For the third time in 2005 I was able to see Nine Inch Nails, this time in a large venue again. As always, here is my account of the experience for 10/7/05.
NIN Historian's Review:
10/7/05 Chicago
Allstate Arena
Brown Pass Day
This trip around we took a different approach. Today we were to get up, drive to Chicago and have little time between our arrival and going to the show. We arrive about 4:30 and check into the hotel, take a cab the mere ¾ of a mile to the venue and scout out some places to eat before the doors open at 6:00.
We had seats this time (great ones at that- Thank you siNNer) since Amy is now 7 months along. We arrive at Allstate Arena about 30 minutes early and realize just how cold a Chicago October is. Unbeknownst to us we end up in the “Spiral Entrance” line and head over to another entrance because of our lack of membership.
Once inside we settle into our front row seats in section 110. We have a perfect view of the stage and are nearly eye level to it. For the two opening acts we have virtually no one around us and I am contemplating how much room I am going to have to go nuts once NIN comes out. I like to watch people and the interactions going on. On the floor I pick out people I hope will survive. The two most notable: The kid standing on the security barrier in the pit with his unrolled/un-tubed lithograph with a look on his face as if he is going to go to sleep or vomit at any moment (I’m not sure which), and the girl in stiletto heals walking around the pit as if she was out for a day at the mall.
Regarding the opening acts I came to a conclusion that Nine Inch Nails must be one of THE hardest bands in the world to open for. Even with a nationally known act like Queens of the Stone Age the reaction from the crowd was nil.
Autolux:
Autolux gave a pretty good performance, I think they still have a bit of anxiety for being out in front of a crowd this large, opening for a band this big, but it didn’t seem to phase them. They went out played their set and were given a polite applause upon their departure.
Queens of the Stone Age:
Queens of the Stone Age really didn’t get the response that frontman Josh Homme wanted. His constant whining to the audience about “no one likes us” or “they think we suck” coupled with the oh so captivating “dancing partner” and “dick sucking” comments overshadowed any playing they did. At one point I heard someone behind me in the crowd yell “Shut up and Play!” They did have a few fans in the audience that I could see were giving 100% back to them, but as a whole- in Chicago- Insulting the crowd to get something back didn’t seem to work well at all.
Nine Inch Nails:
Setlist:
1. Pinion
2. Love Is Not Enough
3. Wish
4. Terrible Lie
5. The Line Begins to Blur
6. March of the Pigs
7. The Frail
8. The Wretched
9. Closer/The Only Time Breakdown
10. Burn
11. Gave Up
12. Eraser
13.Right Where It Belongs
14. Beside You In Time
15. Sin
16. Only
17. Reptile
18. Suck
19. Hurt
20. The Hand That Feeds
21. Head Like A Hole
The show starts with “Pinion” with the lights up, once again I’m nearly the only one in my section standing (I’m really not so sure why this is so difficult, the pre-music goes away and “Pinion” is starting- now is a good time to get up off your ass!) Considering that it “hits” just as the lights go out. Into “Love Is Not Enough” and I’m jamming. At this point all those vacant seats around me have been filled and I have about a 2-½ foot space to work in. Thank God for the rail in front of me to hold onto since I was really unable to jump around! “Wish” starts and the Pit goes mad. From my vantage point I get a birds-eye view of the stage and the pit. People are already being pulled out left and right; it seems hot and cramped down inside.
“Terrible Lie” brings the crowd even higher, and it seems to have even more people singing that I can recall at any of the (4) NIN shows I have been to. The older material was perfectly balanced in the set tonight, as the vast majority of the people around me were not very “With Teeth” educated. This shown clear when “The Line Begins to Blur” was played and the section got a bit “quiet” and then burst back into full attack mode when “March of the Pigs” started! To me this was the end of “Act 1” so to speak. The crowd is exhausted already and the tide turns slowing it down to “The Frail.” When it came on I knew what was up next was fully anticipating “The Wretched.” Onward to “Closer” and I have to give Chicago crowds a lot of credit. Usually, when “Closer” gets played the noise level in the particular venue from the crowd jumps from 10 to 20, in Chicago the noise level went from 10 to 12. Not so many “Closer fans” in the crowd tonight. People around me who had not seen the club tour nor heard any of the recordings from it were gleefully surprised at “The Only Time Breakdown” during the song.
