and when the hunt is over kiss me on my liiiiiiiiiips
NIN|JA blew my mind…
Left SC early, got to SJ way early, stopped by In N Out. I was so hyper and anxious the entire day, I hadn’t been this excited for a long time… probably since the last NIN show. And unlike everyone else, I was really looking forward to Jane’s Addiction, I got really into them about 3-4 years ago when 90s rock resurrected in my life (same time I cranked out the STP lol), and I’ve had all their albums, and I remember saying years ago, “Man, it would be so cool if Jane’s Addiction reunited, and played with NIN…” and hey, it fucking happened. So it was kind of a dream come true of mine… <33333 haha and it surpassed everything I could imagine.
Street Sweeper Social Club opened, and I was really impressed, I really liked them, they were the most enjoyable opening band I’ve heard in a while. It was basically like a small scale, toned down version of Rage Against The Machine, plus Tom Morello was playing guitar so it was *magical*. He played guitar with his teeth, and patting the sides of the neck (??). It was great!! They performed a great cover of "Paper Planes." I thought it was kind of funny though how all of them had their own band shirt on, lolololol.
Then Robin Finke came out of the smog machines…
NIN setlist:
Home
1,000,000
Terrible Lie
Discipline
March of the Pigs
Piggy
METAL
The Becoming
Burn
Gave Up
The Fragile
The Way Out is Through
Wish
Echoplex
Survivalism
The Day the World Went Away
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt
Well, this wasn’t anything like his light shows, more of a rock out which I expected from the NINJA tour, so it didn’t disappoint of course. “March of the Pigs/Piggy” made me really happy, and then… HE COVERED “METAL” and I was the only person singing and screaming hahahahahaha I had a hugeeee smile on my face, it was actually one of my favorite performances from Nine Inch Nails, I loveddddd what he did with the end. I was soooooooooooo happy cuz the day before he replaced “Metal” with “I’m Afraid of Americans” which would have also been awesome, but “Metal” is the link between NIN and Gary Numan, and what got me into him in the first place, so it was perfect.
AND THEN “The Becoming”, another one I thought I’d never see live. Although, I can tell it’s really hard to perform haha. Trent did a great job though, of course.
“Burn” and “Gave Up” got more people moving… the crowd was mostly there for Jane’s Addiction and I really hated how everyone just stood up still in the seats and didn’t move… but whatever they’re lame lol.
Then “The Fragile” played, of course one of my many favorites from the album, the first time I’ve heard the studio version live (I heard an orchestrated version at the Benefit, which was also amazing, but very different). It was GLORIOUS and so sweet…
“The Way Out Is Through” was awesome in itself being one I thought I’d never hear live and it was also reallllllly cool.
Probably one of the greatest performances of “Wish” I had seen live, and the bass drumming at the end OWNED ALL (the new live drummer actually filled in Josh Freese’s shoes soooooooo well), it shook the entireeee venue and everyone was cheering.
“Echoplex” had everyone dancing (as well as “Discipline” lol), and “Survivalism” was good rock out material…
and then “The Day The World Went Away”, like a live + still version mixed… oh my god. First time live as well, soooooooooooooo beautiful… I had a huge smile on my face and I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy. SO HAPPY =))))))))))) Def another highlight sides "Metal", just perrrrrrrrrfect.
The last three were predictable choices, still as great as ever. Everyone took lighters out for Hurt again, and it got really quiet and intimate.
All in all Trent was all over the place/thanked us for constant support, they all had energy, Robin Finke awesomeness, new drummer owneddddd!! I'm sooooooooooooo happy I got to catch this tour, the setlist was so amazing, and it was a good "way to say goodbye" (although, I highlyyyyy doubt this will be the last we'll be seeing Trent...)
Next: Jane’s Addiction
setlist:
Three Days
Whores
Pigs In Zen
Ain’t No Right
Then She Did
Had A Dad
Mountain Song
Ted, Just Admit It...
Been Caught Stealing
Ocean Size
--
Summertime Rolls
Stop!
Jane Says
I know other people who went to NINJA shows weren’t really into JA, but I was really excited/still on a super NIN high/everyone else was there for JA so people were excited around me. The stage set up was soooooooooooo cool, first there were naked women projected onto a screen, then the perfectttttt intro with Kevin Bacon and that kid transitioned into Perry’s speech from the beginning of “THREE DAYS” started playing (one of my JA favs)… yessssssssssssssss! Although, I didn’t like how Perry was singing at all during this one, but that song is so epic in itself that it made up for it…
“Then She Did” was the same deal, epic but Perry sang it annoyingly. Amazinggggggg guitar though omg.
“Mountain Song” was a PARTY, everyone was bobbing their heads, and in my eyes, Perry stepped up his game and sounded really good from here on out… the moment it started was soooooo great: “COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!! … *badass guitar*” sigh… soooooo good.
Then a screen came down, and I heard the beats for “Ted, Just Admit It…” starting and I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited… and then on the screen, they played parts of NBK and I was even more =DDDDDD. Perry’s vocals in this one were AMAZING, I lovedddddddddddddddd everything about this song’s performance. Surpassed any expectations I had.
“Been Caught Stealing” was MUCH better than the original, it was super fast and energetic and made me LOVE that song so much. The stage was red and crazy, Perry delivered, etc.
Everything in the encore was amazing. I used to listen to “Summertime Rolls” a lot two summers ago, it was soooooo nostalgic and beautiful live. “Stop!” was a fucking party, and “Jane Says” was a two-acoustic guitar deal which was prettyyyy awesome/epic ending cuz they still rocked outttttt.
All throughout their set Perry Farrell was drinking on stage, and I think he was on something else- he kept fucking talking and saying, “I LOVE YOU, SAN FRANCISCO” ALL the time… and talking about bull shit. He was acting sooooooo wtf lololol. But he had SO much stage presence it was ridiculous. I love what he was wearing… some weird jean outfit with a corset! Hahaha, he’s crazy. Plus, Dave Navarro would be on screen a lot (yes finally, screens) and he’d go over to him haha. The only thing I noticed is that JA didn’t play ANYTHING from their last album “Strays” at all… I kind of wanted to see “Superhero” and “Price I Pay” but I knew I was in for the classics for NINJA, and I am really happy with everything that did get played. ALL of the music itself was beyondddd perfection, they captured great moods from every song so well… Perry’s voice is kind of annoying but the way he sang some songs made it amazing. A-mazing.
Aside from the amazing performances from all three acts, there were lots of other things that made this special:
First, the venue- Shoreline Ampitheater. I had been three times before, two of those being for NIN (1 with Chantene and Kaelon and their mom, where Peaches posed for my cell camera and I caught a rose from Peter Murphy, AND we had FOURTH ROW/it was the last show in the ‘With Teeth’ tour, and 2 for the orchestral NIN performance in the Bridge School Benefit acoustic show…).
Second, the first and only other time I heard “Home” live was at my very first NIN show, and I heard it again 'for the last time.'
Third, NIN playing “Burn” + JA playing “Ted, Just Admit It…” (both from NBK soundtrack, which Trent produced) with clips from NBK playing… wow, talk about full circle!
Aside from the all of the singers’ showmanship, Tom Morello, Robin Finke, and Dave Navarro = amazing guitarists, I was feeling so lucky to even see them play at the same show. Also, the sound at the Shoreline was awesome, everything sounded SO good.
I feel fulfilled on so many levels, it's ridiculous… =DDDDDDDDDDD
My stomach is still doing turns... EPIC show. I’m sad it’s over lol