remyx

The NIN concert was excellent! The crowd was another issue, but first to focus on the positive.

Opening act Saul Williams gave an energetic performance. His two-man cast had enough momentum for 4 or 5 people, yet the crowd didn't seem to respond to his music. I think there was so much anticipation for Trent to make his appearence that people pretty much tuned him out. Sad, really... i think he had more material but cut things short due to lack of audience participation. I'll have to check out more of his stuff.

When Saul left the stage, it gave way to about a 15 minute intermission. The lights went on, people made their appropriate breaks: smoke, bathroom, beer, sex, etc... Then there was nothing. The crowd waited. Nothing. A chanting began in the front left corner of the floor, "Trent, Trent, Trent". The arena began to join in chorus, "Trent, Trent, Trent". Then the lights went black and yells filled the air. NIN took the stage under cover of smoke and a sheer curtain. Suddenly a backlight illuminated the man himself and the wonderment began. The show lasted around 2 hours, with a set interspersed with songs from all his albums:

Pilgrimage
Love is Not Enough
You Know What You Are?
Terrible Lie
The Line Begins to Blur
March of The Pigs
Something I Can Never Have
The Big Comedown
Closer
Burn
Gave Up
Eraser
Right Where It Belongs
Beside You In Time
With Teeth
Deep
Only
Wish
Every Day is Exactly the Same
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
(I obtained this list from a blog site, so it may not be correct. )

The visuals were outstanding. He had a cinematic projection on the curtain during several songs. It was bliss. After 'Head Like a Hole" the crowd cheered for several minutes, hoping for an encore, but to no avail. The stage crew made their way out and began moving out the equipment from this historic performance. Arkansas was lucky. Very lucky.

Now about the crowd. As with any gathering of people you have your percentage of assholes who's sole purpose is to make it unenjoyable for everyone else. Fortunately this time I did not have such people around me, though I did see several. One incident involved a full beer being flung into another section of the crowd. Nothing says asshole like coming home smelling of cheap beer. Other than that, I think people were almost too sedate. There were times when I looked at the crowd and didn't get the feeling they were enjoying the show. Subtle head movements and few arm-pumping gestures were all that showed participation. Then there is the floor crowd. Only during recently released material did they come to life. "Wish" only brought few reactions, much less than "The Hand that Feeds". I attribute this to unfamiliarity with the material. But I don't base my satisifaction on that of others. I had a great time and look forward to the next time NIN decides to make a stop here.