Somewhat Damaged. The live incarnation begins without the recognizable four note step melody and percussion, just Trent singing with a slight synth background. The second verse ends and it’s over. Not the song, the world. Everything disappears as if a hydrogen bomb is dropped on set. Ilan breaks in with the drums, Robin ignites his guitar and Trent runs backward. Intense light flashes obscure everything. They strobe on and off blinding the crowd, yet for some reason we can still see. The kick could be felt right in the heart, and I would like to believe my palpitations matched rhythm.  Half of my sense were shocked so suddenly, I could have sworn I had run into a wall; a bright, loud wall. Not that I could relate with the lyrics of the song, but I screamed them as convincingly as an angry apathetic teenager. Why not? I was of course ecstatic. Recently “Somewhat Damaged” has been one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails tunes and I had not even a trace of suspicion that they might play it, much less open the show with it.

The next two songs demonstrated the newest material. 1,000,000 and Discipline did not disappoint, but they did not trigger any super excitement either. Both songs feature minimal guitars and heavily feature the drums. Unfortunately, from my vantage point, Ilan Rubin was blocked by Robin and the keyboard rig. Still, I felt every one of his beats and remained in awe of his talents. After all, he is only a year older than I. Trent played an improvised riff on the keys toward the end of Discipline masterfully, adding a much needed perspective on the original. Aside from that, I would rather talk about the next songs.

Step right up. Staring across the sea of heads that the crowd is seemingly made of, it was hard to contain my glee when I witnessed a crowd of at least 100 in the pit trying futilely to bob around to a song in 29/8 time. Crawl right up on your knees. A fan favorite at every tour ever, “March of the Pigs” conveys an insane amount of energy. The lights flash. All of the drums cease, save the kick. The bass is steady. Trent stands raising his arms over his head, clapping. The crowd follows. All the pigs are all lined up. Doesn’t it make you feel better? Yeah you. Hey pig. One of my favorites to play on the bass guitar, I couldn’t help but keep my eyes locked on Justin Meldal-Johnsen for this.  The drums were nearly non-existent. No guitar; the vocals delivered in a quiet half whisper baritone. Robin moves over to the organ, playing a variation of the iconic The Downward Spiral motif. The bass changes. Then there’s nothing but a backing tambourine. Three snares, a tom, and a kick later, chaos. Trent’s original studio fiddling is ably carried on by Ilan as “Piggy” devolves into a steady chant of “nothing can stop me now.” Trent assumes his place at the piano, playing out the song with the other iconic chromatic riff from The Downward Spiral.

What song is this? It’s funky. I love the bass. Robin seems to be enjoying himself, swinging his head around as if in a trance. He’s got quite a large acoustic guitar, yet the sound coming out of it does not match its appearance. I had to check; the song was “Metal.” I have it, but I had yet to listen to it. JMJ on the piano was sick, producing those bassy notes while Trent messed with his keyboard effects. The sparse drums gave the song a hypnotic effect, especially through the extended outro.

Trent stays at the piano.  A blast from And All That Could Have Been, the piano led “The Becoming” is refreshing. The dissonant, irregular, riff cycles around and around. The impact is much more immediate live, as if the studio recording lacks depth of some kind. Robin’s acoustic guitar not appears useful. Hiding backwards inside of me I feel so unafraid. The calm strumming alleviates the confusion of the main riff. It’s relaxing. The song goes out this way, and that’s the way it should.

Boom. That was the sound of a drum machined kick. Robin comes in with another riff out of the darkness. Echoplex is near the top of my playlist as far as play count is concerned. This version seemed off. The piano played itself. Trent picked up Robin’s riff as he played lead, but it seemed off. I had seen the studio rehearsals, but this didn’t compare. I was waiting for an epic guitar outro, but it never arrived. One of the only moments where I had some expectations; they were unfortunately unmet. Oh well.