Continuing to build up next was “Burn” and as I heard the first notes of the song I couldn’t wait for it to start. As usual the song kicked my ass and I had a hell of a time singing back every lyric. Up next was “Gave Up” and I told the fan next to me “Watch this, when the lights come up that whole pit is going to go fucking crazy” and it did. People were absolutely slamming down inside and it was a wondrous sight from slightly up above. This seemed to end “Act 2” and once again we slowed down for the screen to move into place and “Eraser” starts to play.
Throughout “Eraser” Right Where It Belongs” and “Beside You In Time” images were constantly playing while the band played behind the curtain. From where we were standing the curtain was not fully closed and Trent was standing right where we could see, it was cool to be able to watch the imagery as well as glance back down to see the actual performance as well. The crowd reacted well to the imagery, and cheered loudly when the monkey caught the bird as well as booed when the image of President Bush and his wife appeared on screen dancing.
After the three more mellow songs “Sin” kicks in and the crowd once again ramps back up to be rewarded with its final beating. “Only” was the first time I had heard it live and it was powerfully played, but wasn’t one of the songs I enjoyed most. On the heels of that was my now solidified, favorite live NIN song “Reptile.” I heard it played live in Chicago on 5/6 and was blown away the power of that song as it fills the venue and swallows you. It is unable to be repeated by listening to a recording or the studio version. And although some people are complaining about a few missed beats, it was still a stellar performance of the song! Since I was up in the seats the only thing I could do was to stomp and bang on the rail and stand up on it while screaming back. I stomped so hard during “Reptile” my boot came untied and I spent the first few moments of “Suck” tying it up!
After “Reptile I was actually winded. When “Suck” started I jumped up as quickly as possible and joined back into the melee. The four-song stint seemed to go by too fast (Sin to Suck) and it was onto “Hurt” Once again the crowd mellows a bit and the lighters come out for a phenomenal rendition of the song. Most people are probably contemplating that this is the end of the set when “The Hand That Feeds” and “Head Like a Hole” are waiting up Trent’s sleeve to finish us off.
The show went by so fast that when the lights came up I thought they must have been trying to find the guitar that Aaron tossed into the crowd. For a moment I thought, “There is no way the show is over!” The masses down below begin to face the exits and make their exodus out of the venue. As I wasn’t counting the songs I was sure their had to be at least a 3 song encore coming. But it was not to be.
Trent and Co. Gave a balls out performance tonight. I’m always impressed every time I get to see the band live. The crowd was great; they were fully into the show and gave back what was being given on stage. We got a few “Thank You’s” from Trent but not too much ad-libing tonight. Trent was there to offer up a stellar performance and meant business!
I have heard a lot of people bitching about how “the drummer fucked up Reptile and Closer and…..” All I can say is that this is a live performance and things are not perfect as they are in the studio. This is not a controlled environment. There are no second or third or fourth takes so that it can be just the way the artist wants it. Alex started with the band 18 HOURS before this show. 18 HOURS! As Trent said, I think he did a hell of a job getting down what he did. To anyone bitching about it, stay home next time and leave the show to people who can forgive a slight mis-step, a bad note, a botched lyric and still say that the show was as great as it was!
After the show the crew from BSF met up inside the venue and strategize where we were going to head out to eat. We all had been apart for the show some of us in seats, others in the pit in various places and it seemed like a group of old friends getting together. We all descended upon the Steak N’ Shake and the manager of the place looked like he was going to have a heart attack with all these fans in the restaurant. We had a great time and it was great to see everyone again. siNNer, Ggina, The Me That You Know, Vanilla, Shards, RawChainsaw, Burning Souls.
P.S. Thanks to siNNer for the Spiral Ticket and the show tickets! You more than rock!
NIN Historian
I was lucky enough to go to see NIN on both nights in Chicago on 5/6/05 and 5/7/05. Both nights were amazing. Just want to recap the experience for historical purposes.
