Things I did not have space to mention in my C-Ville Weekly review of the Nine Inch Nails + HEALTH gig from last week:
1) Nine Inch Nails concerts are really about a sort of empathy. Trent isn't actually a tortured artiste, so much as a shaman leading the audience through a collective rockist ritual in which a safe space is created for highly organized, socially acceptable representations of entropy and disarray. Per lyrics from "The Wretched": "Now you know/This is what it feels like".
2) Reznor has gone from being a scrawny, reluctant sex symbol in the 90's to a mega-pumped, ultra-masculine stage presence. The show was often about using overwhelming might and mastery to tap into the collective rock libido.
3) Lots of my musically inclined friends consider NIN a punchline. The joke's on them. I challenge you to name another group that has managed to combine elements of Prince, Bomb Squad Productions/Public Enemy, Ministry, King Crimson, Einsturzende Neubauten, etc. into such a winningly pop-oriented melange. And at last Wednesday's gig, I heard hints of crunk and R&B in some of the tracks from Year Zero. The lyrics, as in most great pop music, range from nonsense to inspired nonsense.
4) A meathead asked aloud of the audience members down below: "Why don't you ******** start a pit?" The crowd occasionally broke into the mosh routine, but mostly people danced and sang along; NIN's MO was always to make music that suggests headbanging but really encourages hip-swinging.
5) HEALTH were nasty live. I saw them at the Bridge last year and they were one of the most thrashing, visceral groups I'd caught in a while. They sacrificed none of that energy on this high-profile opening act slot. Farsheed had caught them live at the Pitchfork Festival and was a bit less than impressed with their sound in an outdoor venue on a sunny day. Their new material suggests that they are learning how to effectively manage the aesthetic and acoustic demands of playing in ever-expanding venue spaces.
6) My friend, Greg, pointed out that HEALTH's drummer was wearing an Obama shirt...and that it would be really hard to imagine ANY rock musician wearing a Kerry shirt.
