona due to age and are more like Vegas car

> dealers

>>> doing

>>> > their shtick for the rubes. At times, Perry was genuinely funny

> but

>>> when

>>> > he

>>> > used forced, awkward analogies to introduce each of the last few

>>> songs, it

>>> > got hackneyed.

>>> >

>>> > Most of the songs from a performance standpoint sounded

> excellent.

>>> > Mountain

>>> > Song is played by Dave a bit differently now, a bit more RAWK!

> like

>>> > someone

>>> > like Billy Duffy would play the tune. The band was very tight

> with one

>>> > major

>>> > exception. The only song I thought kinda missed the mark was the

> one I

>>> was

>>> > most excited to hear, Ted, which lacked an "edge"

> it's had in the past

>>> and

>>> > never really got out of third gear and came close to falling

> apart the

>>> > last

>>> > couple minutes as the band kind of careened a bit out of time

> with

>>> each

>>> > other.

>>> >

>>> > But I'll tell you what, "Stop" was fucking perfect.

> Clearly the best

>>> > performed song of the set and got great audience participation.

> "Had a

>>> > Dad"

>>> > and "Ocean Size" ended the 2 song encore and the short

> barely hour

>>> long

>>> > set

>>> > was done.

>>> >

>>> >>From a crowd standpoint, the asshole factor was low but there

> were a

>>> few

>>> > lobcocks who'd careen around like big, sweaty, smelly

> dreidels. One

>>> > grinning drunk slob who looked like Seth Rogan got hoisted up for

> some

>>> > crowd

>>> > surfing and got maybe 5 feet before being dumped on the ground

> like a

>>> sack

>>> > of shit. He later wound up getting on the stage on Erics side and

> then

>>> > flopped off the stage like a beached whale.

>>> >

>>> > All n' all though, a great night even if it was too short and

> I

>>> *really*

>>> > wanted to hear "Three Days."

>>> >

>>> > Setlist:

>>> >

>>> > Up The Beach

>>> > Trip Away (on the setlist but not played)

>>> > Whores

>>> > 1%

>>> > Ain't No Right

>>> > Mountain Song

>>> > Been Caught Stealing

>>> > Ted Just Admit It.

>>> > Stop!

>>> > (encore)

>>> > Had a Dad

>>> > Ocean Size

>>> >

>>> > T.B.

>>> >

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>>>

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