Do you miss good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll? Well, Ohio’s Ryan Kralik brings this back with his fifth record release entitled No Agenda. His friendly melodies and endearing guitar riffs attracted the likes of Dave Krusen (Pearl Jam, Hovercraft, Candlebox, and Unified Theory), Rick “The Bass Player” Rosas (Neil Young, Joe Walsh, Buffalo Springfield), Michael G. Ronstadt and Keith Lowe (Brad) to collaborate on the recording.

“This is the kind of music that moves me, it’s heartfelt and deep,” says Krusen, who plays drums on four of the tracks. “I really enjoyed playing drums on Ryan’s tunes.”

The album is a great balance of styles from the guitar heavy Jesus Hates Fags to the folky Center of Every World to the catchy Setting Sun, which is the strongest track from a solid selection. “After the session i couldn’t get Setting Sun out of my head,” Rosas explains. “That’s a good sign!”

Where the album really shines, however, is in its words. “Storm all of the ministries, demand that they set us all free” from The Egypt Riot, “Sometimes they take you, use you for what they need, to drink, to wash, water down their seed” from When You’re the Rain, and “Where will you run to, where will you hide, is that your god on the border or the devil inside” from God on the Border are all part of a powerful message Kralik puts forward on an album that is dedicated to the recent Occupy movement.

Occupy a copy of No Agenda and you’ll be happy you did.

ryankralik.com

Just completed three shows and one festival on the 2010 Pearl Jam European tour, and as always, it was a great time with some great people. I went from London to Dublin by van, Dublin to Belfast by train, Belfast to London by plane, and London to Belgium by train.

Here is a video recap of the two weeks of fun, filmed with the wonderful Go Pro Camera.

]]> http://thisallencompassingtrip.com/2010/07/07/2010-pearl-jam-european-tour/feed/ 0 http://thisallencompassingtrip.com/2010/05/06/mike-mccready-on-all-that-sacred-podcast/ http://thisallencompassingtrip.com/2010/05/06/mike-mccready-on-all-that-sacred-podcast/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 09:32:45 +0000 Jrock http://www.thisallencompassingtrip.com/?p=1877 May 6, 2010

Was in Seattle last week for the 8th annual Flight to Mars benefit concert supporting CCFA Camp Oasis and Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness. The show was high energy and full of fun as usual, and for the second year in a row I was asked to film and cover the show along with the VIP preparty put on by The Wishlist Foundation.

I gathered a boat load of footage including interviews with fans and the band members. Here’s an interview with Mike McCready about the event as conducted by Donnie for his All That Sacred podcast.

Check out the new music video I did for my good friends Mike and Vicky’s band Ocean Roots. This is an acoustic version of the song “On Our Way”, which is an original from their other band NoRey. The video also features the use of my brand new HD video camera, which will bring you crystal clear videos from now on. Enjoy!

Ocean Roots is a special project that is helping heal the ocean through art. The art consists of a full length cd of original ocean inspired music and sounds of the ocean, as well as paintings from The Underwater Series Art Exhibition done by the very talented Vicky Bowes. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to non-profit organizations who specialize in ocean protection and preservation such as Sea Shepherd, Green Peace, Mother Ocean Foundation, Surfers Against Sewage, and Surfrider Foundation.

Please visit the Ocean Roots website for more information.
oceanroots.wordpress.com

Around this time a year ago, a group of us brought video cameras into a Nine Inch Nails show in Las Vegas. The goal was to piece together this footage and create a 100% fan made Blu-ray DVD for the final show of Nine Inch Nail’s amazing The Lights In the Sky tour. One year later, the DVD is ready to be released. On Christmas Day 2009, “Another Version of The Truth” will be available for download. This is the trailer.

Friday the 13th is a day which superstitions hold to be either good or bad luck. This year, November 13 just happens to fall on a friday, but luck would definitely be on our side in Seattle. Originally, we were only going to do the 3 hour drive to see The Pixies in concert, until we discovered that there would be another show in town just down the road that same night, Mudhoney. Why are these 2 legendary bands playing on the same night in the same city but at different places? Would it be possible to catch both shows? I’ve never seen 2 separate shows on the same night at 2 different venues before, especially 2 bands of this calibre, so this would be some accomplishment. We are ambitious enough to make the attempt.

3:30pm
-I take off from work early to meet Clayton in downtown and pick up the van
4:45pm
-We struggle past traffic to pick up Steph in Langley
5:15pm
-Touring Van drives through downtown Langley for the first time ever
6:00pm
-Approach the Aldergrove border crossing for the US. There is zero traffic.
7:00 to 7:30pm
-Driving through an intense rain storm and monsoon near Skagit County
8:00pm
-Stop at Wendy’s for a quick bite. Overweight American families on display here.
8:30pm
-Arrived in Seattle and quickly find parking
8:45pm
-Enter The Paramount Theatre, a lovely concert hall
9:00pm
-The lights go off and the screens light up with clips from the film “Un chien andalou”
9:05pm
-The Pixies take the stage with a number of b-sides starting with “Dancing The Manta Ray”
9:20pm
-They go into “Debaser” and march through the entire Doolittle album in order
10:10pm
-”Gouge Away” is played and the band leaves the stage
10:15pm
-They return to the stage for the encore and play “Wave of Mutilation” for the second time in the show
10:40pm
-The last notes of “Where is my mind?” are played and the show ends

