Boring and Expected Swans Show Review

Hello dear friends. I am back from a joyful and very relaxing 2 week quasi-vacation in NYC and life is good. My lovely bf and I had a wonderful time in the city (though I probably had a better time than he did, cause I shopped a lot), and one of the highlights of our stay in NY was that we were able to see Swans live.

For those of you unfamiliar with the band, Swans are one of the most important and influential bands to come out of the famous No Wave era in New York. This was back in 1982. They remained together and released many albums -- though with a different musical direction -- throughout the '80s and most of the '90s, until they disbanded in 1997. Band leader Michael Gira then took on several other projects as a solo artist, producer and member of other bands, until he announced in 2010 that the band would reunite for a new album and tour.

My boyfriend and I are both avid Swans fans, and this announcement was very pleasant for us to learn. We had been talking about spending some time in New York City before finding out about the tour, but nothing had been formally planned. One day, my boyfriend surprised me with two tickets to the Swans' show at NYC's Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 9, 2010, and immediately, our plans were made.


Most people who know Swans and/or have heard any of their live albums are aware of the incredibly loud performances they put on. I was aware of this, but given the extent and diversity of the Swans' catalog, my fears of a sound-induced coma were dispelled. Of course, I was expecting a warm, rather mellow show that encompassed every aspect of Swans, from their harsh beginnings to their softer, more melodic and rather romantic works. And of course, I was punched in the face when everything I expected was soon shattered into a million tiny pieces. I am not saying, under any circumstances, that this was a bad show, or that I am unhappy with the setlist. I will explain in detail later, but first things first: the opening act.

Opening acts are usually hit or miss with the crowd. For any band, picking an opening act that personifies the future of music in a good way and also carries on the values of the headliner is a rather difficult task. Truth is, the audience is there to see the headliner, and the opener is just an added bonus that the audience could do well without, in most cases. There might be cases where the opening act is just as relevant to the audience as a headliner, but that would usually happen on a person-to-person basis rather than as a whole. I know I haven't attended a show where I was more interested in seeing the openers than the headliners, although I do recall a situation where that could be applied, and I talked about that briefly here. In my case, and my boyfriend's case as well, we were not very enthused about seeing Baby Dee open for Swans.


We were both surprisingly content with Baby Dee's set. The music was simple -- just a violin and a cello accompanying Dee's voice and harp playing -- and the lyrics were crazy, with a sense of depth and good humor at times. Both musicians in her band were very skilled, and played gracefully to her half-sung-half-recited lyrics.


Her set was not very long, but it was a nice one. If anything, it gave me some expectations for the show. If a lo-fi, acoustic act opened for Swans, then Swans would play their more recent, less brutally noisy stuff... Wrong.

They kicked off the set with like 10 minutes of really loud feedback. I mean really loud. It was so loud, even some of the diehard Swans fans started to put on earplugs. Then Thor Harris, of Shearwater (and carpentry) fame, came out to play the chimes in the back over the deep layers of feedback.


The rest of the band, including Michael Gira and two extra brass players came out to join in on the noise, playing their instruments as hard as humanly possible. At this point, I am pretty sure blood came out from inside my ears. I was in pain, but it was a good kind of pain.


Remember what I mentioned earlier about my expectations for this show? The band played deconstructed and prolonged versions of early songs and songs from their new album, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky.


Getting to the venue early allowed us to secure a spot on the first row. We were standing on the left, so we were right in front of Christoph Hahn and Thor, who was in the back. Gira kept most of the show facing away from the audience, and turning to the right, so most of the pictures I have of him are of his ass, like the one above. I didn't have the best view of the rest of the band who were on my right, so I have very few pictures of Norman Westberg, Phil Puleo (whose picture I couldn't take at all), or bassist Chris Pravdica. At least Hahn posed for a few of my pictures, as shown below.

This was before he (and the rest of the band) took off their shirts. Ahem, moving on...

Highlights of the show were a long and loud instrumental solo mid setlist, and the incredible Beautiful Child, from one of my favorite Swans albums, Children of God. After Eden Prison, a song from their latest album, the band thanked the audience and retreated. A minute later they came back for the encore -- a sweet spoken-word kind of number called Little Mouth, which Gira affectionately dedicated to his wife and Angels of Light bandmate, Siobhan Duffy.

