Nine Inch Nails @ Wachovia Center

I avoid arenas at all costs ever since The Mars Volta played an inaudible set opening up for System of a Down a few years back at the Wachovia Center. Generally speaking, large venues like outdoor festivals and arenas do not produce the sound or intimate setting one desires when seeing your favorite band. Although I still believe in that notion, recent events have made me realize that certain acts can pull it off. My last concert review raved about the sound that Radiohead was able to achieve at their recent All Points West headlining gig. This past Friday, Trent Reznor and company pulled off what I thought was just not possible at the Wachovia Center (and I’ve been there a bunch times).

Fans have been raving about the lights, set lists and sound on Nine Inch Nails’ recent Lights in the Sky over North America tour. I had seen YouTube videos of the lights, read set lists on EchoingtheSound, but was reluctant to believe that good sound was possible in that building. I don’t like to admit it often, but I was wrong. And I wouldn’t expect anyone else to shut me up. Let me just say that sound was mixed to perfection. Although you can’t overcome all of the downfalls of playing in an arena designed for sporting events, it just worked this time. Take notes System of a Down, The Mars Volta and Tool.

On a poor tip I overheard at a parking lot tailgate, we planned to enter the arena at 8:30 in time to hit the general admission floor at 8:50. As we entered I heard the opening riffs of 999,999/1,000,000 and rushed to the gate and entered the floor. It actually sounded so good, we first thought it was the PA system. “What arroagant bastards would play their own songs before a show?” I thought to myself. That was not the case, as an amazing 31-song set list would follow the opener.

The lights were something I’ve never seen used before. And, honestly, I could not explain how they worked if I tried. There are some YouTube videos that highlight some of these techniques but will not do them justice. You simply have to experience this for yourself. I’m posting one of those videos here anyway:

My favorite was when the lighting tech used a flood light to erase the images on a screen that is dropped in front of the stage. It makes me wonder how much money all of these lighting rigs cost.

The setlist was as satisfying as any NIN show I’ve been to (and I’m in double digits now). I’ve never heard Down In It played live before, and it was certainly a treat. Trent introduced it, saying,”This is an old song, a really old song.” Down In It was the first NIN single ever released. It came out in 1988 and preceded the 1989 release of debut album Pretty Hate Machine. Another rare track that surprised the crowd was Reptile. From what I can remember, it received the loudest cheers, both as the song began and after it was finished. Several songs from the Ghosts I-IV album were performed in chunks, highlighted by Trent playing a giant xylophone and new bassist Justin Meldel-Johnsen (formerly of Beck) on stand-up bass.

The new players represent the strongest overall lineup of the live band. Robin Finck plays a much meaner lead guitar than Aaron North did. North’s acrobatic antics on stage lost their novelty rather quickly, and Finck’s presence is menacing. Meldal-Johnsen is better known as being Beck’s bassist for years and looks a bit strange with his super-fro dyed black. However, he has a lot more energy than Jeordie White (formerly of Marilyn Manson) presented in the last incarnation. And what can you say about Josh Freese. This guy is on something. It’s not because of his physique but his relentless intensity. Some of the songs played on this tour have some complicated percussion arrangements that not many drummers would be able to pull off so effortlessly night after night. For now, I will forgive the fact that Josh is also the studio drummer for the Inidigo Girls, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, and Miley Cyrus.

Trent looked awkwardly buff as usual and should definitely be tested for steroids. He’s sporting a dark beard now, which could only explain that he is hard at work on Year Zero 2 and the HBO project (and doesn’t have time to shave). He was more talkative than usual and described how he had tried to escape Pennsylvania for 18 years as a youth and now finds himself back where he started. He went on about how at the beginning there were all dudes at his shows, and now he notices more chicks (which I’ve heard him say at least three times before). He also mentioned that he talks too much and will stop at future shows.