10:50pm
-We pick up the van and drive several blocks up Pike Street to the next venue and find parking
11:15pm
-We enter Neumos, a very cool looking little place. Tad is already on stage ripping it up
11:20pm
-Check out the merch stand for this release party for the book “Grunge” featuring photographs by Michael Lavine and text by Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth.
11:35pm
-Waiting patiently, sipping on a couple of beers, with a perfect view of the stage, until a giant 6’4″ 300lb asshole decides to stand in front of us blocking the view for all 3 of us. We adjust our positions
11:45pm
-Mudhoney hits the stage for a ripping set beginning with “The Money Will Roll Right In”
11:45pm to 1:00am
-Crowd is going nuts and moshing as if it was 1989. The band is on fire.
1:15am
-Mudhoney finally runs out of energy and the show is over, we are completely drained out and dead tired.
1:30am
-Eat yummy hot dogs outside of Neumos
2:00am
-Roll into the van and drive out to Wallmart parking where we sleep in the van for the night

Rolling into Neumos, with a full crowd on hand and Tad on stage already, was an electrifying experience. We had just been blown away by an awesome performance from The Pixies, who had a huge influence on alternative rock music in the late 80s leading into the early 90s, and now we are in the midst of a Grunge party, headlined by one of the biggest and original grunge bands there is, Mudhoney. This is what it must have been like in Seattle in the early 90s, where people would just go from venue to venue to see quality bands all night long. In the crowd, I spot many musicians from the Seattle scene during that era. I can’t put names to them, but definitely recognize faces from the movie “Hype”. It was very surreal to be in this environment, almost like a dream.

A few weeks ago, a little Seattle music history took place in Los Angeles, when Chris Cornell and Jerry Cantrell joined Pearl Jam on stage at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal Studios for a reunion of grunge icons. On friday the 13th, we witnessed 2 of the major influences largely responsible for the grunge movement in the very city that it began in. After the last show of the night, I suggest that we had 4 hours to get to Perth, Australia to make it to our a 3rd show of the night, Pearl Jam at the Members Equity Stadium. Now that would have been some achievement.

Pearl Jam’s newest single from Backspacer.

Now I am not one to really care about what songs are played nor have I kept track or have a checklist of songs which I go into a show with like most fans do, but with the band proclaiming an attempt to get through every song that they know over the course of the 4 shows, the Pearl Jam geek came out of my shell and I started analyzing the setlists for the first time in a long time to figure out the stats of what transpired over the week. I know some others have probably done this already, but this is my take on the Philly compilation.

SETLISTS
PHILLY 1
Corduroy * Whipping * Hail Hail * Supersonic * Dissident * Unthought Known * Faithfull * Parachutes * Unemployable * Immortality * Green Disease * Not For You * Rival * Nothingman * Ghost * Do The Evolution * Why Go
~~~~~
Bee Girl * Just Breathe * The End * All Those Yesterdays * State Of Love And Trust * Mankind * The Fixer * Go
~~~~~
Daughter * Love Reign O’er Me * Black * Leash * Rearviewmirror * Rockin’ In The Free World

PHILLY 2
Animal * All Night * World Wide Suicide * Small Town * I Am Mine * Johnny Guitar * Nothing As It Seems * Gone * Evacuation * Even Flow * Come Back * No Way * 1/2 Full * Down * Wishlist * Grievance * Given To Fly * The Fixer * Save You
~~~~~
Just Breathe * Lukin * Speed Of Sound * Push Me, Pull Me * Garden * Blood
~~~~~
Last Kiss * Wasted Reprise * Better Man * The Real Me * Porch * Yellow Ledbetter * Little Wing

PHILLY 3
Gonna See My Friend * The Fixer * In My Tree * Given To Fly * Tremor Christ * Untitled * MFC * Hold On * Unthought Known * In Hiding * Deep * Habit * Cropduster * Off He Goes * Force Of Nature * Present Tense * Got Some * Do The Evolution
~~~~~
Just Breathe * Parting Ways * Jeremy * Breath * Light Years * Rearviewmirror
~~~~~
Whipping * Crazy Mary * Footsteps * Once * Alive * Sonic Reducer * Baba O’Riley

PHILLY 4
Why Go * Last Exit * Corduroy * Severed Hand * The Fixer * Small Town * You Are * Amongst The Waves * Even Flow * Pilate * Unthought Known * Daughter * Johnny Guitar * Rats * I’m Open * I Got Shit * Glorified G * Out Of My Mind * Black * Insignificance * Life Wasted
~~~~~
Just Breathe * The End * Low Light * Speed Of Sound * Jeremy * Inside Job * Bugs * Spin The Black Circle * Porch
~~~~~
Whip It * Got Some * Crown Of Thorns * Satan’s Bed * Sweet Lew * Do the Evolution * Better Man * Smile * Alive * Rockin’ In The Free World * Yellow Ledbetter * Star Spangled Banner

 SHOW STATS BY ALBUMS
(X are songs that were played, O are songs that were not played)

TEN (9 out of 11)
X Once
X Even Flow
X Alive
X Why Go
X Black
X Jeremy
O Oceans
X Porch
X Garden
X Deep
O Release

VS (10 out of 12)
X Go
X Animal
X Daughter
X Glorified G
X Dissident
O W.M.A.
X Blood
X Rearviewmirror
X Rats
X Small Town
X Leash
O Indifference

