For some odd reason the idea of attending a concert dropped off the radar between my first concert (Metallica) and my next (this one). I guess I got caught up with the trappings of high school (job, sports, girlfriend) and didn't pay any mind; I was still actively listening to music but didn't feel the urge to see another show...that all changed with Nine Inch Nails.
Guy from my high school who was older by 2 years drove me and a few friends home one day after school, and in his tape deck was The Downward Spiral. We get in the car and "I Do Not Want This" is playing...I remember sitting in the back thinking "holy shit what is this?!?!?!" the entire time. I soon spent some hard-earned allowance on a tape copy of the album, and I immediately became obsessed. Me and a group of friends became NIN junkies; we bought every bootleg, live CD, and official release we could find (first guy to collect all the Halos wins!); when we found out they'd be touring it was a no-brainer...we had to go.
Once again I'm up early, lined up outside some shady record store in Fair Lawn, NJ with a Ticketmaster machine. There were only 15 people there, tops, but sadly we were at the end of the line. Sales start and the line is moving briskly...we get into the store and the guy tells us "guys, I don't think there's tickets left" as he's querying Ticketmaster. That dejection quickly turns to elation when he says "wait, there are...how many you need?" We buy 8 (the maximum allowable) and figure out who else is going besides us from there.
Fast forward to the night of the concert; it's the middle of HS basketball season and for some unknown reason I made the squad; I tell my coach my aunt is retiring from the Air Force and we have to go to a retirement dinner (Mom's idea, funnily enough...and it was true, she was retiring, altho not that night!). We pile into the car with my friend Rob's older sister as chaperone; we drive to Jersey City and take the PATH to MSG. We get there, sit down in our seats (nosebleed, perpendicular to the right side of the stage) and within 20 minutes the announcement comes:
"Due to an injury sustained by the guitarist tonight's show is postponed until tomorrow; please hold on to your ticket stubs as all passes will be honored."
Completely disappointed we head home. I however have a bigger problem...basketball. There's no way I can bail out on two nights in a row without my coach flipping out (he was a bit of a dick, but that's for another time). I get home and my parents are surprised; I tell them what happened and ask them what they think I should do. My Mom without hesitation says "You stay home from school tomorrow and go to the show tomorrow night"; by not going to school I cannot go to practice so I'm in the clear (I gave the coach some BS excuse about getting food poisoning at the retirement party...really laying it on here).
We get to MSG, and the show begins. Opening the show is Marilyn Manson, fresh off releasing their first album. The show is a bit hokey (he smashes these cardboard cutouts of fairy tale characters) but the music matches the album perfectly, and I remember thinking "these guys are unique and will definitely be huge."
Next act is The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow; they were bizarre but fun.
The curtain drops across the front of the stage, the house lights dim...and it begins. We ended up sneaking down into the lower bowl on the other side of the stage, and fit 8 people in a spot for 5 seats (after reading other memories of this show apparently EVERYONE ran down to get better seats right before NIN).
The show itself was fantastic; they were on point and sounded great (Twiggy from Marilyn Manson filled in on guitar for Robin Finck), and I have so many flashes of memories...the curtain dropping as Pinion ends...Trent destroying his keyboard at the end of Sin...the final guitar chord from Hurt nearly blowing my eardrums out.
I ended up home around Midnight, and in hindsight a changed man...I now had the "concert bug" and was hooked.
P.S.-If you've ever seen the NIN home video Closure there's snippets of camcorder footage by the band showing the accident and shots of Twiggy filling in.
Setlist:
- Pinion
- Mr. Self Destruct
- Sin
- March of the Pigs
- Piggy
- Reptile
- Gave Up
- Happiness in Slavery
- Eraser
- Hurt
- The Downward Spiral
- Wish
- Suck (Pigface cover)
- The Only Time
- Down in It
- Head Like a Hole
- Closer
- Dead Souls (Joy Division cover)
- Something I Can Never Have
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