Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction review
On Friday, May 15 I made my way to the Cricket Pavilion for one of my favorite pastimes, a good rock concert. It got off to a good start as I met Chester Bennington from Linkin Park while waiting in line at will call. This night is a co-headlining tour as Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails share top billing and the opening slot was filled by Street Sweeper Social Club. Never heard of them? Neither had I, but part of the fun of going to a live show is discovering a new band.
Street Sweeper left me unimpressed. The main thing in their favor was the fact they are the side project of Tom Morello, the guitar god that blesses us with meaty axe work in his main band Rage Against The Machine. The singer reminded me of Rage's lead singer, Zack De La Rocha, with less of the high end vocal and more bass in his voice. Lenny Kravitz should definitely sue this singer for stealing his look as he was rocking the full afro and huge Luke Perry sideburns. The songs were not quite so political and had a rap-rock vibe but not on the level of RATM. Rage has the trademark on the Morello sound. When Morello is on stage we think Rage Against The Machine. A couple of times during the performance I had to look up because I thought a Rage song was about to hit. At best, this band is RATM lite.They're just okay but they will get a great deal of exposure on this tour and perhaps they will get better. Kudos to Street Sweeper Social Club for allowing us to enjoy Mr. Morello's brilliance live.
Having seen Nine Inch Nails twice before I knew what to expect. Each time I had seen them left me floored. The only difference is that the first two times I had seen them in indoor arenas. I expected the same greatness outside and I got it. Nine Inch Nails came out shredding and didn't relent the entire hour plus they spent on stage. They did recently just release their new CD for free over the internet. Trent barely spoke a word above a random thank you as the band blasted through material. At most, the band played three songs from the last two releases combined. The rest of the set list was reserved for revered favorites like Head Like A Hole, March of the Pigs and Mr. Self Destruct. Some unexpected hits like Dead Souls from the Crow soundtrack, Last and Suck also thrilled the thousands in attendance.
Being outside the show was more stripped down. On their own headlining tour there were massive light shows and video montages that played during certain points of the show. This night the light show was dialed down and there were no video montages but the intensity was as high as ever. The keyboards, synthesizers and pianos added to the darkness of the songs but the electricity between the band and the crowd was greater than with any other band. Every song sounds better than it does on record. Trent's vocal seems to get better each time I see him and the backing band is always on point. This band is a collage of sonic, chaotic and aesthetic beauty. If you have not seen this band live you are definitely missing out on musical genius.
After hearing reports earlier in the week that Perry Farrell tore his calf muscle at a Atlanta tour date I thought Jane's Addiction wouldn't show. NIN had finished at 10, which is usually when shows end at Cricket. It was just as well to me, I had not cared for the little I had heard of Jane's Addiction and figured they had bailed. No band going should get to play after Nine Inch Nails in my opinion. Twenty minutes later, Jane's did take the stage so in the interest of not judging a group before hearing the material I stayed until they announced their last song and headed for the exit. I was right, going from the intensity of NIN to the lethargic pace of the Jane's tunes was akin to turning off Metallica and turning on muzak.
Despite how it sounds the Jane's set wasn't a complete snoozefest, they did have some faster paced songs sprinkled in here and there. They made the rounds with the crowd pleasers 'Jane Says', 'Been Caught Stealing' and 'Mountain Song' but the overall drop in tempo was quite noticeable. Perry Farrell looked like he was wearing a Halloween mask with the Pat Riley hairdo and a resemblance to Bruce Campbell from Army of Darkness in the scene where he's trying to stretch his face back into shape. His movement looked fine but he didn't move far from the square between the front of the stage and the drum riser. He wore an all-black robe with a gold belt that made him look like one of the evil wizards from a harry Potter movie. Mr. Camen Electra...um...Mr. FORMER Carmen Electra....errr....Dave Navarro was the best part Jane's show. The man is a true guitar virtuoso. How in the world he managed to lose Carmen Electra should win him a Darwin Award but I digress. Navarro can shred and in the few songs where he really got to cut loose it was awesome to watch.
All in All, it was Nine Inch Nails then everyone else. Trent Reznor and Co are better and stronger live than on record and everyone should take the chance to see them at least once. Jane's Addiction is an acquired taste and a definite change of pace from the NIN style. These two bands have no business touring together. These two bands should not be playing in the same state at the same time much less on the same bill. Leave the heavy lifting to NIN and whenever you need a house band for a gathering of hippies, call Jane's Addiction.
