Bussed it over to the Izod Center in Jersey last night to check out Nine Inch Nails. I’m not a stadium rock dude by any means but sometimes you gotta go for it. Arriving shortly before the end of Does It Offend You, Yeah?‘s opening set which was audibly forgettable to say the least, I took the opportunity to grab some tasty chicken fingers (Meadowlands Mustard!), fries, and a $8 Budweiser (totally expensable right guys?).

After getting settled in my seat and being mentally assaulted by some fanatical mid-40’s Canadian NIN devotees who were completely thwacked out of their minds the main event began and Trent & co started banging out the classics along w/ some of their newer tunes. Around the middle of the set they dug into the ambient stuff which needless to say was not quite as exciting as the accompanying visuals but hey, you try being that angry for 2 hrs nonstop and see what happens!

Overall it was an enjoyable experience considering the last time I saw them live was in ’94 as told in this post (yes Nick, “the shirt” was worn last night). I was really hoping for a 6 and got about a 4 overall on the energy meter, but as highly anticipated, the place EXPLODED when “Head Like a Hole” was performed.

The visuals were pretty good, hi-def ambient landscapes and weird static that enveloped and expanded around Trent like a forcefield of angst were a nice touch.

As was this interactive Wheel of Fortune-esque keyboard which produced sounds that reminded me of an Alesis HR-16 aka “the Wedge”.

All in all not a bad show. You could tell Trent is getting older and having fatter pockets always makes you a little less angry, not to mention the dope habit he kicked a couple years back. Next stop, Killing Joke World Tour at Irving Plaza (with the original lineup) in October. That will be a fucking 12 on the meter. See you there…