Nine Inch Nails: Live, With Teeth 5/28

What an unforgettable experience! Zack, Christine, and I ended up waiting in line for two hours in the hot Phoenix sun on Saturday afternoon. We met a few nice people from Albuquerque who were in line in front of us. Around 6 o'clock, the line started to move a bit and we ran into Matt, Bryce, and their friends. Being the nice people we were, we let all six of them cut in front of us in line, which probably royally pissed off the hundred or so people in line behind us! Once we entered the lobby, I immediately ran over to the merchandice stand and bought one of the limited edition lithographs (pictured to the right). I didn't know how hard I was going to have to protect this during the show. It got brutal...fast! While we were waiting for the show to begin, I was talking to another fan standing behind me when he shouted, "LOOK! It's that guy!" On stage stood Alessandro Cortini, the new keyboard player for Nine Inch Nails. Upon seeing us, he smiled and waved at us, to which I shouted, "Alessandro RULES!" After about an hour of waiting in the theater, the Dresden Dolls took the stage. Their performance was incredible, and the two of them feed off of each others' playing the entire set. The most memorable part of their set was Brian's amazing drum solo during "Half Jack." After the concert, we had the opportunity to meet them and get a couple of autographs. I told Brian that was the most kick-ass solo I'd ever witnessed. When the lights went out for Trent and the Nails, people began to push from every direction. The band came out and sounded perfect! At one point during "March of the Pigs," everyone sort of stopped and Trent turned to Alessandro and said, "Did I just f--- you up?" Then they proceeded to play the hell out of the song. I was hoping for weeks before the show that they would play "Reptile," and they did. It was also pretty awesome to hear "Even Deeper" played live. All in all, the experience didn't seem very real until the next day, waking up thinking, "Wow, I saw Nine Inch Nails in concert last night!" I can't wait until the Fall, when Trent and the gang return to the U.S. for more!