in the article i've linked to above, trent reznor (the sad genius behind nin) states, "i'm not really a purist, if i'm in the studio working on an album, i try to only please myself. but when it's a tour, it feels a bit more like I have a responsibility to some degree to entertain people." boy howdy pilgrim does he do so. on the lights in the sky tour (aptly named, they lugged 40 tons of stage lighting to south america), the already commendable nin ouevre now includes a multitude of undulating dynamic led screens that sport everything from cityscapes to orbs to trents face to actual drum pad instrumentation. the technology is newborn baby new and at times totally overwhelming. as if the music and performances weren't powerful enough, almost every song had it's own theme on on or more of the screens.
the show was nine inch nails' second visit to chile so the fans, who had all dropped a significant number of pesos to buy tickets with prices comparable to those found stateside, were visibly psyched. trent and co. came out to the stage over a recording of 999,999 from this year's totally free and totally great the slip and then broke out into the gnarly beast 1,000,000.
as you can see we were "please stop sweating on my versace vest combo" close to the band, which was great when trent decided to roll into the crowd for some interactive screaming into a microphone on piggy. i think nim creamed sus pantalones on that one. the technology was not only totally cutting edge, but also interactive most of the time. a sea of cameras, sensors, and "lemurs" controlled by the band ensured a extemporaneous experience for us and every other stop on the interminable tour.
as stated by wired, "reznor and other band members use lemurs during the electronic set. the touchscreen devices can be used to control a range of audio and visual aspects of the show on the fly. Reznor has not only raised the bar for what's possible in an arena tour, but has also produced what could arguably be one of the most technologically ambitious rock productions ever conceived. unlike most rock shows, the visuals for about 40 percent of the show aren't pre-rendered. there's no staging, no pantomiming by band members: it's all interactive, live and rendered on the fly."
what that means is you see some nutso shit before recovering to see the next nutso shit. at one point, the screen was covered in a sea blue that was actually left over from a massive close-up of trent's mouth as he sang. a stage hand with a camping flash light came out and began running it over the screen, which actually erased all the sky blue and blended into the next array of visuals. as this was all happening you could hear the baffled audience members question god, chris angel, and their very existence.
perhaps that moment was only topped by this the following. before the screen raises and the band belts out echoplex, josh freese, drummer extraordinaire, comes out solo and actually programs his beat onto the omega screen as the audience eagerly watches and poops its collective pants. the beat begins differently every night, proving that it is in fact totally spontaneous and biblically wicked rad.
echoplex
beyond all of the pizazz and rock, it was really great to be around for what was clearly a once in a lifetime event for the chilenos. living in south america isn't the greatest set of circumstances for a fan of western music. though bands come, they come rarely and with the added costs of travel and set transport, they come at a higher price. the fact that nin came and came with a heckuva show really meant a lot to the chileans and they made it obvious by... BELTING OUT EVERY WORD OF EVERY SONG AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS. the amount of english i heard that fair saturday night made me believe that all chileans, including my students, actually speak fluent english and are just putting on a front to fuck with us.
well played chile.
hurt
thanks for the ticket brah!
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