The band thanked the audience one last time, sent guitar picks and drumsticks out to the crowd as souvenirs and posed for pictures as they left. I was able to snap a pretty awesome picture of Thor as he posed for the audience. Gira also makes a nice appearance on the right.


I also got some little souvenirs of my own.


The show was incredible, and we both enjoyed it a lot. The noise cruelly raped my ears with the fury of a depraved maniac, but at least I was able to recover my hearing within the next couple of days.

Every Swans fan should get the chance to see this show. Really, it was too good for words. The whole band showed an incredible amount of skill on the set, and it was very amusing to see them give it their all onstage, despite the fact that they are well into their fifties now. As a suggestion, I would tell them to keep their shirts on for the next shows, but a few saggy tummies were easy to bear with when they gave us such great music. I should post a pic of me wearing the Swans t-shirt I got at the show. Here's the full setlist, in case you were wondering.

Edit this setlist | More Swans setlists

In the following days, my boyfriend found a slew of pictures and videos where, unfortunately, we are featured. Here's a screencap from someone's video, where I elegantly highlighted my face and my boyfriend's head, for extra convenience.



You can watch a some videos from the show if you click on this dandy playlist assembled by my bf.

Just to make this review extra professional and journalistic, here's a pic of me and my bf on the train. <3


It actually hurt to try to write a serious review. I will continue with my usual blathering and cursing from now on. Sorry for this momentary lapse of politeness.

----------------

Now playing: Joy Division - The Kill
via FoxyTunes

What My Life Has Become as of Sunday, July 25, 2010

Hello reader(s). I realize I have been a little bit M.I.A. for the last couple of months, only showing up to comment on Trent Reznor's latest (failed) foray into the world of honest, integral musicianship, and to complain about some shit; because that is what I do and everyone knows it. I realize I haven't posted any of my long-winded "State of the Union" sort of updates in a while, so, after I woke up from a 13 hour nap at about 3:00 PM, I decided this is what I want to do.

Today, July 25, 2010 at exactly 9:35 PM, I have a huge headache and my hair looks nice.

Speaking of hair, I am undergoing a hair loss treatment. Started in April and have no idea when I'll stop cause it was supposed to be five months but it seems like it's taking forever. Hair does look better and I guess I can say it stopped falling off, but that's the least I expected for what I'm paying for it.

I am back at school. For two months only though, fingers crossed. This is all part of life's plot to keep me from going places.

Speaking of going places, my plans of going to New York City to study my Master's have been put on hold. Oh, I guess you didn't know I was planning to study my Master's in NYC. Heh, ok, well now you do. I was planning to apply for a MFA in Creative Writing at Hunter, but I have better plans now, so I guess that can wait. I have been seriously considering moving to Norway as soon as school lets me out, er- I graduate, and study my Master's there. Seriously cosidering a M.Phil in Human Rights. I guess I'd do better at this since it doesn't require any display of talent whatsoever.

For the first time in my life, I have plans. I've never been the kind to plan my life or go by goals. The few times I have, I ended up falling flat on my ass and doing nothing. So I stopped doing it and started living "dangerously". I live each day as it comes and wait for life itself to decide what I should do or sort things out for me. It has worked, to be honest. But now I have plans again. Aside from wanting to go to Norway -- which I'm pretty sure I will do, as I am motivated enough to pursue it -- I have business ideas, I am starting to take the initiative in small business plans (I hate business plans cause I am a proletarian, not an entrepreneur) and other positive stuff. Not sure how long this is gonna go on for, but I'm okay with it as long as I get something good out of it.

Wanna hear my business plan? I will open a tea shop. Sort of like Starbuck's, but for tea lovers. If this fails, I have a plan B. With my Master's, I will apply for a job at the UN. I bet they'll hire me with my big shot M.Phil in Human Rights from Norway. That's what those folks are all about, right? If all else fails, I'll go into fashion design. My global domination plans are super effective, aren't they?

I think I'm not depressed anymore. I'm still a weird, emotionally unstable person with serious issues though. And I think I might have anxiety. Oh well... nobody's perfect.

I love my boyfriend with all my heart. He makes me really happy despite my great faults. He's also hella patient with me.

