NIN-JAHHH!!! Etc...

Finally...I got to see the "real" Jane's Addiction!!!




Alright, so my friend Byron and i went to Camden NJ, to see Nine Inch Nails and the glorious Jane's Addiction play this past friday night. There were other bands, like Tom Morello's new band, "Street Sweeper" but i heard them, and i did not like them at all, so we arrived "purposely late" and missed them, helping me enjoy a less distracting musical evening! We had lawn seats, which was not something we were proud of, considering it was heavy rain the night we went, but we could not afford the pavilion seating, which sold the cheapest tickets for $70 give or take, however when we arrived our $25 lawn tickets were upgraded for $10 more, to available pavilion seats!! YES!!! This made up for the $20 parking!! At least now we will be closer to the stage, and we will manage to stay dry!! We got our tickets, and made our way to the seats, when NIN started kicking the doors in. We sat in our seats, but they had us seated way too far to the right. Fortunately there were a few rows of seats empty, so we just jumped ahead and walked left and made ourselves at home!!!


NINE INCH NAILS...


(Setlist)


Home
Beginning Of The End
1,000,000
March Of The Pigs
The Line Begins To Blur
Survivalism
The Big Come Down
Head Down
Burn
Gave Up
Metal
Banged And Blown Through
The Downward Spiral
Wish
Heresy
Mr. Self Destruct
The Day The Whole World Went Away
Physical
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole





NIN had a ton of energy, and played a very different kind of show. It was weird. I almost felt like i was watching a really awesome NIN cover band. The guys on stage seemed in good spirits, and just tried to connect emotionally to the songs, but couldn't, instead choosing to have fun, knowing that they were not the angry brooding emotionally unstable band that they used to be. Having Robin Finck back in the guitar spot, made it a much better show. He has a ton of charisma!! Trent made a few jokes about not singing the songs with the passion, but that he would try harder. Those who do not know whats going on with him, he recently found his significant other, and if im not mistaken, they are getting married. Happy Trent still put on a hell of a good show. I have to admit, some of the smashing of gear on stage seemed a bit forced, but when Trent threw the mic stand 20 feet into the air, during one of the heavier songs, the crowd literally gasped. My favorites from the set, of course were the Broken/Downward Spiral/Fragile moments, and it was great to hear Mr. Self Destruct, and Heresy live, even if the lyrics "God is dead and no one cares" seems so immature, that song and that album still blows me away, and i never thought i would hear those older, heavier tunes live again. Of course, they played Wish, and that was one of the crazier songs live. This was my 2nd time seeing NIN live, and while i would never rank this show up there with the likes of the earlier tours, it was still really fun, and exciting, as any big loud arena concert in 90s spirit could be, and it was certainly a unique show, and a very different NIN, which i found refreshing. Its nice to hear those demented industrial songs, coming from a band that didn't dress the part!!!





finally....


JANE'S ADDICTION...


(Setlist)


Three Days
Whores
Ain't No Right
Pigs In Zen
Then She Did...
Up The Beach
Mountain Song
Been Caught Stealing
Had a Dad
Ocean Size
Ted, Just Admit it...
Summertime Rolls
Stop!
Jane Says