NIN Historian's Review:
5/6/05 Chicago
Congress Theatre
Yellow Pass Day
What a day, the wife and I get up and head for Chicago at 9:00 AM. I have cell numbers of a bunch of folks we are looking to meet up with. The phone starts ringing about 2 hours outside Chicago. We get just into Chicago proper and siNNer calls. I have to "co-pilot" through downtown Chicago so I get off the phone. Upon our check-in siNNer and Mike are sitting in our hotel lobby. We decide to grab some food prior to heading over to the Congress and siNNer and Mike leave from grub to hail a cab to the venue. We head back to the hotel to grab a change of clothes and a nap for Amy. We head for the venue at about 4:00 and it is off to meet Ggina and siNNer in line in front of the Congress!
We stand in line for a few hours and the line starts to move into the venue at 6:00 so in we go. Upon a virtually non-existant pat down, we hit the merchandise table and drop $110 in 10 seconds. Only to realize that we are now sitting in a sea of people waiting to "rush" the stage. We wait until 6:30 and the rush is on. After we arrive in the pit we all find only 1/3 of it is filled. I know I feel like an idiot at this point! Even still you have people starting to slightly push and jockey for position and the only people on stage are the crew setting up.
The Dresden Dolls hit the stage on time and I am about 3 “rows” out from the rail. I had listened to some DD songs off their website and wanted to give them a fair shake when I got to see them live, as I really didn’t like their studio recordings. Let me say, having the bass drum kick about 6 feet from my chest, I have to admit they blew me away. Their timing and showmanship was flawless and I actually enjoyed myself quite a bit during their set. They covered Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”-they should END their set with this song. If they had any doubters- this song converted quite a few. I was thoroughly impressed with their rendition! All I can say is Brian is a madman on Drums. He absolutely owned them; I was very impressed with his skills!
About 15 minutes for a set change and NIN bursts onto the stage. “The Frail/Wretched” starts the crowd off right and sets the tone for the show, at the same moment the crowd goes from excited to downright violent and brutal. The surge rushes in and people are near suffocation in less than 2 minutes. I’m in a full locked wrist triangle stance with my feet planted shoulder width apart. I have some bitch screaming “This motherfucker is like 6 feet tall and I’m 5’1” he can see and I want to get up there. Since I won’t let her past she starts pinching my elbow and arm and soon catches that elbow somewhere into her body. I realize that I’m not paying to deal with this shit, my wife is getting smothered and we head out of the pit. With being fully turned around and facing a mass of about 500 people, Assholes still won’t let us by. I just started yelling “FUCKING MOVE, THERE IS MORE ROOM AT THE FRONT IF YOU GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY” and just kept plowing. It took us about 15 “rows” of bodies before people just moved and it “broke.” We head out and up to the concession stand to get some water. Another fan and his wife are right behind us in the same situation. He has a freshly split lip from less than 2 minutes down inside. His sentiments and mine are the same. I have been in many pits in my life and this by far was the worst! Zero common courtesy, I’m sure it didn’t help that their were bars set up on both sides of the pit so that bored assholes were able to go get hammered while waiting for the show to start and during the Dresden Dolls Set.
We quickly collect our thoughts and come up with a plan of attack. I said “Let’s head for the soundboard, the sound will be the best in the venue there, so off we go! Just as we get back inside “You Know What You Are” kicks in and about 15 seconds into the song- everything shuts down. The soundboard had an issue and at this point engineers are scrambling like mad to solve the problem, the house lights come up and the pit from my view looked as if it got even worse. People booing and chanting “Bullshit” repeatedly. One of the crew came out and told the crowd something to the effect of “We’re sorry about the delay, we really want to put on the show tonight and we appreciate your patience” to which he was promptly showered with boos.
About 30 minutes pass and problem is resolved. The band steps back out onstage, Trent slings his guitar on, appears to be REALLY pissed off and explodes into “Wish.” It appears that soon from the reaction of the crowd that he let go of being pissed off and fed off the pure energy of the crowd. The crowd was really electric; the atmosphere in the Congress was unreal! It had to have been the loudest 2800 people on the planet. Trent was ON tonight; I felt he was having fun with the crowd, made quite a few ad-libs about the “fuck-up” and being back.
The show overall was stellar. Non-stop energy. The highlights for me were definitely this 3-song stretch:
Reptile
Big Come Down
Gave Up
At the end of it I felt as if I had been handed my ass! And it felt GOOD!