I am going back to New York in October with my boyfriend. We're so excited about this we can't wait for these two month wait to be over. The reason we're going to NYC? We're going to see Swans! Yes! WE'RE GOING TO SEE SWANS! WEEEE! Thanks to him we got some nice tickets on time and we're all set. Planning this trip has proven really exciting -- even though I know the city very well, I can't wait to explore new places and show them to him. I'm a huge cheeseball, I know. Here's a picture of the Swans tickets my bf bought:



We're also considering going to other concerts if possible, so any suggestions will be appreciated. So far my only options are Dead Kennedys, Foals, Ratatat and The XX. If you're wondering about the latter, I will say this here: No, I am not fan of those bullshit hipster posing assholes. I am, however, a fan of the opening acts: Warpaint and Zola Jesus. There's also the possibility of a Legendary Pink Dots show and hopefully, if we're lucky, a Current 93 show that would knock down all the other shows and kick their pasty, stinky, hipster asses. We'll see.

I haven't forgotten about my 365 Project. Yet.

News flash: I don't like Queen. Fuck Queen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new Arcade Fire. I might even review it. It's brilliant. Here's the title track:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I am poor.

I love sleeping. I've been sleeping a lot lately. Maybe I'm just gonna die soon. Who knows.

Today, July 25, 2010 at exactly 10:16 PM, I am sleepy and my headache hasn't gone away. I also have homework to do. So bye.


----------------
Now playing: Sad Lovers & Giants - Man Of Straw
via FoxyTunes

Long Overdue A Place to Bury Strangers/Dead Confederate/All the Saints Concert Review

Okay kids, here I go. Checking some of the last few blogs on here, I realize I never made any mention of my trip back to NYC (other than that last minute shame of a post hours before the trip), much less of the APTBS show I planned on attending. My bad. I did, though, see them on Oct. 29th. So, given that I'm obsessed with publicizing every minor aspect of my sad little existence --and this one counts as a big one-- I'll just blog about it.




I arrived at the Bowery a little too early, as I miscalculated and left about an hour before time -- show would supposedly start at 8. There was nobody outside, so I took a walk. Came back about thirty minutes later and three old dudes were waiting outside. Just three people. Three old dudes who spoke about me in Puerto Rican and didn't even stop to consider I could understand them. Dumb fucks. When they finally let us in, at about 7:45, the only people inside were the old dudes and I. For a moment there I didn't think anyone would show up. Then someone came through the door. Then someone else. All alt-looking people, NY hipsters -- the worst kind of hipster there is. People like this:


(Sorry it's so blurry, it's not like I asked the funniest looking, Einsturzende-Neubauten-t-shirt-wearing, emo-fringe-bearing, anorexic hipster to pose for a pic so I could make fun of him later on my stupid blog, ya know?)


Countless minutes later, at about 8:30, they let us upstairs. Still, there weren't more than 30 people in the whole place. I took my place on the front row and waited... and waited... and fucking waited. People slowly started to populate the rather small venue, either taking seats upstairs or sitting on the floor downstairs like I was. As we all hopelessly waited for the band(s) to take their positions onstage, and watched as technicians plugged shit in, rushed on and off the narrow stage carrying equipment and water bottles, it occurred to me that it was too late and I should be home. It really wasn't that late, it was about nine something, but damn, was I tired. I was tempted to leave, hop on the J and go back home, sleep off the backache and wake up fresh. Just then, I saw that drummer dude from All the Saints come out. So I had to stand...

I had heard very little about All the Saints before the show. I got their second album when I found out they were opening for APTBS, and I wasn't disappointed. Their set was pretty simple, a small drumkit, a mic on the left for the bassist and a mic on the right for the guitarist/vocalist. The whole thing reminded me of the cover of Philosophy of the World by The Shaggs, and I really wasn't sure what to expect from those dudes.



Heh, I didn't think that much noise could come from those instruments. I couldn't hear a damn word the dude sang, and I could hardly make up the songs they were playing, but they were energetic and played well enough to have me banging my head a couple times. Props to the drummer who despite his intense sweating managed to do a great job.



