NIN was one of the first bands I LOVED. Back in high school. '90 or so. Partly inspired me to go into the music business (along with other idols), work half a dozen shitty jobs for near on 20 years, finally find enough success/contacts that by the time this tour came around I drew a line in the sand and told people: YOU WILL HELP ME GET ME INTO ONE OF THE LA SHOWS OR I WILL KILL YOU.

I was lucky enough to have "back door" access - friends in the band or with the promoter -that I could buy tix for 3 shows here in LA.

On one hand that makes me the luckiest gal on earth, and I am so grateful. On the other, I view these shows as the culmination of 20 years of hard work. The inspiration I drew from bands like NIN kept me going thru crazy bosses, low pay and long hours. I worked for the best perk ever...and got it. I love this dumb ass business, never more than screaming along @ The Fonda.

Thank you, music industry gods.

miss_hazy posted:

I maxed out my credit cards during the NIN/JA tour (I did 21 shows), had no job when I got back, and lost my cellphone due to an outrageous bill from roaming and intl. text charges, so I've had to do these things:

- Not make payments on any of my credit card bills, missed a student loan payment, neglected the insane phone bill, other misc. payments missed. I was ready to make a payment on one credit card to keep it in good standing and so I could buy tickets during the regular sale date for Chicago, but then the regular sale date disappeared.

- Sold my violin.

- I still live at home. I was looking into finally moving out last year, but then NIN started touring North America again. My mom actually just argued with me about how I've "ruined" my life. She doesn't even know I'm going to Chicago.

- Currently I work at a fast food place, and they are actually giving me full-time hours. I wasn't having luck getting a job right away when I got back from the NIN/JA tour, but I knew if I went to this place they'd hire me the next day, and that's exactly what happened. I don't intend to work there when the tour is over, I'm sure you can figure out why. When I see people who I know come in there, I actually hide, because I'm embarrassed to work there.

- I walk everywhere, instead of taking the bus.

- Have no cell phone.

- The only things I have bought in the past month are food, toiletries, a purple hairband, and I saw a couple movies at the theatre.

- Begged for tickets.

This probably isn't normal, but I'm ok with it. I don't really have interest in many normal things.

Damn.

fleighing posted:

I shouldn't be typing this, but I abused my power as boss and used my employees (investigators, chemists, and secretaries) to sit on their computers and score me tickets to the 4 NYC and 4 LA shows. It worked, but this is why certain people (me) shouldn't be given authority.

Funniest post in a long time... I take my hat off to you!

So, my boyfriend camped out online to wait for tickets to go on presale for Albuquerque, NM. We live in Shreveport, LA. We drove across the state of Texas (driving through a tornado storm, and missing the tornado by 10 minutes) and arrived in Albuquerque around 3 am. Exhausted, hungry, and pissy we search for the hotel. Can't find it. Call the hotel, the manager says that we aren't due to stay until the next night. We check into a cheap motel for the night and sleep in a dirty, dirty room. With dry sheets and everything. We sleep for maybe 5 hours, go to the hotel we were due to stay in for the week, and basically demand our room. Finally get the room and get some sleep. We make it to the show, and I start to feel sick. I throw up three times before the show (I had gum) and went into the pit with my boyfriend. Trent jumped on our heads, and the horrible week went away. Get home, and get "The Day The Whole World Went Away" tattooed on my wrist. My favorite song, ever. I actually asked my boyfriend on the way to NM if he thought he would play it. He said no, naturally because it has not been played in a while (before that show) When I first heard it begin, tears came and chills went down my back. All worth it. The end.

I sucked a lot of dick while being tazed in the balls



Wait this is the what we do for fun thread right?

Damn! My story is nowhere near as good (or bad) as some of these, but last year for LITS in Cleveland , I took a neighbor and her kid because I live in the mountains and I have to go to NINs shows alone. Cleveland is about a 4 hour drive so I wanted some company. So I got a suite for 2 nights , went to the Cleveland zoo and the Rock and Roll hall of fame and walked to the show from the hotel. I footed the whole bill just for company.
This year I took another friend to Post gazette and got a hotel in Wheeling. Footed the bill again and then my friend spent my $100.00 I won on the slot machines at the hotel while I was at the show. As much as it may sound like it, I am not wealthy and work hard for every dime I make. But NINs LITS and Janes were so worth it. I actually like going to the shows alone .

Very little compared to what I've had to do or spend in the past, and I am thankful for that. My last show was the Toronto V-fest show, not far from here.

Probably the biggest hassle I dealt with getting to a NIN show was in the summer of 2006, getting stuck in traffic crossing the US border for 3.5 hours, boiling in the mid-day heat, and missing my flight to Chicago from Buffalo airport as a result, and having to find another flight. To kill time until my later flight I tried to sleep in the car at the airport and just ended up spending the two hours sweating like a hog in an oven. By the time I got to the show - which I figured I'd miss - by taxi from the airport, I checked my full set of luggage (which I was worried I'd have to stash under a friggin' tree!) and I made it to my seat with a mere 5 minutes to spare before NIN came on. I was drenched in sweat, smelly since I had no access to a shower or even time to clean up after a full day of sweating in overheated vehicles, and stressed beyond belief, but it was all ok in the end and the night was capped off with a $10 limo ride with a few other fans to Milwaukee where the next show would happen, which was a nice break. The rest of that trip was actually fantastic and inexpensive - it just started very poorly!

Miss_hazy: shit, had I know you were taking a Canadian cell phone to the USA (a big no-no!) I'd have mentioned you should always buy a pay-as-you-go t-mobile phone at Wal-Mart once you arrive in the USA for $20 then buy $100 in airtime which will give you 10 cents a minute airtime. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than taking a Canadian phone into the USA and paying exorbitant roaming charges. That's why I have a separate US and Canadian cell phone. A few years ago I also learned the hard way that roaming across the border with your cell = big bills.