It was a long time coming for me. I had been a Jane's Addiction fan since the genius that is Ritual De Lo Habitual!!! I listened to Porno For Pyros, I watched as members of Jane's Addiction reunited, without their much needed bassist, Eric Avery, replacing him with guys like Flea, and Chris Chaney, but it was never right. I watched Perry Farrell go solo, and i have enjoyed all of the music, especially porno for pyros, but still...i never got to "see" JA live. Then Perry went and started a terrible band with his wife, called, Satellite Party, and just stole all of my hope away, to ever see a proper Perry rockfest!! So here it is, the reunion of the real JA!! The lights went down, and a giant video screen in front of the stage started playing some weird movie clip. There was a young kid, and an older gentleman, talking about music. The kid says something like "I like Jane's Addiction, i wish i saw them before they broke up" followed promptly, by Eric Avery's intro bass line into "Three Days", with Perry saying the "At this moment" speech, from the album. The concert lights came on, the screen lifted up, and there they were. Beautiful!!! Opening with the masterpiece Three Days, brought a calming element, everybody was just chilled out, and watched them grow the set into what it would become. As the band played into the more punk energy, i was holding out for those Perry banshee vocals, that he is known for. I noticed he was holding back a bit from doing a lot of the wailing that makes the JA songs so awesome. This was a bit of a let down. The band more than made up for it though, playing the music like they never left!! i noticed the songs were tuned down a bit. That, and Perry's less than dramatic approach reminded me that he did turn 50 this year. Sad that the ferocious and hardcore elements were missing this time. But, looking at that set list, hearing the band play those songs perfectly, and hearing, even a less than perfect Perry Farrell...finally...was still a moment I will not forget!!! The banter between Perry and the audience was fun. He is always saying weird stuff to people, and gets reactions from the crowd. I especially loved the fact that he pointed out that Camden NJ, was really just Philadelphia!! "Well lets call ourselves friends for now, we will work on calling ourselves lovers later" was a funny line as well. The band ended with the sweet sounding, Jane Says, with Eric and Dave jamming, on stools, with acoustics. Steve was doing the percussion, etc. It was a great way to say good night.


I dunno. Those songs are so old now, and so are the band members, that i struggle to find any more expectations than i received on friday. Having the real JA back in business, makes me hopeful for new material, and i think that is where we will see the vital JA again, creating something new. Having Avery back was so important to the band's sound, and it will be interesting to hear the band, not just playing the old tunes, but playing something new!!! The point of this tour was to rekindle, i think, the Lollapalooza days, when JA reigned supreme, and NIN was getting started. It was a sweet thought for sure, but what happened was the creation of a very different kinda NIN-JA, i mean come on, a happy NIN, and a 50 year old Perry Farrell, 2 things i thought i would never see!!!





and now for something completely different...





I am a huge Sam raimi fan. Most people who know me, know that i am a big time horror movie fan!!! Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army Of Darkness, are 3 movies i have put on the very small list of "Essential classics" but Raimi, left his horror movie roots behind him, many years ago. You can count Darkman, i guess, as a horror movie, but that was also...a long time ago. Raimi went on to become a bloated hollywood blockbuster director with the Spiderman trilogy (Spiderman 2 being the only good one in my eyes) and honestly, with the plague of terrible horror remakes, aimed at getting ticket sales from 16 year old kid with allowance, and the over use of cgi in movies, i didn't expect much from my boy Raimi, and then finding out the movie was rated PG-13, i almost gave up hope. But, I saw the trailer, which looked good. Ahh, but most movie trailers show the best parts of movies, so they all look "good" usually...so...really, i had little expectations. Then the reviews started pouring in, and they were all good. Everyone was saying it was comparable to the Evil Dead trilogy. Are you f***in kidding me??? I could not wait to see this thing, but how could it be so good, without an R?? Well, for starters, i learned that the rating system is political!!! Sam Raimi made one hell of a movie, and he did not hold back AT ALL!!! in the first 5 minutes, we see a child...yes a child, dragged into the "storybook view of" hell, you know, the big fire pit in the ground? Geez, that was harsh Sam!!! What we get for the next hour and a half, is non stop edge of your seat craziness, ala, Evil Dead, baby!!!! I could not believe how well it fit into the old movies he made in that dusty cabin!!! This movie is AS GOOD as Army Of Darkness, but it is much darker, and has the feel of Evil Dead 2, with its demented comedic edge, not as good of course as ED2, but you get the drift!!! The acting is very good, the effects are great, there is very little cgi, the style of film is purposely cheap looking in areas, unlike the deceiving poster art you see here, It is just old school horror, with an excellent story, a ton of fun to watch, and concluding with one of the best endings i have seen in a horror movie, in years!!! If you have not already done so, see this movie, and salute Raimi, for not just saying he has returned to true horror, but for actually demonstrating it!!!!!