As soon as they left, a stampede of roadies stormed onstage and began setting up the place for Dead Confederate. I considered going home again, as my feet felt like they were being crushed between glass and a ton of bricks, and my back was no different. I dropped my bag and coat on the floor, feeling instant relief, and as soon as I looked back up, I found a familiar bearded figure standing by the stage door. I took a second look and realized it was Kyp Malone, from the seminal Brooklyn indie/hipster band Tv on the Radio. I glanced at the girl/boy/speed-taking person next to me, and he/she/they replied: "Yep, that's him." The moment I snapped out of it and attempted to take a picture, the dude went back inside, to never come out again. But I did see him and that's enough for me.

The stage was way more crowded for Dead Confederate. There were lots of mics, a bigger drum kit, like two keyboards, one on each end of the stage, and a whole lot of cords and cables and amplifiers. There were six funny-looking people onstage, and I had the feeling the lead singer hadn't washed his hair in weeks.



To be honest, these guys didn't impress me at first listen. I picked up their albums not so long ago but I didn't find anything particularly remarkable about them. I knew they'd be better live. I wasn't wrong. They killed!!! After the minimalistic show All the Saints put on, my expectations for Dead Confederate weren't high at all, but they bitchslapped me with their blinding strobelights and deafening guitar sound. I don't know how they managed to turn their simple, stale rock into such an amazing psychedelic experience live. I was blown away.



At this point, a mass of skinny-jeans-clad hipsters had taken over the small setting. Everyone was waiting for the headliners, who, in all actuality, didn't play any longer than the two previous bands. A blonde girl with her totebag full of beers swam through the crowd and took a place next to me, and a pair of Japanese dudes with funny haircuts soon joined her. She and the speed-taking-person next to me started drinking the beers and some cheap whiskey she had in a paper bag. Soon enough, the staple of all rock shows made its appearance, finally, after I wondered why it'd taken them so long to pull it out. That's right, pot. A Place to Bury Strangers came out and that's when the show got started.



At this point, I'd forgotten about my backache and exhaustion and was letting go, partially high off the pot smoke that was oozing around me. I was getting into it, really, until some fat kid no older than fifteen had the brilliant idea to start thrashing around to get some sort of indie/noise/alt-rock moshpit going. I, being as weak as grass, totally fell right in the arms of some dude who thankfully kept me from falling flat on my ass and making a complete idiot of myself. Then I tried taking a picture but my camera did something weird and stopped taking decent pics, and I remember thinking it was the pot that made my camera malfunction. I swear, that's the first thing I thought.



The dudes started off with some stuff from the new album, which makes sense since they just released it and are playing shows to promote it. (duh) Keep Slipping Away, one of my favorite songs from Exploding Head, was like the third song they played, which really got the hipster kids next to me going, and the blond girl screaming "louder, louder, louder!" and banging her head like a maniac. They played some stuff from their self titled, which I was really pleased to see. Another Step Away was a standout, but I expected that anyway cause that's a kickass track. Their trademark wall-of-sound style, combined with the amazing lights show and the screens made for a delightfully insane experience. I felt dizzy for a while there, like I was in some sort of drug-addled nightmare, or like I was living in the world of madness from Pink Floyd's The Wall. It was crayzeeeee!!! But alas! Thanks to my fucking camera being a total pothead, I spent most of their set trying to get it fixed so I could take pictures of the greatness my eyes were witnessing. I do remember that the blond chick started hugging me at some point, and pushed my bad under the stage. That was pretty weird. Then bam! Out of nowhere, a guitar pick flew across the stage and fell on my hair.



I was able to take some normal pics towards the end, but I had already half-missed most of the show. What I didn't miss was when that Oliver Ackermann dude (lead singer) grabbed some poor guitar and ripped it to shreds before our eyes. It was all so surreal I felt as if I'd taken some speed from the individual next to me. I was in excruciating pain throughout the whole 10 min or so it took him to destroy that innocent guitar, but at the same time, I was enjoying it with the delight of a child in awe at the M&M store. When it was over, I was out of breath, about to bite off a piece of my lower lip. That was so punk rock. It was so beautiful, and it was over. In a way, I was happy it was over, cause I was honestly dying, but part of me wanted to stay and watch the dude destroy that guitar over and over again. Cause, fuck... wow...