VITALOGY (11 out of 11)
X Last Exit
X Spin The Black Circle
X Not For You
X Tremor Christ
X Nothingman
X Whipping
X Corduroy
X Bugs
X Satan’s Bed
X Better Man
X Immortality

NO CODE (9 out of 13)
O Sometimes
X Hail Hail
O Who You Are
X In My Tree
X Smile
X Off He Goes
X Habit
O Red Mosquito
X Lukin
X Present Tense
X Mankind
X I’m Open
O Around The Bend

YIELD (12 out of 13)
O Brain Of J
X Faithfull
X No Way
X Given To Fly
X Wishlist
X Pilate
X Do The Evolution
X Untitled
X MFC
X Low Light
X In Hiding
X Push Me, Pull Me
X All Those Yesterdays

BINUARAL (7 out of 13)
O Breakerfall
O Gods’ Dice
X Evacuation
X Light Years
X Nothing As It Seems
O Thin Air
X Insignificance
O Of The Girl
X Grievance
X Rival
O Sleight Of Hand
O Soon Forget
X Parting Ways

RIOT ACT (7 out of 15)
O Can’t Keep
X Save You
O Love Boat Captain
X Cropduster
X Ghost
X I Am Mine
O Thumbing My Way
X You Are
O Get Right
X Green Disease
O Help Help
O Bu$leaguer
X 1/2 Full
O Arc
O All Or None

AVOCADO (9 out of 13)
X Life Wasted
X World Wide Suicide
O Comatose
X Severed Hand
O Marker In The Sand
X Parachutes
X Unemployable
O Big Wave
X Gone
X Wasted Reprise
O Army Reserve
X Come Back
X Inside Job

BACKSPACER (11 out of 11)
X Gonna See My Friend
X Got Some
X The Fixer
X Johnny Guitar
X Just Breathe
X Amongst The Waves
X Unthought Known
X Supersonic
X Speed Of Sound
X Force Of Nature
X The End

LOST DOGS (8 out of 30)
X All Night
O Sad
X Down
O Hitchhiker
O Don’t Gimme No Lip
O Alone
O In The Moonlight
O Education
O Black Red Yellow
O U
O Leaving Here
O Gremmie Out Of Control
O Whale Song
O Undone
X Hold On
X Yellow Ledbetter
O Fatal
O Other Side
O Hard To Imagine
X Footsteps
O Wash
O Dead Man Walking
O Strangest Tribe
O Driftin
O Let Me Sleep
X Last Kiss
X Sweet Lew
O Dirty Frank
O Brother
X Bee Girl

OTHER SINGLES
X Breath
X State Of Love And Trust
O Man Of The Hour
O Long Road
X I Got Shit
X Out Of My Mind
X Crown Of Thorns

COVERS
X Love Reign O’er Me
X Rockin In The Free World
X The Real Me
X Crazy Mary
X Sonic Reducer
X Baba O’Riley
X Whip It

THE NUMBERS
135 total songs played over the 4 shows
101 were unique
94 out of 128 of their own original songs were played (no covers)
85 out of 112 of them from studio albums (minus Lost Dogs)
2 songs were played for the first time ever

PERSONAL ANALYSIS
I only saw the final 2 shows but was still curious about my own checklist of songs, so I went further into the analysis to discover that I am up to 91 shows now and have gotten 140 out of 150 of all their original songs that they have ever played. The songs that I am missing and the number of times they have been played are:

Mankind 35
Evacuation 28
Rival 19
All Those Yesterdays 12
Help Help 9
Angel 4
Push Me Pull Me 4
Fatal 3
All The Way 1
Let Me Sleep 1

5 of these were played in the first 2 Philly shows and the last 2 songs almost doesn’t even count. Quite interesting to say the least.

So looking through all of this, it would appear that my Pearl Jam career is nearing the end of the road and I will be ready to retire from shows when I’ve seen all of the songs or hit 100 shows right? Not a chance. There is a reason why I do not keep a checklist like this or keep track of how many shows, it is not important. It really doesn’t matter what they play on any given night, if the crowd is good, and the energy is there, the show will be great and that is all that matters. Variety is appreciated and sure, all of the rarities and oddball songs are a bonus but they are not played that often because they are not their best songs. In general, I just look to have a good time at each show.

With that said, the final 2 shows had an excess amount of energy and were pretty special to be a part of. Looking around the complete sellout of a crowd, not a single person was in their seats. I can’t remember the last time I saw an event where every person was on their feet, even up at the end of the 3rd balcony. I finally heard Sonic Reducer for the first time, a song that I’ve been wanting hear for a long time. It was kind of anticlimatic at this point however, but fun nonetheless. And as if anything else was needed, the Halloween costumes brought the fun factor up even more. I was Wayne and Stefan was Garth.

The Halloween show had a similar feeling to the final Nine Inch Nails show that I saw at the Wiltern in Los Angeles a month prior, matching it, if not surpassing it in epicness. Both will forever stand out in their own way for me and I feel privileged to have been in attendance to witness the history being created. What a great few months of concerts. Of course, I do give the edge to Pearl Jam due to the intangibles that come with their shows. Philly was a great time, the shows lived up to their seemingly uneclipsable hype, the Flyers won, the halloween costumes were fun, but the people and company were once again what made the trip, not to mention the 5 Philly cheese steaks I had over the 3 days. Glad to see everyone once again and sorry to those who I missed, it’s much harder to coordinate and do these shows without the van. Can you believe that I didn’t tailgate at all? Time is always an issue and there was just way to much happening that weekend, but we will connect soon again. This will be hard to top, but we all know it will be. Whip It Good!

