Re: 2009.09.10 - Los Angeles, CA [Wiltern Theater]
sindurella posted: You are so right here! In Chicago he told us not to kill ourselves yet. That banner practically BEGS a big ps go ahead and do it now...sigh. | |
Shitfuckdamn posted:Was it you I gave my Sunchips to? Sure looked like you anyway.  | |
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here's another one of Penn & Rubin...
& yes i will get some NIN ones up!!!
i just have a shit load of other pix to get up 1st... like the show at the Palladium!!!!!  Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2009 07:23PM by only_me_only. | |
jess_ica posted: Jessica, I would have shared Scotch with you, but you would've just tried to seduce me or grab my butt or something since I am so irresistible, and then all the other girls would be jealous and I would've been drunk and probably taken my shorts off and walked around the line with them off. Then I would've been arrested, and instead of getting the love I wanted from pretty ladies I would've gotten the kind of love I didn't want from some burly gentlemen. Hahaha, but on a more serious note... If I end up in Southern California again I will for sure look you up. And conversely if you find yourself coming to Minneapolis at anytime, message me. And I am pretty sure that if you make it to Orlando that Mooney would likely get you a drink or something also. | |
only_me_only posted: Is it me, or does this pic look like it could be part of Da Vinci's "The Last Supper"? Maybe "the Last Show"? Lol. | |
Badtz posted: Oh, never mind. I think Thera Flu is making me hallucinate. | |
martyr$exxx posted: He's not joking! | |
sindurella posted: Would you please tell the guys thanks for the bottle of water from me also? | |
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Oh, bummer.
I'm glad I made a screen shot of it before it changed. I still can't get over the fact that it's over... I'm glad to see the posts still coming, though Unfortunately, as the days go by, I'm sure they'll dwindle away, leaving the stage like the members of the band at the end of In This Twilight... Then I'll really cry... sindurella posted: | |
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Alright, I'm going to go ahead and type up my experience - it'll be pretty long, and I apologize if you don't want to read it all - the concert experience itself starts during the 14th paragraph. I think I'll actually edit whatever I need to edit in the morning since it's getting late.
My Mom and I got to the hotel around 6pm on Wednesday - the only reason we couldn't come earlier was because I had class that day.  But, we still made it at a good time - we unloaded our things and started to think about what to do next. Originally, my Mom was going to find the line with me and she would've stayed in it overnight while I was in the room - that turned out not to be the case.
We decided to go down and find the line right away, which left me with not a whole lot of time to get comfortable - I was already very tired from not getting much sleep the night before and from my three classes that day, but I had to suck it up and get going. I had not the faintest clue where the line would be because I did not have time to browse online and see if I could find out where everyone was lining up, and I thought it would be in some other location than right next to the venue. I incessantly Tweeted to Shitfuckdamn asking where the line was (sorry, Alex  ) because I was so worried about getting there late in the evening - it was kind of stupid of me to worry that much over that, but I did, so, meh.
We just walked to the Wiltern (which was only a few blocks away) and the line was right behind the venue. I waved to Shitfuckdamn and sort of dumbly asked which part of the line was the back, then went there and settled in with a chair and sleeping bag. My mom waited until I was done with my dinner of salad and then went back to the hotel - the rest of the evening for me pretty much consisted of sitting and talking to people, eating a little more, listening to a bit of music, and pondering. I really wished I had had the balls to go up to the front of the line and say hi to all the ETS peeps and whomever else was there, but I felt like I would have been intruding or something - it sounds really dumb, but I didn't want to go there and just sort of stand there watching them chat and whatnot while not having anything to say. I'm just an awkward person like that and I didn't want to seem rude. I regret not just getting up there and saying hello, though - it would've been fun to hang out.
The people I did talk to consisted (as far as I remember, sorry if I forget anyone) of Brandy (or is it Brandi?), who is awesome, the couple she was holding the spot for (I forget your names, I'm sorry!), who were very cool and sweet, Erin (NINfreak7), the girl who gave me the earplugs to sleep (didn't get your name, but thanks again!  ), Tony and Aaron who were in front of me in line, and possibly others that I'm forgetting. All of whom were very cool people. Eventually, I decided to at least try to get to sleep - I set up my sleeping bag and probably sort of ended up dozing for a while if not fully sleeping. At some point, around 12:30am or something like that (at which point I was pretty awake), I heard a bunch of commotion and heard something about Dave Navarro having arrived on the scene. I looked up and sure enough, there he was, with people already crowding around him for pictures and chatting.