Finally, I resisted the uncontrollable urge, that iron-strong arm pulling at my loins, to make a stop at the gyro place right by the Bowery door, and went right down inside the J train station once again. I got home at 2:30 and collapsed.

It was sooo worth it.

Hi

Hey, it's me. I'm sorry I totally forgot about this blog, I've been busy having a life that for the first time in years does not include Trent Reznor in any way. I'm pretty happy actually, just sitting back, having a cup of tea and typing up this thing on my TOTALLY AWESOME NEW COMPUTER!!! and reminiscing about my life before my 21st birthday.

That's right, I'm an adult now.

Of course, I'm back from NY, where I had an amazing time for a change, and am currently dealing with some godawful third-world shit that's driving me and my dog insane. Wish I could go back, but I'm hell-bound, locked in a grimy dungeon with a hippie dog humping my leg and no electricity.

Ok, so I'm tired and have other shit to deal with right now so I'm not gonna blog about how awesome these past couple of days have been. I'm just gonna post some pictures cause I'm such an attention whore. I'll elaborate eventually. Or maybe I won't.



Birthday woman w/carrot cake. Happy day.



Meeting my future employers @ the UN lol...



A Place to Bury Strangers. Fucking AWESOMEEE!!! (BTW, I should mention I saw Kyp Malone backstage during the All the Saints/Dead Confederate intermission... and I GOT A GUITAR PICK!!!)






Grandma.






Halloween.


(Heh, I haven't listened to any music in centuries. WTF?)

Shit, I forgot to mention...

I'm going to New York tomorrow.

That should be pretty fun.

kthnxbai.

Checking in with C (cause I haven't blogged enough lately)

This week, for the first time in... a long fucking time, I bought an album on iTunes. I know I vowed to never hand those bastards my precious money again, but this time I had to and it was fucking worth it. The item in question: the Moon original soundtrack by Clint Mansell.

I hate my job, I hate my job, I hate my job...

I like someone, and I totally hate this cause knowing how fucking pathetic I am, my crush will be completely unrequited and I'll end up depressed. Not to mention it's practically impossible and crazy and so fucking typical of me. Shhhhhh!!!

I'm drinking again. I don't like this either cause knowing how lame a drunk I am, I've probably revealed way too much of my ugly self in my drunken stupors and that's NOT good. Just ask Twitter.

Grecia is back, yay!



I'm pretty sure I'll be spending my birthday in New York, which would be fucking amazing (for the most part) if I didn't know there are already some people planning how they're gonna get me drunk on Nov. 3rd, and as I mentioned before, that's NOT good. It also seems I'll be spending my 21st with Lisette -- if I convince her to stay that long. Good? Yeah!

Michael Reznor announced the 'last ever' NIN tour dates, (ooooohhhh!). Presale tickets went on sale on July 17th, causing a massive NINternet collapse which left most of the NINtard/NIN fangirl/cool NINer population ticketless. People, are you ever gonna learn to NEVER take El Rezzo's word seriously? I give his break two years tops. He'll be back. [Don't get me wrong, I, too, wish I could go to one of those shows, but I've already fed my NIN obsession way too much. Time to move on.]

Speaking of, His Holiness Trent 'Bitch Fit' Reznor, called bullshit on everyone and deleted his two Twatter accounts and his fiancee's, because of course, a smart man like him knows the only opinion that matters is the trolls'. In addition, he's also disabled the PM feature on his nin.com profile, in an attempt to disconnect himself from the meanie NINternets and live in the real world. I'm not gonna comment on or judge his decision, but... dude, he should have done that a long time ago, in PRIVATE! In any case, and cause I know he's totally reading this, he should fill this out. (Posted that on my Twitter a while ago but since he wasn't reading his @replies, I didn't send it to him.)

Speaking of, I am done talking about Trent. Unless he releases cool new music or does something non assholey for a change, I'm giving him the silent treatment, so to speak.

I'm getting better at simul. I mean, what the fuck, I interpreted two hours worth of a Non-Aligned Movement meeting laden with weird Middle Eastern and African and Indian and Asian accents and weird language and big words and shit and I didn't totally fuck up! Could it be that doing simul is really my thing? I can say, in all honesty, I enjoy interpreting UN-type of speeches, like that NAM meeting, and I'm truly interested in the issues addressed in them, the language is easy to get used to, the terminology is fairly easy and... well, interpreting this kind of thing gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside, like you're actually helping save the world or something. Granted, these people are NOT gonna save the word, and neither are the interpreters, but fuck it, it's a cool job.