There could not be a more appropriate track than “Gonna See My Friend” to kick off the newest Pearl Jam release, Backspacer. I, too, am gonna see my friends, and I’m gonna see them in Seattle for a big week of Pearl Jam and friends. With the new album dropping on the day before the band begins their west coast tour, this has been a much highly anticipated week of festivities. So accordingly, I arrive back in Vancouver just in time to resurrect the Touring Van to do the 2 hour drive south of the border.

Joining me in the van is my friend Mike(a long time Pearl Jam fan from England coming for his first show), Steph (my lil sis and pupil in training), and Lester (who is not only the new Tak but also the new Stefan for this trip). The crossing of the border goes smoothly, strangely, and we arrive at Seatac airport just in time to pick up Pablo from Argentina and Carlos from Mexico to add some spice to the van, as we head off to West Seattle and Easy Street Records for the big Backspacer Bash.

Sep 19, 2009 – Backspacer Midnight Release Party in Seattle

I am lucky enough to find the prime parking spot, directly in front of Easy Street, with a number of people standing on the open space in reservation for the van. We enter the venue for tonight’s big album release and scope out the situation while the store is still empty. I joke to Carlos that I would have to take his credit card away from him to control his shopping after he spent hundreds of dollars the last time I took him to Easy Street. However, it is Pablo who flashes the plastic by purchasing literally a handful of cds and vinyls including the entire Alice In Chains collection. Then, as we attempt to exit the store, Carlos makes a purchase for one item, a very expensive item: Pearl Jam’s Super Deluxe Ten reissue box set. Placing nearly $300 worth of music into the van, we then head next door for some pre party drinks in anticipation for the release of the new album. Backspacer is the ninth studio album released by Pearl Jam, but their first as an independent band, and there has never been this much hype over a release generated by the band themselves. They want this to do well and we are here to make that happen.

The party begins at 9pm at Easy Street, and like a concert, a queue begins to form outside along the street. As usual, it is a reunion of old friends from all over including Europeans and Australians. Many people have come a long way just to cram into the tiny record store to make the purchase at the strike of midnight. This is always the best part of these trips and I even meet some new exciting faces to share a few drinks with. At the peak of the party there are roughly 600 people in a 300 capacity record store, the same location where Pearl Jam played a secret show in a few years back. But there is beer being sold and good music being played, the key elements for keeping Pearl Jam fans happy. At 11:00pm, the new record is played and I get to listen to it for the first time, but I am hardly paying attention. A round of prizes are given away and then a line up forms that snakes through the store, for the purchase of Backspacer.

I stand nearby and watch the excitement at the cashier till. Nearly every person purchases more than 1 cd of the new release as well as the vinyl. I, myself, am going to buy 3. With the amount of consumers in the store, the band is going to sell well over 1000 copies of the new record in a matter of minutes, just at this store alone. I think this will be a successful album. After our mandatory shopping is completed, most of us hang around for a few more before finally leaving the record store at 2:00am. Thanks to Matt and Adam at East Street for a fun release party. When we return back to the van, I notice 3 new stickers on it to go along with our new passengers. With Mike, Carlos and Pablo hopping off to their own accommodations, Barbara and Hinny jump in along with David and Lisa, who we are staying with, just a few blocks away in West Seattle. This is our base for the week.

Sep 20, 2009 – Day off in Seattle

The next day is a rather casual one. While most head to Safeco Field to catch the Mariners vs Yankees game, Barbara and I hang around and welcome Eli to Seattle. He had taken a 3 day greyhound trip all the way from New York just to have Mexican food with us in West Seattle. But it was oh so delicious. Around mid afternoon, we meet up with everyone else in front of the Showbox, which I found street parking in front of luckily again, and we go for a piss up at the Pike Place pub. It is sunday, so football rules the tv sets, and with nearly 20 of us, there are plenty of Giants and Cowboys fans around for the featured game. After a couple of bowls of ‘chow-dah’ along with an incredible sunset at the waterfront, we return to our base, with pizza, wine and Babara keeping us entertained until 5:00am on hula hoops.

Sep 21, 2009 – Pearl Jam show #1 in Seattle

With a minimal amount of sleep, we are up early on the day of the first show. There is lots to be done, as Lisa is one of the organizers for the pre-show benefit party in Seattle, so we need to be there by noon to help setup. These benefits are fundraisers put on by The Wishlist Foundation and run by volunteer Pearl Jam fans at each show, raising money for different causes. For Seattle, the beneficiaries are 826 Seattle and Young Survival Coalition, and the venue is at TS McHugh’s Irish Pub on the corner of 1st and Mercer. I am, once again, lucky in finding a parking spot at the entrance setting up the van to be one of 2 magnets to draw Pearl Jam fans into the bar for the fundraiser, with the other magnet being the other Easy Street Records directly across the street.