I quickly got my camera and went up to him, hoping for a pic, but it looked like he was about to leave, so I sort of turned around and started to walk back - as I did, someone in line said to just go and grab the chance before it went away, so I turned tail and walked right on back. He actually wasn't leaving quite yet, just chatting with a few people for a bit and when I silently walked up with my camera, he ushered me over and I gave the camera over to someone. It took a few tries to get it to work (camera was off at first and then on "record" mode), but we finally got it and he was able to be on his way. He was very polite about the whole thing even though it seemed like he needed to get going. I discovered he had dropped off some food, which was very cool, but I didn't need any because I had eaten not too long ago.
Having an adrenaline high from the experience, I couldn't sleep for a while and just kind of stayed up and chatted with Tony, Aaron, and Brandy. Eventually, everyone started to clonk out one by one as the night wore on, and by 2am, everyone had sort of settled down to sleep. I tried to sleep, I really did, but I have never slept in a line before - also, I thought I wouldn't need a pillow, but it turns out it might have done me some good. I probably only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep that night.
My Mom eventually came back down eeearly in the morning and gave me a pill for my intense allergies that night - it helped me doze, if not full on sleep, and cleared up my nose for a while. My mom sat in front of my sleeping bag while I attempted to get some shut-eye. In the morning, I walked by myself to the hotel to freshen up and change my clothes, and also drop off the now-filthy sleeping bag. I walked back to the line, and the rest of the afternoon pretty much consisted of Mom going back and forth to the hotel while I stayed in line under the hot sun with an umbrella. I chatted with people a bit and played my Mom's DS (because I forgot mine at home), and at points it was too hot to do anything, so I sat and tried to stay cool. My dad came and visited us in line, and that was fun. The whole part of the day where we stayed in line is kind of like a blur to me, so there's no point in going into too much detail about it.
Eventually, the line finally started to move and everyone was allowed to get their tickets and wristbands. It was cool because they gave you a choice of balcony or floor - of course I chose floor, but I didn't know that they even gave you a choice. We got to line up in front of the venue (FINALLY) where the shade was. It was interesting being there - watching people come and go, finally getting to meet guilty  , finally getting to meet mini-Trent (so cute!), watching a guitar performance on the sidewalk, and everything else that went on. After a couple more hours, we were finally able to go inside. We took everything out of our pockets, got felt up by security, and went in - I almost didn't know where to go once inside, since everyone seemed to be flocking to the merch stand, but I found my way and made a beeline for the pit.
I ended up one row of people from the rail, which wasn't bad at all. I was right behind Shitfuckdamn and (I think) Christo from ETS. My mom graciously went and got a tour shirt (the one that was limited) because she didn't care about being off to the side during the show, so that was cool.
I stayed where I was for the opening act, io echo - they were very cool, in my opinion. I highly enjoyed their performance - the singer had a very quiet talking voice, which took me off guard considering her strong singing! After io echo, the pit seemed to fill up much more. I knew I had spent the night to be able to get on the rail (or at least close to it), but I was starting to reconsider being in my spot. It was a small pit, but I really didn't want to be pushed around since it was so distracting for me last time I was, and also, it was harder to see everyone on the stage. I eventually simply moved back and off to the right, where I had a much better view. I probably could have stayed where I was and survived, but I'm actually sort of glad that I didn't stay there since there was quite a bit of moshing later in the show and I wouldn't have wanted Dillinger Escape Plan's singer on my head, nor the crowdsurfers, for that matter.
Eventually, the show finally started with Home. It was wonderful - I could actually see everyone and everything on stage, and the moment had come that I had been waiting for for some time. The music sounded so good to my ears, and I could actually focus. The show, now, almost seems like a blur to me even though it lasted a long time, but I can recall a good amount of highlights. Ruiner - WOW. I had never seen that live before and I was so, so glad to finally see it. It's one of my very favorites. I sang as many of the lyrics as I could keep up with and grooved with the beat. Robin's guitar solo was passionate and TASTY. Just Like You Imagined - OH MY GOSH. I had not been reading setlists prior to this show, and boy was I glad I hadn't been. This gave me a real jolt. And with Mike Garson? Dang. Awesome to be able to say that I saw this performed live. La Mer was gorgeous. Definitely a highlight of any show. The Becoming with Mike Garson - oh wow. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did. The added piano and Robin on the guitar made it simply awesome. The piano jam that Garson did afterward was so amazingly brilliant - I could tell some people were probably bewildered at it for what it was and the fact that it was in a NIN show - but screw it, I freaking ate it up. Amazing musicianship and melodies. Probably one of the biggest highlights for me was when Gary Numan performed with NIN. When he went up there, I was already pretty excited to see him with them for the first time. But what I didn't expect was to absolutely fall in love with their performance of Down In The Park. OH. MY. GOSH. The stunning beauty of that performance of that song was incredible, and it probably didn't truly hit me until I watched videos of its performance later. I loved it more than I realized at first and certainly more than I thought I ever would. The melodies, Garson's added piano textures, Trent's synths (especially the quick little high-pitched melody that came right before some of the verses), Robin's guitar, the bass, the drums, Gary's lyrics, it was all just brilliant. Watching videos of that song from this show still moves me. I also loved Metal and I Die: You Die. Now I wanna get into the rest of Gary Numan's stuff because I'm so in love with DITP. After that is more blur, although I remember performances of songs, it seems like my mind must've had a hard time processing what was going on. I do very much remember Down In It - I sang just about every lyric to that song. I loved seeing that one live one last time - definitely a favorite. For the first encore, I was quite stunned to see Atticus Ross up on stage with Trent, side by side with their synths, playing Me, I'm Not. (Also, at this point, I had been moved to the back of the pit more to the center, and standing almost right behind me was Queen Kwong, enjoying the show like everyone else. When Atticus was there, she yelled out something like "We love you, Atticus!" It was really cool.) From this point on, surprise after awesome surprise seemed to just keep coming at us - The Warning with Atticus and Dave Navarro, Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) with all of them, and Gave Up - all of it was so awesome. I never thought I'd actually see Piggy (NCSMN) in the flesh. Simply great.
