2007年 02月 23日 金曜日 08:44

Thu 22 Feb – Nine Inch Nails, The Popo
I hate to use hyperbole when attempting to write something serious, but even with hindsight and the torpid emotional detachment of now sitting in front of a computer screen at work, I can still state flatly that this was the best live performance that I've ever attended.
The Popo, the obscure opening band, was kind of a mix of System of a Down and The Clash. I wasn't really paying attention, but they played about 6 different tracks, the first two of which nevertheless achieved my approval.
After a 20 minute break, the main event got into full gear. With the lights still on, a lengthy version of Pinion started blaring out to put us in the mood, which opened up with a loud and distortion heavy version of Wish. For the most part, I was expecting a collection of radio-friendly, popular favorite (e.g The Perfect Drug, Mr. Self Destruct), but was pleasantly rewarded with a lot of drum heavy lesser known tracks (e.g The Collector), and some of the more aggressive songs in their repertoire (You Know What You Are?).

The show lighting was a little bit awesome. During the chorus for Heresy, bright red lighting made the whole thing seem diabolical. Also fully entertaining was the lighting used for Closer (you knew they had to play it), it conjured up clear images of sordid strip clubs. I will also not forget the bass, length, and lighting used to perform Help Me I Am In Hell, and am in fact frustrated that no set of earphones, home cinema, or stereo will ever recreate this great instrumental as it was on stage.

Trent polished off the act with a couple of pieces by playing the piano himself for The Fragile and Hurt, and certainly didn't forget to play at least a track from his debut Pretty Hate Machine by performing an excellently bass-y version of Head Like a Hole.

The man was zen, and reportedly couldn't hear out of one ear, and promised to "play balls off" - and nobody in the audience could disagree with the ensuing cacophony. Overall a thundering good show, and I promise never to miss them whenever they come to our city of lights.