To help accommodate for the enormous turnout, the bar has opened up it’s back parking lot as a beer garden with a live performer. Perfect for a sunny day. The party begins at 2:00pm and the place is just packed, a good sign for the benefit. I mingle with various people throughout the afternoon but can’t help but concentrate on the television screen showing Monday night football featuring the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts. Every hour or so, I help empty the food bank box into the van, as people trade perishable food items in for raffle tickets for the prizes. By the end of the party, I have enough food to last me for a 2 month road trip. The first day is a smashing success, raising over $6,500, a single day record for The Wishlist Foundation. Not that it is really required at all, but these events get the fans pumped up and a little liquored up for the show. We enter the Key Arena on a high, before we say hello to our favourite band.

The show starts off with Long Road, one of the best openers of all time, before picking up momentum with a run of rockers, including 2 of my favourites off the new album Gonna See My Friend and Got Some. It is very nice to see these new songs performed live, especially because I haven’t really spent any quality time listening to the new record yet. So this is, essentially, my introduction to the new material. My exposure to the previous album, The Avocado, was the same and that turned into a huge success, although I am not going to do the whole world tour this time around. But I must say, I am impress with a lot of the new songs after hearing them live.

The show is basically a Backspacer showcase, which is just fine with me. It is a good show and a good way to start their tour on, but that is exactly what the show is, a warm up show, much like Shepherd’s Bush was a month ago. But it is a solid show and I am taking a liking to a lot of the new stuff, my favourite being Unthought Known. Johnny Guitar is probably the one that I am least excited about. On a production level, the new backdrop and stage setup is quite eye catching and alluring, as I’m sure most people are probably a bit sick of the old wave backdrop from the past few years.

When the final notes of Alive are struck, we walk back up 1st ave to Mercer Street and back to TS McHughs for some after show drinks. As with most shows, the mood is vibrant afterwards, a mood that continues on all night into West Seattle with another bottle of wine for another night of entertainment courtesy of Babs, this time with Lisa out dueling her on the hula hoops.

SETLIST:
Long Road * Corduroy * Gonna See My Friend * Got Some * Hail Hail * Amongst The Waves * Daughter * Even Flow * Johnny Guitar * Unthought Known * World Wide Suicide * Small Town * Off He Goes * Down * Save You * The Fixer * Life Wasted
~~~~~
Just Breathe * The End * Inside Job * Rearviewmirror
~~~~~
Given To Fly * Do The Evolution * Better Man * The Real Me * Indifference * Alive

Sep 22, 2009 – Pearl Jam show #2 in Seattle

With one show under our belts and a couple of days roaming around Seattle, this place is starting to feel like home, if it wasn’t already. It is another rough morning however, so to cheer everyone up, I take them all to one of the highly ranked burger joints in all of America, The Lunchbox Laboratory. I have heard nothing but good things about this place, and with the on going quest to find the best burger I have going with Stefan, Tak, Lester and Tamara, 2 of which are with us down south, I thought this would be appropriate for breakfast. The place is rather small despite the quantity of food that it serves, but the cozy atmosphere only adds to the experience. With 11 of us in attendance, we take up the entire seating area inside. I carefully examine the menu, which is spread out on 3 separate chalk boards, and come up with the decision for a 1/4 pound Burger of the Gods and it tastes every bit as good as it sounds.

The size of the burgers are enormous on their own, and then you have to add the lettuce/onions into it as well. For sides, there are normal fries, yam fries, onion fries, or taters with your choice of salts. And matching the variety of salts is the variety of milkshakes you can get. I order the nutella milkshake, which should be renamed the milk shake of the gods it is so good. We all have a blast enjoying, undoubtedly, the best burgers that I have had, before we make our way to TS McHugh’s for the fundraiser, where my good fortunes continue with parking.

The party is more of the same, minus the football game, which allows me to be able to fully hang out with all of my friends. By the end of the party, the trunk in the van is completely full of non-perishable food items and Wish List has equaled the amount of money raised from yesterday, bringing the grand total to a whopping $12,962 raised over 2 days. Incredible. This is yet another record for them, surpassing the $10,000 raised in Chicago last month. Awesome work Laura and Eric and all of the volunteers for this event. And thanks to all the fans that turned out to make these parties a smashing success. I know TS McHugh’s more than happily enjoyed our company.

The second Seattle show is a little bit better than the first one, with a more variety of songs including a personal favourite of mine, In My Tree. In addition, Babs is sitting with me tonight and she adds a tremendous amount to the fun factor. Overall, the show is another solid one, but still not quite the epic show that these Seattle ones have been thought to be. With the amount of hype put on these home town shows, the first in 5 years, it can be said that expectations were not met. This seems to be a pattern as most of the highly anticipated shows often fail to deliver the specialness and momentous proportions that is expected from them.

However, is this not our fault, as fans, for building this up too much? Are we expecting and wanting too much because the bar has been set so high so many times? Is it just me? Because I know I am spoiled. These shows, along with 99% of all others, have been amazing, yet I am not as satisfied as I should be or have been. Does this band no longer have that little extra something or is it me that no longer has it? The latter is probably the case. As I creep near my 100th Pearl Jam show, I still find them incredibly spectacular, but their feeling of significance has greatly diminished for me. This is because of all the events that occur coinciding with a Pearl Jam show. These include some of the best people and best friends I have met and will ever know. They have always been the reason why I travel to all these places to see the same band in concert. But now, these friends and the fun that they bring along with them, have surpassed the band so much for me that the shows are almost completely unimportant. They are almost anti-climatic after a full day of jubilance. I can’t wait to get back to TS McHugh’s for the after party

At the after party, everyone is in a celebratory mood and acting as if the nervousness of the show has been let loose along with many rounds of beers. I bring in my guitar for Joel to begin strumming away at sing-a-longs that no one seems to know the words to, even though we had just screamed them out together inside Key Arena an hour earlier. Come closing time, we are kicked out of TS McHugh’s and continue chatting away and saying our goodbyes for a good hour. Most of the people, though, we will see again in the coming days. We meet a ghetto version of Ben Harper, who is surprisingly, very knowledgeable about Pearl Jam. This is perhaps the highlight of the night. Some group photos are taken and then I cram 10 people into the van and we are going back to West Seattle for more hula hoops and wine.

