NIN|JA
Last night I saw the NINJA (Nine Inch Nail, Jane's Addcition) concert at Cricket Pavillion in Phoenix, AZ. I didn't have any set expectations for the show as I have never seen Jane's Addiction before; but I did see NIN open up for David Bowie in 1995. They were spectacular and I was left scraching my head as to why they were opening up for David Bowie... who is 25 years past his time. But I digress.
We arrived to the show after Street Sweeper performed. We had lawn seats and hadn't made our way into the lawn yet when the first headliner took the stage. I was quite curious as to who was actually going to merit top billing on this tour months before the concert. I did some poking around on internet forums to get some answers and I didn't find any defnitive responses as to the format of the show. I read that NIN was going to be the main act. I also read that Jane's Addiction was going to be the main act. And I also read that they were considering alternating the order per show. So I didn't know what to expect up until showtime.
The first main act started playing as we were getting settled in and it was NIN. I immediately shook my head and said to myself 'you gotta be kidding me'. Don't get me wrong, I love JA. But
If the devil took a 1600 pound shit and split it into 9 equal pieces, and those pieces dawned masks and matching jumpsuits on stage with various instruments and started thrashing around with reckless abandon, that would be Slipknot. They played last night at Jobbing.com arena in Glendale, AZ - promoting their new album 'All Hope is Gone'. At a glance to the untrained eye if you saw this spectacle you would think that there was an escape from the local insane asylum and you should call the authorities. But Slipknot has set themselves apart from most bands with their raw energy, the crazy masks that they wear and their over the top theatrics. I didn't quite know what to expect out of this concert but I figured if nothing else it would be entertaining and make for good people watching. But I must admit, it was a much better show than I had expected. The best way I can describe their show is a cross between the energy of early raw Metallica, the theatrics of Kiss, and the showmanship the Blue Man Group.