Mr. Self Destruct and Wish with Dillinger Escape Plan were BRUTAL. The chaos on stage was insane - I almost couldn't tell who was where at points. The guitarist of DEP was crazy, twirling and swinging his guitar around like a monkey on crack, and the singer stage diving and various band members climbing on stuff and throwing instruments, including the bass drum - just amazing. I had never heard Atmosphere, even a cover of it, and I still found it beautiful and amazing. Dead Souls was awesome - as far as I remember, it was the first time I had seen it live. The Day The World Went Away has always been a very favorite of mine. It's hard to remember for some reason during this show, but I know I loved it. I can't not love it. I do love Hurt, but I have never given it as much love as a lot of other songs. Tonight, it was quite special to see it live for me. The last performance (possibly) of Hurt, at least as NIN. It was stunning. Even more stunning (and painfully sad) was In This Twilight. The first time I had seen this song, I had a hard time really focusing on it because I had been recording it on my camera - this time, though, I was able to take it in in all of its stunning, tear-jerking, last-show beauty. The end when the band members left one-by-one was beautiful and incredibly sad at the same time. None of them seemed like they wanted to leave, yet they knew they must. Justin looked completely emotional, and Trent took in the audience the most I have ever seen him do it. He knew this was it, and he wanted one last look. I didn't cry, but I might if I view this moment again on DVD.
On my way out of the venue, I met puffyman from Twitter and also said hi to one or two other people, including Mistakeablyme's friend (I don't know how to spell your name...if I try, it'll be a disaster) that I met at Irvine in May of this year, who looked completely emotionally drained. He gave me a nice hug and we parted ways. Also saw Erin one more time and we hugged. It was cool to meet and re-meet so many cool people. EDIT: I completely forgot!! When I was waiting for either NIN or io echo, I looked behind me to see that Strwbrryjam (Jamie) was waving to me from her seat. I almost thought she was waving to someone else, but I started to wave back and I could see her start to smile and wave more energetically, and she blew me a kiss. I'm so glad she was able to make it to the show. If she hadn't been able to through other means, my Mom would have gladly given up her own ticket for Jamie - but fortunately, another kind soul helped her out. Everyone wins. 
Again, the show lasted a long time - but afterward, it seemed like it all went by so fast. It was weird. The time afterward was quite calm and thoughtful for me, and also kind of weird. We just went straight back to our room, slept, and went back home the next day. Ever since I've been home, I've had emotional ups and downs thinking about the fact that I was able to witness this event and the fact that it's already over and done with. I want to do it all over again. It was definitely the best NIN show experience - heck, best experience of any show - that I've ever had. I keep going over the details of the night in my head, and I feel this strange sort of contentment - even through sadness, this was something that I really needed to be a part of. The only regret is that I didn't meet with more people during the day. I'm sorry this turned into an essay - but it really did feel good to write this all out. Hopefully some of you can get all the way through it and enjoy it at least somewhat. I'm tired now and going to bed. But thank you to Trent and NIN for this amazing experience that I'll never forget, as well as all my past experiences with your music and art, since I became a fan in 2005. I feel good right now. EDIT: Forgot to mention, I haven't read all the previous pages prior to this one yet, so I'm sorry if I'm missing things or aren't responding to things. I'll get to it tomorrow. Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2009 11:44PM by Yoshata. | |
Yoshata posted: he actually landed right on me during wish. i was able to sing into the mic. | |