You might pay 60 cents or even a dollar or more a minute to roam in the USA with a Canadian phone, but if you buy a cheap USA cell phone you'll pay the same as what other Americans pay, around 10 cents a minute prepaid... nice and cheap! Then you can combine it with calling cards from 7-11 to call back to Canada if need be.

Anyway best of luck now that you're back home, and I'm sure the trip will be remembered for a lifetime!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2009 09:05PM by pragmatica.

LITS - flew to Vegas for the last show. I dragged my friend with me and used it as a mini vacation. Stayed at Ceasars, not too shabby.

Wave Goodbye - NYC - All I did was shamelessly beg for tickets and offered my first born. The NIN fans came through!

Not one person asked me for above cost because they all respected Trent and the bands stance against scalpers. They just genuinely wanted to help out a fellow NIN fan. Trent and the boys should be very proud.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2009 09:41AM by NYCgrrl.

We made the real-time decision via text messages to go for CA presale tickets when we missed out on the Chicago presale tickets. We scored tickets to the Palladium.
Made travel reservations: hotel, car, plane ticket.
Tried to help other people get tickets to the CA shows and to prevent scalping.
Found a person willing to trade +1 tickets and be our fourth roommate (cool chick).
I got stuck in the tram at the airport due to a power failure and my flight was 45 minutes late leaving FL.
Two shows were rescheduled and we had to make the decision to stay in CA or leave.
Three of four chose to stay. Had to burn another week of vacation at work and make arrangements for my pets and plants.
Scored tickets to the Fonda and Wiltern in the first online sale.
Found another person who needed roommates and also to trade tickets with (cool dude).
Attended the Echoplex show through the kindness of two people (you know who you are).
Had to buy a oneway plane ticket back to FL, play musical rental cars, extend the hotel room for five more nights, drop people off at the airport and pick people up at their hotel.
Had to race to LAX to drop people off at the airport and got lucky when the person made their flight.
Had to fly back to FL sitting in the middle seats on both flights.
NINfluenza ensued: I had to take four sick days after two weeks of vacation.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2009 09:41PM by mooney138.

Now that it's all over and we are juggling finances to make up bills we ignored so I could go to three shows and the M&G, the hubby asked me if I thought it was worth it, would I do anything over or not have gone to one of the shows.
(He is not begrudging me going, I very rarely go out and do anything for fun, and for me to go alone to two of the shows was a big deal due to social anxiety issues)

I thought about it. I definately would not have given up 6/5 because thats when I got my Trent Hug... but I liked the 6/9 setlist a bit better, so I would have kept that too despite the near-tornado that tried to form over the car on the way there.
And 8/26... never would have passed up on that. I knew it was the last show for me, and I am still in awe over being a part of it.

*looks at Gas bill and wonders where I;m going to find the cash*
I figured I dropped about 700.00 between tickets, the EDLC donation, merch and gas.

For the best summer of my 36 years? So totally worth it.

I am just not allowed to have any fun for another year! LOL

Well I have to briefly describe my troubles to see NIN for the last time... twice.

I'd thought the last time I'd see NIN live was at Bonnaroo so a friend and I drove from Canada all the way to Tennessee (12 hrs) and then waited another 9.5 hours in line. I camped in my car for four days with barely any food or water. I was so exhausted but that didn't matter because I was seeing his "last American show, ever." Well turns out it wasn't his last show ever but I totally don't regret any of it. I'd do it all over again (very differently) but SOOO WORTH IT.

So then Trent announced that he was heading Vfest in Toronto and I girly-shreaked ecstatically when I read it (I work in a Jail so you could imagine the reception.)So thinking that I wasn't going to get a floor wristband after they fucked all the planning up on the show, I woke up at 4 am and drove to Toronto (about 2 hrs.) I arrived at the Amphitheatre and a couple of people were there (awesome ass French Canadian.) A few of my friends drove seperately later on that morning after I told them they were crazy and would never score floors coming that late. Well turns out they came like 4 hours later than me and still ended up with floors. Although I was happy they were on the floor with me I was slightly pissed that I got up that early. But again, of course, it was soo worth being first in line. And we have the official Vfest photos to prove it! My only regret of this final show is that I was fairly intoxicated by the time Trent hit the stage! Still remember the whole show though and had a giant welt on my right leg for about a month after the show. Pretty crazy.



Man I miss those guys. : (

for paris i had the plan of seeing them live for a while so it was no big deal as i live here... for istanbul (home), i arranged my ticket to go there 1 day earlier.. i landed, and the next evening i was there to see them live again after 10 days. didn't attend the whole music festival as i was way too tired and hate prodigy and etc but worth seeing nin again of course.

Craigslist. I was jobless when I heard about the show(s), and by some miracle got one (due to connections i didnt want to use, but got desperate) had my first paycheck from that place on august 28th 2009....aka just in time. Had it not been for this girl named Heather asking the most reasonable price on craiglist, I never wouldve been able to experience the amazingness that is Trent live. I will forever be in this strangers debt. Had I not gotten that job, I was MORE than ready to sell my computer, iPod, and PSP just to come up with the money...some people were asking for at least $250 just for 1 ticket! But I know I wouldnt have regretted it either. Whats even cooler is the stranger I got the ticket from turned out to be incredibly cool and even gave me a hug after the show despite the fact that I was a smelly sweaty whore by the end of it all

I owe my parents painted porch for the meet and greet in Toronto and My Credit Card is still maxed from 4 Tickets between 2 shows in Toronto.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2011 04:16AM by xcore.