Great show! This was my third time seeing them and it was probably one of the most exciting ones yet because hopefully this isn't the last time I get to see them. This was my first time driving outside of St. Louis and while it freaked me out at first, things couldn't have gone any smoother actually. The hotel my girlfriend and I stayed at was right off of the highway and only about a good ten minutes away from Starlight. I was glad we were able to check in so early and relax before the show too.
Well when we got there, we waited in the nin.com presale line and while it looked really cloudy..it wasn't raining until we actually got inside the venue prior to the doors being open to the public but thankfully it stopped raining within like a good twenty minutes. I thought the Starlight was an awesome venue and it looked/sounded incredible. Our seats were in BOX 1, Row H and I remember thinking to myself how bad I wanted ORCH seats but I still can't believe how close to the stage we were even with the seats we had. We had a great view and this was probably the closest to the stage I've ever been for a Nine Inch Nails show. I was able to talk to a guy named Michael who when I asked didn't have a name of ETS but was familar with nin.com and I want to say a BIG thank you to Nathan, I believe you said your name was Papalagosh (sorry if I got that wrong) and Lt. R-a-n-d-a-z-z-o (heh heh filter), Tony, for coming up to me to introduce yourselves. I thought that was the neatest thing and it was so nice to meet you guys.
Street Sweeper Social Club kicks ass live...so much of it sounds like Rage Against the Machine but I'm perfectly fine with that. Their cover of Paper Planes sounded so good and I thought their attire was actually really cool. Trent couldn't have picked a cooler opener.
As far as NIN goes, they delivered once again. While I will agree with pogo and say that as far as the set list goes, it was about average. I still can't believe we didn't get Metal, Heresy, Americans, TDTWWA or even Down In It. The songs we DID get to hear like Becoming, Way Out is Through, Physical, Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now), Fragile and fucking NOW I'M NOTHING blew my mind. I remember telling people in line how awesome it would be if they actually opened up with that and I can't tell you how excited I was to hear it. Yet while they didn't play a lot of songs I was hoping to hear, I'd say NIN was on top form and this was probably the most intense show I've ever seen from them. March of the Pigs sounded even more heavier than usual (thanks to Trent hurling a microphone stand in the air) and Survivalism had an even more eletronic edge to it. There was just so much energy and with the seats I had, it was great to experience it that way. Musically, these guys are still on the top of their game and each one of the members brings something really special to the show. The lights are also pretty neat, not as much of a show as the LITS tour but still really cool.
Anybody else think Robin Finck jumping up near his amp during the Wish solo was badass?
I think Trent must read the upcoming shows forums on nin.com and he made sure to let everyone know "Oh, it's not going to rain..." Haha. Hopefully, Trent changes his mind about 'touring in ten years'.
"Now I'm Nothing"
"March of the Pigs"
"Burn"
"Echoplex"
"The Fragile"
"Hurt"
With all that being said, I pretty much knew I was going for Nine Inch Nails. I was extremely excited for the Jane's Addiction announcement because I thought it couldn't get much more badass with JA opening...then came the announcement they would be headlining and I really didn't know what to think. I thought the opening video was an awesome way to get into the show but opening with Three Days really didn't do it for me. In fact, a lot of the songs being played a step or two down sounded off to me. About three or four songs in, I headed out which doesn't bother me too much as I'm sure some awesome footage is on it's way soon. I don't like when bands jam and JA seemed to be doing a lot of that at the beginning which some people like and that's fine but it just wasn't for me....plus..I'm what some people might call a bad fan and my favorite song is Jane Says, the closer.
Overall, this was a great experience for me. I saw my favorite band on what could be (bet you ten bucks it's not

) it's final tour at an awesome venue and took a road trip to go see it. Thanks for everything Trent!