SETLIST:
Sometimes * Why Go * All Night * The Fixer * Dissident * Johnny Guitar * Faithful * Lukin * Not For You * No Way * Unthought Known * Unemployable * Comatose * Insignificance * Present Tense * Got Some * Go
~~~~~
Just Breathe * The End * Black * In My Tree * Spin The Black Circle
~~~~~
Supersonic * Do The Evolution * The Real Me * Porch * Yellow Ledbetter/(Star Spangled Banner)

Sep 23, 2009 – Meat Puppets in Seattle

Today is the first of 2 off days. What I wanted to do originally was to take everyone back to Vancouver early and show off my home town before the show on friday. However, with everyone’s insistence on catching Alice In Chains at the Moore Theatre tomorrow, we decide to stay put in Seattle and sleep in a little bit. The afternoon is spent at Alki Beach, where we have lunch at Duke’s Chowder House only because we wanted to say “Chow-dah.” After a stroll along the beach, we head back into the city, more specifically 1st and Mercer again, for an In-Store concert by the Meat Puppets at Easy Street Records. Many of the Pearl Jam fans also make their appearance for this free concert, which was advertised conveniently on the marquee all week for us to notice. How much does Easy Street love Pearl Jam for bringing in so many of their fans to the store, and everyone spends money every time they enter. The show is interesting, with a garage door opening at the back of the store, unveiling the stage. Looking over to our right, we notice Guy Maddisson, the bassists from Mudhoney standing in the aisle of cds next to us. I peak down at my shirt and realized that I am wearing my Mudhoney shirt.

After the show, we grab some delicious Thai Food across the street at Racha Thai and then a few beers at the Lava Lounge in Belltown. Inside the Lava Lounge, we watch Eli put on an impressive display on the Mrs. Pac-Man video game that acted as our table as well. We also take turns playing shuffle board, keeping the night very relaxed and easy after a couple of messy ones. We return to West Seattle with our nightly pizza and bottle of wine, but everyone passes out early one by one. It has been a long week, jam packed with nothing but excitement.

Sep 24, 2009 – Alice In Chains in Seattle

Our last morning in Seattle is a complete write off. Everyone is dead tired with little to no energy to move. To wake us up, Lisa makes Bloody Mary’s for Babs and I. It works. By early afternoon, we are all up on our feet, so we decide to try out another highly regarded burger joint nearby, Zippy’s. The burgers are not quite as good as the other place, but for under $6, it is a great value and a tasty one as well. Satisfying our stomachs, we laze around some more and somehow convince Lisa to come along to Vancouver with us. All it takes is a ride offer from myself, a ticket offer from Hinny, and a ticket shuffling process that will put Lisa and Barbara on my tickets. With our work done, we head out to the city for the Alice In Chains show.

The show is taking place at the legendary Moore Theatre, a venue I’ve been looking forward to for some time. We walk in with a crowd of people dressed up as if it was 1993, and it is a circus inside. Every grunge stereotype is on display here, I even recognize Tad Doyle from the band Tad. The theatre itself looks almost like a church in side. We scramble around to look for free seats, as it is general admission, and finally find a couple near the back. Then a sudden rush to the stage occurs, so we follow suit to make this a true general admission, only with seats in the way. Half an hour later, Alice In Chains come on and totally blows our minds away. With us standing within a couple of feet of Jerry Cantrell, the band pumps out some good sounding new material, while leading us in sing-a-longs to the old classics. The new singer, William Duval, is quite the entertainer.

We go next door for some final drinks afterwards, to celebrate our great week in Seattle, and to say goodbye to some friends. Thanks to Lisa and David for allowing the whole touring van crew to crash at their sweet pad. It is greatly appreciated and was highly enjoyable as well. Carlos, Pablo, and Rafo are without Canadian visas, so they can not come along with us to Vancouver. They will be greatly missed but they can take care of Eli, who is without his passport and can’t enter Canada. With Stian, from Norway, jumping into the van, we make the drive north, followed closely behind by Sergio and Patricia from Portugal in their rental car.

So the van reaches the US/Canada border at 2:30am with 2 Asian Canadians, a Canadian living in the US, an Australia and an Italian living in UK, and a Norwegian, while being followed by a car of Portugese. The Touring Van has become the Smuggling Van for internationals crossing the border. However, much to our surprise, the border patrol only asks to see the passports and faces of the passengers without having to get out of the van, and then we are let off the hook. Had we known it would be that easy, we would have really tried to smuggle people in. We reach my house by 3:30am, where everyone is staying. After a quick couple of beers, everyone calls it a night. We are no longer in Seattle.

