NIN Destroys JAX

honestly, what can i say about a Nine Inch Nails show that hasn't been said before?

despite not being entirely sold-out and a few technical problems with the video screens (which resulted in a partially displayed NIN logo at the end), this was honestly the most amazing thing ever. and i know i say that a lot, but dammit i mean it this time, and i know no show will ever fucking come close to this one in terms of intensity, visuals, setlist, and just the sheer enjoyment the band had when playing. all of those things made this one of the greatest highlights of my life.



i got there early, picked up my sweet-looking fan club tickets (which also let me in earlier), then waited about an hour until the arena let us in. i got a good place close to the stage on the right side where Robin would stand. the opening act was HEALTH, and they sucked balls. i was so glad when they left the stage. i could say more, but they were so bad that they don't deserve anymore attention.

NIN came on at about 8:40 and didn't stop until 11:00. the crowd was pretty tame, so i stayed close to the stage the whole night without being too crushed. the band ripped through the new songs from "The Slip" and then played some oldies. in the middle of the set, they played some acoustic songs from the "Ghosts" record, which i thought was awesome. those songs, along with some songs from "Year Zero" and a really rad acoustic version of "Piggy", were accompanied by some of the best visuals i've ever seen (as evidenced in the photo below).



after the slow songs, NIN cranked back into the hard ones which also had some cool lights from the three video screens on stage. the screen would even respond to what the band did. for example, during "Only", the front screen was filled with static, and whenever Trent would put his hand up against it, a small hole would appear and you could see him.

during the encore, Josh came out and "pushed" buttons on a huge drum machine that was projected on the second video screen. he programmed the beat to "Echoplex" and then the rest of the band came out and tore into it. after the song ended, Josh came out, "pushed" the buttons again, and the beat stopped.

then Trent gave his only speech of the night, saying "whenever i think of Jacksonville, i think of Fred Durst" which resulted in boos from the crowd. but he did say he remembered a lot of faces, and was really glad to be back in town.



for me, the highlight of the night was "Hurt". the last time i saw NIN, the crowd yelled through the song and forced Trent to stop it half way through. "Hurt" has always been one of my favorite NIN songs, so when i finally got to hear it all the way through i almost shed a tear. the crowd was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. and Trent was extremely satisfied with the audience, and he took an extended bow after the song ended. the nearly 2 and a half hour set ended with "In This Twilight", and that couldn't have sent the night off on a better note. each band member left one by one, starting with Robin, then Josh, then JMJ, then Alessandro, and finally Trent.



hopefully i did justice to what was most definitely the best show i've ever seen in my whole life. if you can catch NIN on this tour, DO IT NOW. your mind will be blown.

setlist:

999,999
1,000,000
Letting you
Discipline
March of the Pigs
Head Down
The Frail
Reptile
Closer
Gave Up
Me, I'm Not
Vessel
Ghosts 21
Ghosts 14
Ghosts 19
Piggy
The Greater Good
Pinion
Wish
Terrible Lie
Survivalism
The Big Comedown
Only
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole

(encore)
Echoplex
The Beginning of the End
Hurt
In This Twilight

(p.s. - if you read that all, i love you)