Eraser? No, the sound effects are different. The kid next to me says “Burn.” Yellow and orange lights immerse the stage in their light. Misanthropic lyrics echo in the amphitheatre. Easily a highlight of the night. Fuzzy bass, quiet sine-like synth. Then distortion, piano and cymbal crashes. Shocks like a defibrillator. Flashes of light take over as the drum pace quickens, culminating at a deafening climax. The distortion segues into another less familiar realm. Wake up! Having seen this on the Beside You In Time DVD, it was expected. I knew what was coming. The lights turned on with each pair guitar chords. They began out of synch, but caught up eventually. What struck me more than anything was the rousing chorus of fans that followed Trent in singing the hook “I tried; I gave up.” Depressing, maybe. Exhilarating, most definitely.

Quiet. Trent’s alone at the piano. Can you hear me? Blue light behind, reminiscent of a waterfall. He’s playing something. I know what this is, but I can’t pinpoint it. It’s probably one of those piano only tracks on All That Could Have Been. Yes, it is. Trent’s speaking. 10 years ago he locked himself in a house by the ocean and wrote one song. He was trying to kill himself. Why? He doesn’t say. This place haunts him, but he’s going back. Sounds familiar. JMJ grabs a double-bass. I grow more and more excited. My heart jumps. The blue from behind takes over. Robin plays a vibraphone. Ilan does too. JMJ plucks the bass with Trent playing a dark, minor key piano riff. This is like a dream. I’m underwater. I cannot believe this is happening. Ilan moves away from the vibes, taking his place at the kit. Suddenly there’s a sense of urgency. JMJ moves to the electric. Robin shifts to the slide guitar. Trent diligently keeps the piano going. Nothing can stop me now. I’m being swept away. This is beautiful. I almost shed a tear. Ilan stops. JMJ stops. Robin lets the guitar fade. The double-bass is once again resonating with the same eight notes. Trent keeps playing. I’m so caught up that I don’t remember how the song ends. I was probably cheering like a maniac. Perhaps I was so blown away that it only happened on the inside. This moment will never end. I won’t let you fall apart.

Trent Reznor can read my mind. This song has been stuck in my head all week. Now it’s here. Coincidence? Yes, but serendipitous regardless. Staccato bass notes and loose percussion grow into a soaring chorus. I can’t help but scream along. I won’t let you fall apart. Purple lights. The yellow spots waver above their heads. Robin takes the piano from The Frail and makes it his own on the guitar. It’s remarkable that just three songs previous Trent’s screaming about burning the world down. She shines in a world full of ugliness.

He leaves. Ilan and JMJ are at the piano. It’s an instrumental track. Another one from And All That Could Have Been. I didn’t know Ilan was so talented. This is beautiful. The band functions apart from their leader. Even when he’s Gone, they Still play. This is dark. It’s slow. I know what it is. The drums are unmistakable. The way out is through. This song builds. It keeps building. It’s still dark. The guitar enters. Like a train, the bass distorts, the guitar takes on a massive sound volume and the drums kick it into gear. Trent belts out 14 words and it’s done. The last offering from The Fragile. Incredible.

Shifting directions, the drums pick up. It’s fast, and it’s loud. The stage is once again blue for a while. Suddenly everything is white. Wish there was something real. Uplifting guitar breaks open the darkness before again relenting to the rapid darkness. Fist fuck. I enjoyed that. Is that a low-pass filter I hear? Similar to the last one, but more electro-pop. You’re keeping in step in the line. The crowd has been standing for two hours. The energy delivered from the stage keeps them jumping on their feet. You could feel it. The energy lasts though. I feel the conscious urge to pump my hands into the air. I think about the fraternity. God money, I’d do anything for you. Trent doesn’t sing the chorus; the crowd does. The very first song in all of Nine Inch Nails’ discography; the last tour for a while. I don’t know anything that can close a show so perfectly. The lights flicker; the band rises. Trent bids a good night and vacates the deck. Nobody moves. The lights stay down.

Turn around. The flames convey a certain serenity to the raucous crowd. Little specks of light dot the sea of people. A sight to behold. My camera doesn’t do it justice.

