All That Could Have Been

Nine Inch Nails made its debut in San Antonio October 16th in the SBC Center, and this was now the second time I saw them on the With Teeth Tour. Why would I bother seeing a band twice on the same tour when the probability of seeing repeated material was very high you ask, well, because the performance was that good the first time. They really weren’t going to be the same show, the first time I saw them was in a smaller venue, their club tour, however this time around was the arena show which means more extravagant props and effects.

The opening acts this time around were Death From Above 1979 and Queens of the Stone Age (QotSA). Unfortunately this time around Trent Reznor did a deplorable job selecting opening acts, previously The Dresden Dolls opened, at the time I knew nothing about them, and only heard one of their songs from a fellow’s ipod while I was in DC. The band impressed me, so I was hoping for the same from opening acts this time around, although I have never been a fan of QotSA.

Death From Above 1979 consisted of a bassist and drummer duo, the material was terrible. It reminded me of a band which couldn’t hold onto guitar players so they thought they were too good to simply let their musical dreams die. Unfortunately for the members in the audience, we were treated to forty minutes of noise and gibberish as vocals.

Queens of the Stone Age did not change my opinion of them, I still dislike them. Josh Homme’s musical style has drastically changed along with the member s in the band, and it showed in his selection of material. The general audience seemed to be in a daze for most of their performance. Playing in front of a banner which resembled trees the guitars were cranked to an 11 (Spinal Tap reference) and the vocals were drowned out. The only song which seemed to get the audience moving was their lone hit “No One Knows” from their album Songs for the Deaf. However I knew Nine Inch Nails would right the two wrongs I had witnessed thus far.

Appearing on stage behind a sheer while curtain, the stage lights were set up to project silhouettes of the members on the fabric, until it came tumbling down as Trent and company launched into a cut from his most recent album With Teeth. The energy and enthusiasm fed the crowd to obscene levels once the call for “All the Piggies to March” was made.

One of the most intriguing segments of the performance came during the video montage assembled for the song “Eraser”, weaving images of animals attacking in numbers. It seemed to make a “power in numbers” type reference while the band played behind the same white curtain. The other clips put together were assembled of images from wars, people ballroom dancing, and ultimately an image of Mr. and Mrs. W (it drew applause when this image came on, however I held my applause, and wondered what the people were applauding).

The remainder of the set was comprised of a variety of material from all his previous albums, some of the songs performed were (this is a list of all the songs I can remember which were performed and not mentioned earlier):

• The Wretched


• Suck


• The Hand that Feeds


• Only


• Closer


• Terrible Lie


• Wish


• Burn


• Hurt


• You Know What You Are?


• Reptile

I can not say enough for the energy which is displayed on stage, the guitarist Aaron North is a maniac. He is constantly running around on stage, knocking over mic stands, twirling his guitar all around his head and around his back. Trent Reznor leads his band like a general, with strong presence front and center, sometimes armed with a black guitar. Jeordie White doesn’t go for the running around, but his presence is known, he seems to over shadow the keyboardist in the background (I don’t know this fellows name however). Unfortunately the original touring drummer, Jerome Dillon, developed a heart condition and was replaced by Alex Carapetis, who did a good job filling in.

My hope had almost come true, until those recognizable sounds from Head like a Hole started. Out of all the songs he could have done in place of this over played song, I would have much preferred to hear Where is Everybody, Happiness in Slavery, or Ringfinger. Unfortunately, according to Trent, The Perfect Drug is extremely difficult to pull off live, and Kinda I Want To won’t ever be performed live due to its complexity.

Never the less, another great concert, even seeing them the second time around as there were enough differences from the New York show I saw back in May and the one performed in San Antonio. Nine Inch Nails still knows how to put on a concert, and not to let down its many many fans. This is surely an act not to be missed.