Nine Inch Nails
Cox Arena + SDSU + Sep.16/Nov.20, 2005 Freeborn Hall + UC Davis + Mar. 25, 2005 Soma + San Diego + May 30/31, 2005

Say you are a bit of a Nine Inch Nails fanatic; say, instead, that you initially liked a guy who is a fanatic of Nine Inch Nails; say I�??m trying to justify seeing Nine Inch Nails a total of 6 times in a year (for a grand total of 54 inches); but no matter what I say, I know I had a blast each and every time. Whatever shortcomings Trent Reznor may have, the man has a gift for performance, especially if you�??re the type, as I am, to try and get as close to him as possible and make the most of the experience. When you�??re that kind of NIN concert goer, every performance is an epic; you come out after two hours drenched with your sweat, other people�??s sweat, and an exhilarating and intensely dehydrated exhaustion that lasts for a few days afterwards. I occasionally have experienced a similar post-concert kind of reverie with other bands, namely The Arcade Fire, but having seen NIN so many times, it�??s became a kind of tradition in my life. Unfortunately, about a month ago, I solemnly had to give up it up, at Cox Arena in San Diego, on that fateful evening, Nov. 20, 2005.

The last San Diego concert was significant for another reason: it was the first time I got to witness the screen. It is the stuff of NIN legend, first seen in the Self Destruct tour and eternalized by Closure. While Eraser, Right Where It Belonged, and Beside You In Time played, we pigs breathlessly listened while a collage of the graceful and morbid played across the screen in washed out colors. Watching Eraser, Beside You In Time, and Reptile were especially poignant moments; at no other concert, for whatever reason, were they performed, and, as said by aforementioned guy, they rocked like none other. And just because Reznor wanted to leave us completely satisfied, he didn�??t play �??Starfuckers�?� (for once) and the night was glorious, innumerably worth far more than every dollar spent, every mile driven, every minute stuck at the sweaty back of a half-naked anonymous male; just to sway with the crowd to The Wretched with Trent Reznor feet away was enough.

Throughout this whole epic, there was a fair bit of political ranting, quite a few loveable Goths, and only one drug-induced heart tremor from drummer Jerome. If I went into this trying to win the affection of a guy, I think I can safely say I came out a NIN fanatic. If you already are, or want to become one, you�??re in luck: Reznor just announced another tour.

-Natalie Edwards