Trent returns. Robin grabs his acoustic. No, I didn’t forget about you. This is the way it’s going to end. Standing alone in the center of the stage while the rest of the band hides in the darkness, Trent sings about pain and feeling. Robin’s guitar plays a dissonant tritone. What have I become? He’s alone. There’s an overwhelming feeling of solitude and loneliness. There are 15,000 people here, but that doesn’t matter. I will make you hurt. The crowd cheers. The darkness yields to the light. Bass comes in. There are drums here, too. Trent finds himself surrounded by the band as they reveal their presence to him. If I could start again a million miles away, I would keep myself.

Crash. Lights burst. Guitars chime. Everything culminates at this single point in time. The world stops, impossibility ceases to exist. Overwhelming optimism. All angst and self-loathing become meaningless. Hope. Nothing can stop me now. I will find a way.

The primary logo of the Columbus Blue Jackets since 2007

This spring I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on the Columbus Blue Jackets. The eight year old franchise based in Central Ohio has the dubious distinction of being the only active NHL team to have never made the playoffs, that is, finished in the top eight of their conference. They have never actually finished any higher than 11th (2006-07) and have never achieved more than 80 points (2007-08).

That all changed this season however, and the Blue Jackets find themselves sitting pretty in 6th place with 90 points and three games remaining. Three games may not seem like a lot, but the teams chasing the final playoff spots are just a few points behind. The Anaheim Ducks are in 7th with 88 points and as I’m writing this are leading the San Jose Sharks 2-1. A win by the Ducks keeps the Blue Jackets in 6th because the Ducks will have had 80 games played while Columbus only has 79. The more dangerous teams occupy the 8th and 9th spots; the Nashville Predators (86) and the St. Louis Blues (86) respectively. Both teams beat Columbus in a head-to-head series so matching points with the Blue Jackets pushes them down 9th. However, since there are only three games remaining, the Blue Jackets only need 3 points to clinch their first spot, regardless of what happens elsewhere.

These points must be earned in contests versus the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks have already clinched a spot and thus might be coasting their last few games, while the Blues and Wild are fighting for playoff lives and will put up tough battles if they remain in the hunt by next weekend. The realistic scenario is that one of the two teams chasing the Blue Jackets will lose at least one game, pushing the clinch total down to 91. It remains to be seen if the Blue Jackets will in fact make the playoffs for the first time in history or if the season will end in a tragic fall at the last minute, but I’ll be rooting for them the whole rest of the way. Only good can come from their victory.

As long as the Sabres and Coyotes are out of the playoffs, though, I’ll be rooting for the Calgary Flames to go all the way. It’s hard to argue against the sea of red one can see at every one of their home games. Happy rest of the season; I hope your team makes the playoffs.

A leaked photo of the new Phoenix Coyotes third jersey.

I love the Coyotes new third jersey, which they unveiled tonight during the first intermission of their 4-3 OT loss to Philadelphia. It’s sleek and has an awesome new logo on the front. The classic howling coyote appears on the left shoulder, while a new paw print logo appears on the right. The PHX state logo is missing. The sand colored stripes running up the sides and around the neck is a nice touch, as are the sand colored name and numbers on the black background. My only qualm is that it looks a lot like the standard black NHL practice jerseys, especially with the way the colors on the sides run with black down the middle. Maybe that will change once I see them in action on Friday night. I can’t wait. If I had money I’d buy one.

Anything less will be a disappointment.

Sarah Palin drops the opening faceoff for the St. Louis Blues on October 24th.

Sarah Palin dropped the puck for the St. Louis Blues tonight, as I had mentioned a few days ago in my previous post. Well it seems the Blues home undefeated streak is at an end; tonight they lost 4-0 to the Los Angeles Kings. Not only did they lose their home winning streak, but they also didn’t even put one in the back of the net.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 on the road for their first win of the season. It seems the curse of Sarah Palin has been transferred from Philly to St. Louis. Too bad, I thought the Blues were going somewhere and the Flyers were headed for the bottom of the Eastern Conference.