Hoo doggy...
First and foremost, the new EP, Add Violence, is just stunning, with or without knowing its place in the Year Zero universe. There's a rock solid single in "Less Than", and then a bunch of weird, experimental, beautiful, horrible shit afterwards*. No idea how they're going to top this for the third and final entry into the trilogy. It's going to be a long, dark six month wait...
Full review here.
Also, I saw NIN two nights in a row: first at the final day of Panorama and then, the next night, at their secret show at Webster Hall. Yes, I am very, very cool and should be envied.
Panorama
When you can silence tens of thousands of sweaty, drunken people with your music at age 52, you know you’re still relevant. When you do it four times in 90 minutes, you know you’re Trent fucking Reznor. Nine Inch Nails' set, which closed out the three day music and technology festival, began with intensifying, ominous noise while the “NIN" logo slowly formed on two massive screens flanking the stage, then, just as the panic-inducing cacophony was about to overwhelm the crowd, it cut out and a voice spoke: “yes, everyone seems to be asleep”. Suddenly, Reznor was storming his way to the microphone, dressed in aviators and a leather jacket, set to burn the world down.
The band, with new addition, Atticus Ross on bass and synths, perfectly captured the fury and chaos of "Burning Bright”, lyrical clarity be damned; you didn’t need to understand the words, you just needed to know that whatever Reznor was screaming through that megaphone was absolutely fucking venomous. "Less Than”, the lead single from their most recent EP Add Violence, came off very strong, but not as towering and powerful as the album version. “Reptile" was as loud and destructive as always, transporting the entire audience of thousands back to 1994 for about seven minutes. It was also great to see "Gave Up" back on the roster, the live performances of that have always been some of the most bladed moments of the NIN live experience. And anyone not weeping openly when Bowie's vocals joined Reznor's on “I Can’t Give Everything Away" was either not human or...no, just that, not human. Sadly, Reznor still relies on his “The Show Is Almost Over” trio of “The Hand That Feeds” into “Head Like A Hole” into “Hurt”, three songs that mean nothing to me anymore and can’t possibly mean anything to him at this point.
This was the third of a small handful of dates Nine Inch Nails are playing this year before embarking on a world tour in early 2018 and, if this was any indication, whatever they come up with in the new year is going to be more than worth the wait.
Webster Hall
In town for the Panorama music festival, Nine Inch Nails decided to drop by Webster Hall with Tobacco, fill it with fog, and slowly asphyxiate everyone inside with heat and punishingly loud music. While the size of the venue made it the definition of intimate (about a 1200-person capacity), it was more than that; Reznor forewent the subtle costuming from the festival shows and, right before introducing the band, stated “you know who they are”. And that was true. The show was announced on the Nine Inch Nails Facebook page eight and a half hours before doors, with tickets only available to fans who had a password or to those “loyal nin.com store patrons” via an email from the band.
The show featured the live debut of “She’s Gone Away”** and a few welcome surprises in the form of the tour debut of “Sanctified”, “1,000,000” and “Somewhat Damaged”, that last as the opener. Then there was the odd inclusion of about thirty seconds of How To Destroy Angels’ “The loop closes”. Since all of HTDA was there and on stage except for Mariqueen Maandig, the crowd was expecting a rare treat, but before everyone could really grasp what was happening, they stopped playing it and moved onto the next track. “Gave Up”, “Reptile” and “Burning Bright" were devastating in the confined space and the addition of “Survivalism” had people screaming along and pumping their fists like protestors. The moment when all the lights went out during “Burn" was truly terrifying; I thought Robin Finck was going to leap off the stage and stab me to death with a shard of shattered guitar, which, admittedly, would have been a pretty awesome way to die. Proximity, energy, and setlist aside, my absolute favorite moment of this evening was that, for the first time since I started seeing Nine Inch Nails almost twenty years ago…they did not. Fucking. Play “The Hand That Feeds”. The simple lack of that overused, cookie-cutter, threadbare-kitchen-rug of a song made this show stand out more than anything in recent memory.
I am truly grateful.
And spoiled.
Small gallery of Webster Hall here.
Some website has a title and release date for Beck's new one, specifically October 13th and Colors. I could buy that. Although I won't believe until I hear it and am disappointed at its length and the ratio of wait to reward.
New Tori Amos song, "Cloud Rider"...while the lyrics are just rife with story and a hidden depth, the music is...a bit...powdery....is the word that keeps popping into my head. I don't know if that's an outright bad thing, it's just...I don't know...powdery. See and hear for yourself here.
Also, a new Garbage song, "No Horses". In a nutshell, it does what all of Depeche Mode's Spirit was trying to do, but better and in about five and a half minutes. It's dark and intense and fucked up but I really wish Manson didn't say "no horses" so many times. It gets irritating. But I suppose when it's for a cause (all proceeds go to the Kickstarter to have the Angry Marmalade Pancake Man assassinated...or the International Committee for the Red Cross...one of those)...that doesn't matter? Because, like, if you complain about a song that's made for a cause...it's a bit like you're not supporting the cause for which the song has been created?
Anyway.
They made a video too.
It's prophetic and disturbing as fuck.
Oh, and while I had my (fucking goddamn fucking 4th row center) ticket to see Garbage play at the Beacon last week, I booked a fucking on camera commercial. Which shot in fucking Baltimore. And required me to shave my fucking arms and legs. And I missed the show. Furious because the set was something I'd been dreaming of for years.
Fuck you, career.
Finally, Gorillaz just put out a fun, disco-riffic video for "Strobelite", a song which, as far as I can tell, does not feature the Gorillaz at all. Whatever the case, seeing Murdoc leer at the camera and 2D and Noodle dance together is all I need. Ever.
Watch here with your eyes.
* Except for the end of "The Background World".
** From that episode of Twin Peaks.
No comments:
Post a Comment