Overall, the show was great, especially considering the size of the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. It’s interesting to see how the theatrical side of NIN live, as well as the lineup, has evolved over the years. And it’s difficult to imagine how Mr. reznor will possibly top these concerts. Then again, I remember saying that two years ago. Here is the full set list:

1. 999,999 [Intro]
2. 1,000,000
3. Letting You
4. Discipline
5. March Of The Pigs
6. Head Down
7. The Frail
8. The Wretched
9. Closer [The Only Time Breakdown]
10. Gave Up
11. Me, I’m Not
12. The Great Destroyer
13. Ghosts 5
14. Ghosts 17
15. Ghosts 19
16. Piggy [Ghosts]
17. The Greater Good
18. Pinion [Interlude]
19. Wish
20. Terrible Lie
21. Survivalism
22. The Big Comedown
23. Ghosts 31
24. Only
25. Down In It
26. Head Like A Hole

ENCORE

27. Echoplex
28. Reptile
29. God Given
30. Hurt
31. In This Twilight

Year Zero May Become an HBO Series

Trent Reznor wants nothing more than to continue his Year Zero concept into a new medium, preferably series television. “It’s the most exciting thing on the horizon, it’s the thing that when I wake up in the morning it makes me say, ‘God it would be cool if that happened,” expresses the Nine Inch Nails mastermind of his ambition.

As stated in an earlier Fishpork news post, Trent Reznor’s Year Zero concept may be developed beyond the album and into a TV series, which he prefers to a film or graphic novel. ”That was the route we were going to go with initially. We talked to a different companies about releasing it. But it didn’t feel quite right. We thought about a film, but that has a different timetable and too many people need to say yes. That wouldn’t line up right. then I started thinking about how I could make it really interactive, something you experience rather than something you read.”

In the most exciting news of all, the LA Times is reporting that Reznor officially pitched the idea to HBO two weeks ago. “Ideally, we’re trying to get them to do a two-year limited series. I prefer that over a film, ” Reznor says of his intentions. So how is HBO responding to the idea of putting Reznor’s concept of a dark world 15 years into the future that has been devastated politically, religiously and environmentally? Reznor reports, “It was fun sitting and telling [the HBO] guys and watching them shake their head and having writers on board and producers that are in to it. It’s been a fun thing.”

The project has breathed new and exciting life. HBO is known for creating some of the most critically acclaimed series that television has ever seen (Six Feet Under, The Wire, The Sopranos, etc). Unleashing Reznor’s concept of a post-Bush era would add another significant notch to their belt. As for Reznor, he also plans to finish the concept with a second album and another tour. “There would be (another) tour down the road. The (second) record completes the story, the ending that no one knows. I know what happens. I knew when I started it. And it’s not what people think.”

For more information on the Year Zero Concept, check out 42 Entertainment’s Case Study here.

Reznor Destroys Everything He Can

Former Pitchfork reviewer Brent DiCrescenzo once called Trent Reznor “the worst, most predictable, most uninspired lyricist working today.” Yes, it was in the review where he gave The Fragile a 2.0 rating. A few years later, Mr. DiCrescenzo was found to be the Jayson Blair of Pitchfork after several accounts of falsified stories in his writing surfaced, including reviews of the Beastie Boys’ To the 5 Boroughs (7.9) and Radiohead’s Kid A (10.0). How does this affect the validity of that 1999 review? It simply takes away all legitimacy of his inept and scornful musing. Mr. DiCrescenzo, you are “the worst, most fictitious, most full-of -shit music reviewer not working today.” And it is with great relief that you do not have the opportunity to review Trent Reznor’s latest masterwork, The Slip.