Street Sweeper left me unimpressed. The main thing in their favor was the fact they are the side project of Tom Morello, the guitar god that blesses us with meaty axe work in his main band Rage Against The Machine. The singer reminded me of Rage's lead singer, Zack De La Rocha, with less of the high end vocal and more bass in his voice. Lenny Kravitz should definitely sue this singer for stealing his look as he was rocking the full afro and huge Luke Perry sideburns. The songs were not quite so political and had a rap-rock vibe but not on the level of RATM. Rage has the trademark on the Morello sound. When Morello is on stage we think Rage Against The Machine. A couple of times during the performance I had to look up because I thought a Rage song was about to hit. At best, this band is RATM lite.They're just okay but they will get a great deal of exposure on this tour and perhaps they will get better. Kudos to Street Sweeper Social Club for allowing us to enjoy Mr. Morello's brilliance live.
Having seen Nine Inch Nails twice before I knew what to expect. Each time I had seen them left me floored. The only difference is that the first two times I had seen them in indoor arenas. I expected the same greatness outside and I got it. Nine Inch Nails came out shredding and didn't relent the entire hour plus they spent on stage. They did recently just release their new CD for free over the internet. Trent barely spoke a word above a random thank you as the band blasted through material. At most, the band played three songs from the last two releases combined. The rest of the set list was reserved for revered favorites like Head Like A Hole, March of the Pigs and Mr. Self Destruct. Some unexpected hits like Dead Souls from the Crow soundtrack, Last and Suck also thrilled the thousands in attendance.
Being outside the show was more stripped down. On their own headlining tour there were massive light shows and video montages that played during certain points of the show. This night the light show was dialed down and there were no video montages but the intensity was as high as ever. The keyboards, synthesizers and pianos added to the darkness of the songs but the electricity between the band and the crowd was greater than with any other band. Every song sounds better than it does on record. Trent's vocal seems to get better each time I see him and the backing band is always on point. This band is a collage of sonic, chaotic and aesthetic beauty. If you have not seen this band live you are definitely missing out on musical genius.
After hearing reports earlier in the week that Perry Farrell tore his calf muscle at a Atlanta tour date I thought Jane's Addiction wouldn't show. NIN had finished at 10, which is usually when shows end at Cricket. It was just as well to me, I had not cared for the little I had heard of Jane's Addiction and figured they had bailed. No band going should get to play after Nine Inch Nails in my opinion. Twenty minutes later, Jane's did take the stage so in the interest of not judging a group before hearing the material I stayed until they announced their last song and headed for the exit. I was right, going from the intensity of NIN to the lethargic pace of the Jane's tunes was akin to turning off Metallica and turning on muzak.
Despite how it sounds the Jane's set wasn't a complete snoozefest, they did have some faster paced songs sprinkled in here and there. They made the rounds with the crowd pleasers 'Jane Says', 'Been Caught Stealing' and 'Mountain Song' but the overall drop in tempo was quite noticeable. Perry Farrell looked like he was wearing a Halloween mask with the Pat Riley hairdo and a resemblance to Bruce Campbell from Army of Darkness in the scene where he's trying to stretch his face back into shape. His movement looked fine but he didn't move far from the square between the front of the stage and the drum riser. He wore an all-black robe with a gold belt that made him look like one of the evil wizards from a harry Potter movie. Mr. Camen Electra...um...Mr. FORMER Carmen Electra....errr....Dave Navarro was the best part Jane's show. The man is a true guitar virtuoso. How in the world he managed to lose Carmen Electra should win him a Darwin Award but I digress. Navarro can shred and in the few songs where he really got to cut loose it was awesome to watch.
All in All, it was Nine Inch Nails then everyone else. Trent Reznor and Co are better and stronger live than on record and everyone should take the chance to see them at least once. Jane's Addiction is an acquired taste and a definite change of pace from the NIN style. These two bands have no business touring together. These two bands should not be playing in the same state at the same time much less on the same bill. Leave the heavy lifting to NIN and whenever you need a house band for a gathering of hippies, call Jane's Addiction.
posted by TheLegacyKey | 10:25 PM
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