Reptile- To hear that industrial grind, live and in person, feeling of the song immersing you in sound and the pure performance genius on stage of a song that has much meaning to me made this a tough one to follow!
Big Come Down- Probably still riding the wave of awe from “Reptile” this song melds into the mix perfectly and continues the beating. I am still keeping pace screaming every lyric back as each word in the song is sung.
Gave Up- Finishes me off. I’m so damn exhausted after this song, from screaming every lyric, and jumping up and down I have to put my hands on my knees to catch my breath and have a momentary feeling of “hell no- I can’t stop now!”
Another highlight for me was the performance of “Hurt.” Just Trent spotted in a single purple spotlight, with the crowd singing right back to him and smiles from Trent. He looked to be having an excellent time up there and was glad the crowd was so into the show!
Sound: I have heard many a people complain about the sound at this show/venue. If you were in the Pit- I have no idea what you could or could not hear- but up by the soundboard, the sound was perfectly balanced, music was full, mix was damn near perfect! Lighting was timed perfectly in line with the music and the view of the lightshow (although obviously not as large in scale as Fragility Arena tour because of venue space limitations) was very cool!
The show wraps with “Head Like a Hole” and Trent diving into the drum kit after about 95 minutes of pure unadulterated passion!
The Setlist:
Beside You In Time Intro
The Frail/Wretched
You Know What You Are? (Abandoned)
Intermission
Wish
March of the Pigs
The Line Begins to Blur
Piggy
Terrible Lie
Burn
Closer
With Teeth
Home
Reptile
The Big Come Down
Gave Up
The Day The World Went Away
Suck
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
The crowd tonight quickly realizes the show is over and heads for the doors. Security begins to sweep up the pit that is littered with lithographs that didn’t make it, shirts, shoes, water bottles and cups. I strike up a conversation with a fellow fan back by the soundboard whose girlfriend managed to get an aftershow pass but he was without one. After about 15 minutes security is pushing everyone out the door.
We find Ggina and decide to grab some much needed food down the street at the Congress Pizzaria and just reel from the night we just had. After eats we hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest to get ready to do it all over again tomorrow!
NIN Historian's Review:
5/7/05 Chicago
Congress Theatre
Green Pass Day
After scoping the situation the night before and realizing that we weren’t going to make some mad rush for the pit, we joined a bunch of folks in line a bit later at about 5:30. Doors opened again at 6:00 and we feel like veterans now since we are familiar with the system ahead of us! We file inside and once again get into the "holding pattern" of waiting for them to let us into the actual theatre. We move with the group but let everyone who is going to run- just run, we stop off to get some water and take a bathroom break. Amy and I just laugh.
We take our place next to the soundboard again and from the balcony we look like an island in a dense ocean of chairs. If there were 2800 people in the Congress on 5/6, there were 3800 people in the venue tonight. It looked much more crowded, the aisles were full all the way back to the board, the pit was packed, where on 5/6 the back of the pit was still partially “breathable.” Even the rows of seating were more packed than the night before. Apparently, the rumor after the show wrapped was people had a tunnel and other "backdoor" ways to enter the show besides actually buying a ticket.
Once again the Dresden Dolls take the stage and I have to be honest, from seeing them the night before so close (about 3 pit “rows” out) and then seeing them tonight up in the seats- it definitely is a different experience. Although I believe their set was the same, from a distance you don’t get the details as well and their mix was phenomenal while standing in the pit- but flat and lifeless in the rest of the venue. “War Pigs” still brought the house down.
Tonight they got a heckler in the audience. Here is the best known transcript of the "conversation" as penned by Archetypal
Heckler: Show your pit hair!
[Amanda obliges]
[Right before they're about to start playing the first song]
Heckler: You better not suck!
[When on stage]
Heckler: Boston RULES!!
Amanda: And you must be the fine gentleman who asked me to show my pit hair before.
[Later]
Heckler: You Suck!
Amanda: Thank you.
[Later]
Heckler: Fuck you!
Amanda: Fuck me? Oh, you want to fuck me? You want to fuck Brian? Or you want to fuck both of us?
Brian [in an affeminite voice]: Don't be shy, young man. Come on up here. Just make your way to the front of the stage, and there is a security guard right here who will be happy to assist you in getting onto the stage and we'll take care of any problems you might have.