Sep 25, 2009 – Pearl Jam in Vancouver

Vancouver, the home town show, the one that I was looking forward to the most. It’s been 4 years since our band has played here last, and since that last show, I’ve gone all over the planet following the Jam and have brought some friends back with me. This will be special. To make up for the lack of sightseeing time, I wake everyone up at a bright and early time of 9:30am. They were warned. Dragging everyone out of bed, I then drag them up a few blocks from my backyard to Grouse Mountain, taking them straight to the best sightseeing in the city, The Grouse Grind. This is a hike that takes you 3kms in total distance and 1km in elevation up the mountain. It is called the grind for a reason. An average person takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to complete, so it’s kind of like an hour of constant stair climbing. I use to jog up this twice a week, back when I resided here and when I was at the prime of my athletic career. It has been 2 years since I last did it. For everyone else, this will be their first time.

Everyone seems a bit nervous but also excited about what they are about to undertake. As we slowly ascend up the mountain trails, I joke to the others that they will probably want to kill me during the hike, but they will have to catch up to me in order to do so. I also warned them that the first quarter will be the worst, so they shouldn’t be discouraged and continue on. Fully concentrating on all the nature around us, we blow right by the first quarter mark without even noticing the sign. At the half mark, I wait for the others to make sure everyone is still alright. Stian, Lisa, Lester and Hinn all arrive shortly, with the others not really in sight, but I spot Sergio down the hill, so Patricia and Babs should be close behind. Then after about an hour of climbing, we reach the top and the reward that comes with it, the best view of Vancouver. Without a single cloud in the sky, the weather is simply perfect for it as well.

Lounging out on the porch of the restaurant, we enjoy a beer and wait for the others. We speculate that they may have gone down, so if that is the case, perhaps they will take the sky ride up to meet us. But when Sergio reaches the top a little bit latter, we figure that the others should still be behind taking their time. However, after another hour of waiting around, I decide to hike back down a quarter to look for Babs and Patricia, but they are no where to be found. They must have gone back down, but why did they not take the sky ride up? We return back to the mountain base via the sky ride and find Babs and Patricia waiting patiently for us. They did not feel up to the task at hand and also had no money on them to take the sky ride up. It is too bad because everyone agrees that the grind is the perfect activity to get you ready for a show and thanks me for dragging them up the mountain. With the unexpected extra time spent on the hike, we only have enough time to all clean up and then head to the task at hand for tonight, Pearl Jam in Vancouver.

Pulling into downtown Vancouver, I am able to find a parking spot in front of DIX BBQ, sight of tonight’s fundraiser party. Everyone is there in full concert mode already, including Stefan and Tak. It was Tak’s birthday yesterday, so we are celebrating it today with many drinks and many shots. For tonight’s show, everyone seems to have found good luck with their seat locations. Steph and Brandon won the ticket lottery separately and are sitting next to each other in the front row. Brian from Lethbridge also won the lottery giving him 2nd row tickets. Our ticket buddies could not be any better as well. After all the shuffling around, Tak is with Stefan, Babs is with Lisa, Stian is with Hinny, and I am with Christian from Peru.

We walk into GM Place with total excitement, and my seat in the 6th row doesn’t hurt either. I spot many friends nearby, as everyone is so close to the stage tonight and there seems to be a good vibe going on. When the band hits the stage, we are hit with the first surprise, In My Tree. Christian and I go ape shit. This is followed by an entire set of pure rock. They do not give us a break and we are just going nuts for everyone of them. Christian shares a similar level of energy as me, which is high, and we seem to rock out well together.

Following an electrifying first set, the band continues this momentum with an unbelievable amount of energy for the encore, starting with I Got Shit, much to our appreciation. Normally, the encore is a lot more mellow, which usually kills the energy, but not tonight. A few songs later, Breath comes out of no where and we almost bring the roof down. The crowd is extremely loud and everyone on the floor is rocking out to the max throughout the night. This is beyond fun. This is one of the best shows I have seen in a very long time. Maybe I have the right amount of alcohol in the system, maybe I have the right ticket buddy beside me, but the band is on fire, the fans are deafening, and the selection of songs are unpredictable. Even though they should stop playing Johny Guitar, I am feeling it again, at a level that I thought I had lost.

The show is so exhilarating that we hang around our seats afterwards just to gather ourselves together again. Everyone has a giant smile on there face, claiming that the only thing missing from tonight was Smile. We gather around back at the van, the central meeting spot for most of us, to say our goodbyes. It has been a jam packed week of festivities ending with a bang here tonight. The fun factor was definitely through the roof, as we were with some awesome company. Some are leaving for the next show in Portland, some are going home. I am already home and happy to stay here after a show like tonight. This show has brought me back to 2006. I’ve got it back. I’ve got my band back. I can not wait for Halloween in Philly!

SETLIST:
In My Tree * Save You * The Fixer * Severed Hand * Johnny Guitar * Given To Fly * MFC * Even Flow * Amongst The Waves * Sad * Unthought Known * Light Years * Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town * Grievance * No Way * Got Some * Rearviewmirror
~~~~~
I Got Shit * Love * Reign O’er Me * Breath * State Of Love And Trust * Alive
~~~~~
Last Kiss * Indifference w/ Ben Harper * Wasted Reprise * Better Man/(Save It For Later) * Yellow Ledbetter

Originally I was not planning to do any of the shows in Los Angeles because I was already out in the east coast, so New York and Chicago just made more sense. What’s more is that I was booked for a wedding party in Wisconsin the weekend of these final shows, and along with it, a flight booked for Vancouver to send me back home. This flight was booked far in advance as part of the insurance payout that I had fought so hard for in my car accident claim. After finally getting the American insurance company, State Farm, to agree to pay for my flight home, they required me to book it immediately in order for them to reimburse my costs.