Speaking of, I still suck big time and need to practice.

And I still hate my job.

I like gladiator sandals. Why? No fucking idea.

My Italian doesn't suck.

"If you're happy and you know it, that's a sin!" from The Simpsons. Fuck, lolololol! WIN!

I've recently come to realize how much I love music. I would be fucking nothing without it.

A professor called me 'smart' the other day, and told my friends she always thinks of me first when planning the class. This made me feel good, but the prof is a total wacko so I don't know how to feel about that.

Life is pretty good in general. Can't complain.

And that's all.


----------------
Now playing: Bitter:Sweet - Don't Forget To Breathe
via FoxyTunes

NY, NIN, WTF and everything else

Heh heh... Ok, so I was in New York last week, the first time in over two years, and now that I'm back in the confines of hell, I can fully appreciate what a fucking wonderful time I had. I know it took a stupid rock show to go back to this wonderful city, but hey, at least I went back. I'm not a bad person, I haven't neglected anyone... I'm just too busy these days. But yes, I had the fucking time of my life, shitty weather and all. Hey, did I tell you I got the swine flu from walking in the rain? Yup, I feel like shit right now, but it was fucking worth it. I bet everyone wants to read what an amazing time I had, right? Well, right now I'm not in a particularly telling mood so I won't.


Oh fuck it, I'll tell.

Thursday, June 4th
Trip starts. Shopping spree starts at the Duty Free shop, where I spend about $30 on chai tea and chocolate. Plane that's supposed to leave at 6:30 PM ends up leaving at 7:00. Dude sitting next to me cannot stop staring at my iPod, and I can hardly control the desire to punch him in the gut.


I arrive in Bogota about two hours later, and am deeply amazed at the airport's sheer ugliness.


Friday, June 5th
I arrive at JFK airport at 5:30 AM. The people at Customs ask me all sorts of shit, and I can't help wondering how bad I must look that they're taking me for a terrorist. I get picked up and as soon as I exit the terminal, I encounter the drizzle that will not abandon me at all today. Hey, drizzle. After a long drive, I get home, and exactly three minutes later, I leave for IHOP to get some nourishment, but since I don't eat, I just order mozzarella sticks. Long walk starts in Harlem (120th St.) at about 3:30 PM down Park Avenue and ends on 32nd St. and Broadway. Three umbrellas malfunction, and in the end, I give up on my quest to find a good one and get wet. Then dry up in Forever 21. Then get wet again. Then get dried up again on the train. I arrive home at 11 PM, but get immediately dragged to a house party, where I get completely trashed on Coors and Bacardi shots -- seriously, what is it with people and drinking games? I never see the exact point of them. Then again, that's a gringo thing and I'm exotic.

Saturday, June 6th
After passing out at God knows what time, I wake up at 8 with no recollection of any events occurred after 1 AM. I visit family, and am forced to eat as much as I'm served (trust me, a LOT) because apparently, I look like I just got back from Africa. Shopping continues that afternoon at a mall, and I find the meaning of love in a wonderful pair of skinny jeans from Pacific Sun... and get reacquainted with an old lover: Starbucks. I get home and chill for an hour, until I am taken back outside to Applebee's, because I just haven't been fed enough.

Sunday, June 7th
On Long Island. Friend and I attend the horrible, heinous fashion crime that is the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Day Parade, and I get a tan from being out in the sun for one hour. Get back home to change into my super spectacular rock outfit...


... and get driven to the Nikon Theater at Jones Beach (!!!), where none other than Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction happen to be playing. Huh, what a coincidence.


(more on that later)

Me and bro Bryan hang out until the show starts.


Day ends with Taco Bell at midnight, and I don't regret it.

Monday, June 8th
Last official day in New York. Another long journey that starts early on 32nd St. and finishes on Lafayette in Chinatown. The last of my money is spent on chocolate, Charlotte Russe and the MTA.