Amanda: Or maybe you want to meet up with us in our dressing room after the show.
[They play another song]
Amanda: So when we were asked to open for Nine Inch Nails on their tour, our friends were worried, they were really afraid for us. They said, "Oh, no. They're going to hate you." And I was reminded of this story I heard one time about Marilyn Manson when he was opening for someone. A guy in the crowd threw a water bottle at him before they started to play and he said "We're not going to play until someone beats the shit out of that mother-fucker." And so what we're going to do is we're not going to play until someone cuddles [Brian makes big hug gesture] that man. [pause] I'm sure that deep down there's a nice person in that man just trying to get out, and that he's really just a nice guy. [pause] I hope for the sake of the people around him that he's not too big.
They continue their set and play an extended version of one of their songs that for their fans I’m sure was like winning the lottery, but for most of us it kind of dragged on and on. The crowd for the most part cheered (I did hear quite a bit of booing though as well) and DD leave the stage.
Once again about 15 minutes between set change and it seemed as if it might have been even quicker tonight than last. With the house lights still up, you hear “Pinion” start to come in, most people are clueless at this point and think they are still hearing the pre-show music. I stand up and start yelling. My wife says, “What the Hell are you doing?” I said “Pinion is starting” to which the people around me start to catch on. The house lights drop and everyone seems to figure it out at that moment. Place goes absolutely fucking CRAZY. Trent steps on stage and launches into “You Know What You Are” and I thought the roof was going to come off.
The energy level in the venue tonight was significantly higher than last night, although the performance by Trent and Co, was as balls out tonight as it was last. The sound level was also higher tonight than last night. On Friday I could still hear my own voice above parts of the music, Saturday- not a chance in hell. The light show and sound were flawless tonight. I loved the “Burn” lighting in blue. Once again Trent was feeding off the crowd and at one point said, “Goddamn it feels good to be back!” to which the crowd nearly exploded.
This show just started off kicking you in the nuts and never really let up! You got a slight break with “Something I Can Never Have” and "Hurt" but that was about it! The crowd did a stellar job singing back to Trent with both “SICNH” and “Hurt” he even just played and let the crowd sing in parts. When "Every Day is Exactly the Same" came on I just kept saying “No Fuckin’ way, No Fuckin’ way!” It was a very cool addition into the setlist!
The setlist:
Pinion
You Know What You Are?
Sin
The Line Begins To Blur
March of the Pigs
Something I Can Never Have
The Hand That Feeds
Terrible Lie
The Collector
Closer
Home
Burn
Everyday Is Exactly The Same
No, You Don't
Suck
Gave Up
Hurt
Wish
Head Like A Hole
Tonight the crowd is stubborn to leave the venue, the pit stays about half full and people start chanting about wanting more. Freshly beaten faces of people now filing out all turn in one mass at the same time to see if they should return to their spot if the chanting were to actually work. Security was prepped from the night before and we lasted about 5 minutes before they started to push everyone out of the venue.
After the show was over and the masses started to file out, I went over to the Soundboard and shook the FOH engineers hand and told him that the sound on both nights was amazing and thanked him for his work. I didn’t want to take too much of his time so I didn’t catch his name, but he said he appreciated the comment and was glad we had a good time.
After the Show, it was meet back up with the group outside and figure out what we’re going to do about food. Some folks bailed on us but we got to have dinner with three of them. It was a nice way to end the weekend. All of us just re-living our 20-minute-old experience and other memories and stories!
Overall 5/6 and 5/7 Comparison: I cannot make a stance that “one night was better than another.” I had given my everything back on each night and both nights had sections of the performance or reasons for standing out in my mind as making the show special to me! The energy on both nights from Trent and the band was better than I have ever seen and the performances were both tight, and amazing. The sound was excellent on both nights (although slightly better on 5/7 in my opinion.) The lighting on both nights was equally good. The Crowd was more intense on Saturday than Friday, but the Pit was just as brutal both nights from reports and experience.
I'd like to thank Peter B. For making 5/6 a reality. I cannot thank you enough for the GIFT you gave me!
I also want to say it was GREAT to meet you siNNer and Mike, Ggina, The Me That You Know, Burning Soul, Vanilla, Shards, Stitches, aHlee. Hope to see you all on the Arena Tour!
NIN Historian