Trent Reznor has cleaned up and gone drug-free. The result is a renewed work ethic (no more waiting five years between records). Some have even complained that he is making too much music in a short period of time (With Teeth, 2005; Year Zero, 2007; Ghosts I-IV, 2008; The Slip, 2008). The motivation is still there but the inspiration has changed. With Teeth was inspired by Reznor’s inner conflicts about being relevant today and having the ability to write songs while sober. The day after George W. won the 2004 election, Trent professed on his blog: One step closer to the end of the world. The one-two combo of corporate greed and organized religion apparently proved to be too much for reason, sanity and compassion. This statement seemingly ignited the inspiration to create the world of Year Zero, the first album that did not center on Reznor himself but instead a deteriorating political climate. Less than a year later, Reznor would challenge himself further by locking himself in the studio for several weeks with a set of ground rules that read: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as… something. The result was a double-album of 36 instrumental tracks. The album was released under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license.

That brings us to the latest NIN release, The Slip, which is available as a free download on the NIN website. “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me,” announced Reznor on the day the album download went live. The site recently announced that a feature on Google Earth provides a view of how many people worldwide have downloaded the album so far (1.4 million unique downloads as of June 26, 2008). If Trent Reznor has any further questions about his relevance in music today, he can stop asking.

The record contains the heaviest tracks that the band has released (Letting You; 1,000,000), as well as the most ambient (Lights in the Sky; Corona Radiata). It’s an inspired, stylistic paradox that may explain Reznor’s current frame of mind. The album is a return to form established early in the NIN catalog by the Broken EP and the Downward Spiral. And Reznor hasn’t written harsher lyrics since that era. In the second track, numerically titled 1,000,000, Trent is asking to be put out of his misery: “Put the gun In my mouth | Close your eyes | Blow my fucking brains out | Pretty patterns on the floor | That’s enough for you | But i still need more.” Could he possibly be talking about his relationship with his record label? Although the themes in The Slip are not entirely clear, it has been suggested that some of it may represent Trent’s recent dealings with his label and the music industry in general.

This theme starts to make more sense when you listen further. In Letting You, Trent warns, “The cancer takes ahold | The wolf is in the fold | Our destiny’s been sold | We do just what we’re told,” followed by the intense chorus, “And we’re letting you get away with it.” And the title of the second-to-last track is called The Four of Us Are Dying. Yeah, there may be four members of the live band (actually five), but NIN has always been a one-man show. In the simplest way, the song may be a shot at the big four record labels (Universal, Sony BMG, Warner & EMI) and their hopeless outlook in a new financial climate in the music industry. Reznor is smurking throughout, as he has helped slay the record label beast (along with Radiohead and Saul Williams) and gets to watch its slow but sure demise: ” I will use my voice | And i will use my fist | To destroy | Everything i can.”

Brent DiCrescenzo also complained in his review of 1999′s The Fragile, “I pity the kids of the style-over- substance generation– and yes, it will only be kids– who enjoy this album. Kids, high school isn’t as bad as it seems. You’ll grow out of this phase.” I guess you could have still classified me as a college “kid” back in 1999. I just haven’t grown out of this phase of appreciating challenging and inspired music. – Mark

The Four of Us are Dying – NIN by Doesn’t Exist

RECORD REVIEW
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album: The Slip
Release Date: May 5, 2008 (online)
Record Label: None (The Null Corporation)

Saul Williams @ The Trocadero

The build up for this Saul William’s show was immense for me. I went to a NIN show at the House of Blues in Atlantic City that Saul opened up for a few years ago. Unfortunately, I decided to hang out in AC and miss the opening act. Since then, Saul got Trent Reznor to produce his new album, “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust.” You can download it here for free. Obviously, it’s a play on the famous David Bowie album and stage name. The album was easily one of my favorites of 2007 (maybe even better than Year Zero).

The show definitely met my expectations. Saul came out in complete Niggy atire, including knee-high boots, face paint and feathers in his afro. The Niggy Tardust concept is socially conscious and politically progressive, without being preachy. CX KiDTRONiK provided all the necessary beats and back up vocals. Saul was also accompanied by a keyboardist and live bass player. Standout songs were “DNA,” “WTF” and “Black Stacey.” – Mark