I overdose on Cherry Coke Zero and regret both wearing a sweater and scarf that day, and not wearing anything under the sweater. Result: I sweat like a MOTHERFUCKING PIG!!! Buy muffins that get squashed under the pile of chocolate, and take in the musky essence of New York and its dirty, crowded streets one last time. Get home to find blisters on my feet and feel a horrible backache that reminds me of how my grandma must feel on a regular basis. As I am preparing to go to bed, I get picked up and taken to Checkers for more fast food galore, and then to the movies to see the worst film in the history of the world, and I mean worse than White Chicks: The Hangover. Movie over, I'm back home at midnight, and start stuffing my shit into my suitcase and sitting on it so I can close it packing. Finally pass out at 1:30, after a long, relaxing bath.

Tuesday, June 10th
Wake up at 4 AM and find drizzle back around saying goodbye, but this time, thanks to Totes, I HAVE A FUCKING UMBRELLA, SUCKERS! I check in, blah blah blah, and board the plane at 8 and I immediately pass out on my seat. Plane remains unmoving for hours, though I don't notice it as I'm fucking out of it. I wake up to the smell of gasoline and find out the dumbass pilot is refueling with us still inside the aircraft. Plane finally leaves with a four-hour delay, and arrives in Bogota late enough for me to miss the connecting flight. I, along with some other unfortunate bastards, am forced to remain in the fugly Bogota airport for six hours.


iPod battery is in agony and I see the end nearer by the minute. In order to remain sane, I make the rushed decision to check out my luggage so I can take out the iPod charger, and check it back in. People at baggage claim go through hell and beyond to help me, but succeed in the end. iPod charges normally and my world is stable again.


Flight is delayed with a half hour again, and when I finally board, I encounter some belligerant drunk seated next to where I go. Exhausted, angry, hungry and out of patience at the time, I cannot help calling him out and telling him to SHUT THE FUCK UP, please! Get home past twelve, and hit the sack, hoping to never ever wake up.

... And that was my trip.


Oh right, the show.

This is how it went: FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!

Street Sweeper Social Club
Very energetic, excellent opening act. Too bad most people missed them.


Now, to be honest, I wasn't sure I'd enjoy their set, but the fuck I did. Tom Morello's guitar playing skills are SICK! Their set was short but hard! Their cover of Paper Planes was amazing! Definitely enjoyed watching them.



Nine Inch Nails
Well, they were incredible. Nine Inch Nails is an undeniable monster live, and every song they played was done to perfection. I froze myself, yes, but I did have lots and lots of fun. However, I don't know why I was left wanting more. Maybe I was looking forward to seeing a different setlist, or maybe I was expecting a longer set. I don't know, I was satisfied, but it could have been so much better. I was surprised at how terribly calm the audience was. There was no pit, no assaults, no monkey business -- only pure rock & roll. That was kind of good. Now, what wasn't so good was Trent's demeanor onstage. For a man who usually engages in interaction with the audience, or gives a small speech at the least, his behavior that day was not normal. He just introduced the band, said 'thank you' a couple times and played the show. His dryness was sort of a turn-off, but whatever. Oh, his voice was flawless, he could carry the notes, do all the screams and didn't fuck up any song. Good for you, Trent. Still, the highlight of the show for me: Robin smashing that guitar. Fuck yeah.
Overall, I enjoyed the show a lot. A LOT.

This is the setlist I got:

(from EchoingTheSound.org)

2009-06-07
Wantagh, NY
Nikon at Jones Beach Music Theater

Soundcheck:
The Wretched
Banged And Blown Through
Non-Entity
Suck

Show:
Somewhat Damaged
Terrible Lie
Heresy
March of the Pigs
The Frail
Metal
I'm Afraid of Americans
The Becoming
Burn
Gave Up
The Fragile
I Do Not Want This
The Downward Spiral
Wish
Survivalism
Echoplex
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt

I arrived at the venue just as they were soundchecking The Wretched, so I could hear it all from outside. I was surprised to hear them do Saul Williams' Banged and Blown Through, though. I remember thinking... What? Is that...? For some reason I thought it was Ladytron at first. Yeah, I'm dumb. But yeah, nice!

Now, I ADORED Somewhat Damaged as the opening song! I wish they'd played more from The Fragile, but this, The Frail and the title track did it for me. I totally squealed as I heard the opening bars, and had a complete fangirl moment that went kind of like: OMGWTFBBQSOMEWTAHFUCKINGDAMAGEDHOLYSHITTT!!! Wow... That was the most awesome opening ever.




