First off, I gotta give props to Trent for the opening. The light cages were down (a great effect, btw) and the song started and I had no idea Trent was even onstage until I heard his voice boom through the speakers. I frantically looked around until I spotted him up front with his arm through the slats. Sneaky bastard. Then he freaked me out again because it looked like he had hair. Long hair. Huh? Is he wearing a wig?! Then I realized he was wearing a black hoodie. Heh.
I'm thrilled to death they did "Somewhat Damaged" and "Into The Void" - my two of three favorite songs off of
The Fragile - and they were both so strong and dynamic live. Loved the hipswing Trent had going on ITV. "Get Down, Make Love" (I was shocked he'd do a cover) and the new full-band version of "Non-Entity" were delicious treats and I didn't think it would be possible to kick "Gave Up" even higher but they did and it was a fun banger. "Closer" is faster and funkier and still has the clever "Only Time" breakdown but it cuts off early; I prefer the long, drawn-out ending where I can get lost in it. Yes, I clapped during MOTP and proud of it.
The whole damn show was fantastic - big dance party indeed! - and I have no complaints about the setlist (though I thought they missed an opportunity to sing "Happiness In Slavery" with the cages down, it would have made a cool nod to the video). "Something I Can Never Have" caught me off guard emotionally; out of nowhere I just burst out crying and "Hurt" made me teary-eyed as well.
Trent's backing band is a solid masterpiece
Agreed, and they all have great chemistry together.
...but the drummer is a bit of a ham-fisted ham. Is it because he has to play to a click track? Is he starting the click track? Hard to tell. In any case, what a nightmare of a band in which to be a drummer!
Heh. That's Josh Freese, one of THE top drummers in the business. He's worked with just about everybody. Trent scored a major coup when he landed him for the rest of the tour. I'm sure he's paid well. I don't know if he plays with click track but, for this band, he'd be thoroughly insane not to.
And Trent makes playing the tambourine look like the manliest thing in the world. Awesome.
Best (paraphrased) quotes of the night:
Peter Murphy:
"I'm not on drugs or alcohol or anything, I'm just happy. And marvelous."
Trent:
"On the last leg we toured through the coldest parts of the country in the middle of winter and we froze our balls off. We were freezing before, during and after each show. So this time they told us, 'Do an outside summer tour, you'll keep warm.' So here we are...freezing our balls off."
HA HA!
I saw Bauhaus eight or so years ago and they played a more low-key, intimate set back then. Seeing them kick things up a few notches and play more uptempo stuff was a lot of fun and, yes, Peter is quite the character. Love him and his white shoes, weird pogo dance and crazy hair.
TVotR were awfully cute. They didn't have much stage presence but the lead singer seemed so nice and sincere and into his music. Despite the bassist's odd shyness I still give them a cookie.
Major props to the lighting and sound guys. I was a bit worried because TVotR and Bauhaus sounded muddy and I thought Peter's voice was drowned out at times but NIN was crystal clear and everyone was perfectly balanced. I miss the jagged LCD teeth but the new lighting design is great and I loved the massive NIN logo at the very end - it really drove home how far Trent has come since it first appeared on his jacket waaay back in the vid for "Down In It."
do they EVER play Perfect Drug?
They haven't yet. The beat is so fast and complex they'd need two drummers and a boatload of triggers to pull off live. Poor Josh's arms would fall off. Besides, Trent hates the song.