My second fangirl moment came when Trent started playing The Frail. I have so many memories involving that song, some not as good as others, so watching the audience go into a complete halt and revel in the fragile notes nearly brought me to tears. The Frail was such a wonderful song.


Too bad it didn't end in The Wretched, but rather in Metal. This is when I started to dislike the setlist. I'm not huge about this song, I admit it, so I was kind of bummed that I got it. I mean, I do like the NIN version ten million times better than the Gary Numan original, but still, it's about seven minutes of an okay song, which could have been two amazing songs, or one fucking amazing one like Eraser or Reptile. I got kind of bored here. I thought I'd still be bored when I heard the next song, but weirdly, I'm Afraid of Americans, which I'm also not a huge fan of, was a cool, sexy experience. Yeah, sexy.




What followed was probably the best part of the whole set: pure Nine Inch Nails power with The Becoming and Burn. The former is one of my favorite songs from The Downward Spiral, and I sure as hell enjoyed it. Then Burn brought out the animal in me. Rawr. There was this lady and her husband next to me and we all went batshit when Burn started, screaming and tossing around and pretending we were in the pit, lol. Haha, thank goodness no one was paying enough attention to me and my moronic antics. BURN!




The raucous came to a climax with The Fragile, which was particularly beautiful. My second favorite song from my favorite album, and one of the songs I looked forward to that night, it was raw and emotional, every bit as touching as the studio version. It was so nice to see it played in its original form, and not the Still version played during the Performance '07 tour.


After a mindblowing rendition of an odd choice for a live song, The Downward Spiral, it was the turn of all the live staples. Songs like Wish, Survivalism, The Hand that Feeds, Head Like a Hole and Hurt were as flawless as always. They also played Echoplex after Survivalism, and it was okay, but I wish they'd played 1.000.000 instead. That song DESTROYS live!




Finally, the show ended with Hurt. At first I thought they wouldn't play it, as the band retreated after HLAH and the stage went completely dark, but it took them a few minutes to start this epic closer. You just can't have a NIN show without Hurt. I mean, it's not possible. They already left out Closer on this tour, and quite rightfully so, but Hurt? Nope, can't do without it. However, it could possibly be replaced by a similarly, yet not equally emotional tune like Home, Right Where It Belongs or In This Twilight. Only then I would forgive the absence of Hurt.


Jane's Addiction
Wow... I mean, seriously. Hell... wow. I certainly didn't expect them to be that good live. I wasn't planning on staying for them at first, but once I got there I decided it'd be cool to see them as well, and goddammit, it was beautiful. The stage looked really cool, much better than the NIN one. Perry Farrell is such a wonderful showman with great command of his audience. Sure, his voice wasn't top-notch, but he made up for it with his charm and humor. Starting with the epic Three Days, a fierce eleven-minute guitar track, everyone in the band showed exactly why they were one of the best alt-rock bands of the nineties.

(sorry, this is the only half decent Jane's pic I took before the camera died).

Everyone in the band knew exactly what they were doing. Navarro's guitar playing was so riveting it gave me goosebumps, and Eric Avery's bass playing was simply out of this world, most clearly on display on Mountain Song, my favorite Jane's song. The band played old favorites such as Been Caught Stealing, Pigs in Zen, Had a Dad, Stop!, etc., new live favorite Whores, and many other classics in the JA catalog. It's such a shame I couldn't see their whole set, thought now checking out their setlist, I realize I didn't miss all that much. I left as they were playing Stop!, and that was the second-to-last song, so basically, I only missed Jane Says, which ain't that bad. Still, I left the venue in absolute love with them. Yeah... wow.

And that was my shitty concert review. I will miss NIN, since this was the Wave Goodbye tour and now they're going on a hiatus or whatever, but mostly, I will miss looking forward to seeing NIN in NY. It certainly gave me a nice thought to wake up to every day. Now I have some serious unpacking to do. Fuck. So ok, I'm off. Work again tomorrow, Saturday, cause I have nothing better to do anymore.


----------------
Now playing: Atari Teenage Riot - Speed
via FoxyTunes