When tickets went on sale, I was not successful in acquiring tickets for New York, only getting 1 out of 4 shows. So I remained logged in on the nin.com system and turned my attention to buying tickets to Chicago, which were on sale an hour later. This proved to be a piece of cake for both shows. It was so easy in fact, that I did not make the purchase and began reevaluating my schedule, realizing that I could possibly make the final show in Los Angeles, as it is the day after the wedding. Looking at my options, it seems to be too expensive to make any changes, however, looking at brand new flights, prices do not seem too bad. Just over $200 will bring me to Los Angeles in time for the show, and back to Vancouver later in the week through expedia. So I thought if I was lucky enough to get tickets to the final show at the Echoplex, I will book a brand new flight and spend a week in LA. After all, I did not pay for my flight home, so I wouldn’t be wasting my money. So with this new option clear in my mind, I went into the LA presale full of confidence and prevailed, scoring 2 tickets to the last and final Nine Inch Nails show at the Echoplex. In fact, all of my friends that were trying for tickets got them as well, we hit the lottery. Los Angeles here I come.

Sep 6 – Los Angeles, CA (Echoplex)

Using the first leg of my original itinerary, I fly from Montreal to Madison, WI for Tom and Ingrid’s wedding, carrying all of my luggage which I brought with me to Montreal via car. A few nights of hard partying finished with a huge night on wedding day making me feel sick and restless. Congratulations to Tom and Ingrid. With nothing still open after the party, we return back to the hotel, where I am able to get just over an hour of sleep before going to the airport for my 6:00am flight. Waiting for my boarding time, my sickness takes a turn for the worst and I throw up three times prior to take off. This is a good thing, otherwise my flight would have been horrendous. With my old flight thrown away, I fly into Chicago for a connecting flight to Los Angeles, where I arrive at around 9:00am to pick up my rental car.

First order of business in Los Angeles, as always, is to head straight to Westwood and the UCLA campus for some In N Out Burgers followed by some Diddy Reese ice cream sandwiches. This is my absolute favourite thing to do in Los Angeles and I wanted to spread the word around about it, so I pick up my friend Sarah at her hotel to join in on the deliciousness. At this point, I haven’t eaten since the wedding dinner and I had thrown up multiple times in the morning, so this food is either going to destroy me even more or save me. To my surprise the 4×4 burger settles my stomach down and then the macadamia nut cookies wrapped around the rocky road ice cream is just icing on the cake and I feel much better after wards. Sarah loves it too.

What doesn’t make me feel good, however, is the news that Sarah informs me about the NIN shows being changed. Tonight’s show is still a go, but it is no longer the final show anymore. Trent, as well as most of the crew and band members, has not been feeling well at all lately in the final wee hours of his nin career, so the previous 2 shows at the Henry Fonda Theatre and The Wiltern last week were canceled. A reshuffling of shows occurred due to this disappointment combined with probably the fact that he would rather end NIN in style at the Wiltern rather than at the tiny Echoplex, because the small Bowery Ballroom show in NY was not as special as they had expected. The rescheduling puts the Henry Fonda show after the Echoplex followed by the final show at the Wiltern on thursday Sept 10, the day I am scheduled to fly out of LA. That’s just great. The whole point was for me to see the final NIN show. But I’ve seen my fair of shows and I am not concern with this new development. Many people have been screwed with flights and hotels needing to be extended by a week, but I, on the other hand, will simple look at my options latter in the week in terms of rescheduling flights, and just enjoy the show tonight.

The reason I had allowed for a couple of extra days in Los Angeles in the first place was so I could visit Cali Joe and Kasie whom I have not seen since the Bonnaroo Festival over a year ago. With Kasie being a bigger Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails fan, I offer to take her to the show. We meet up at the venue, which comprises of a few hundred fans lined up already, some of which have been lined up since the cancellation of the previous shows. At the front of the line is Amy, who has been waiting patiently while entertaining a stray cat for a couple of days already. That’s dedication. Escaping the madness, we grab some dinner at a Spanish Restaurant nearby, which turns out to be pretty good, except for the absence of Sangria on their menu.

We return to the lineup which has not shrunk yet, but the doors have just opened. Joe hangs around looking for a ticket to the show, and discovers another line at the other end for ticketless fans. Apparently they have released 20 more tickets already, so he decides to give it a shot and hang out there for a chance to go in. It takes around 30 mins, but we eventually reach the front of the lineup. Once there, we were let in to the ticket counter one at a time to verify my id before distributing our tickets and wristbands, a very scalper-proof system that works like a charm. We walk through the parking lot and enter the venue from the back door.

The Echoplex is located on a split level street with the Echo club on the street above it. Essentially, it is the basement of the Echo, and being a basement, it is tiny with low ceilings. Rumours have swirled around on how big the place actually is, anywhere from 300 to 700 capacity. There is a bar at the back of the floor and a bar in the middle, but standing behind the bar in the middle, your view is obstructed by the beams, pipes and insulation that run through the ceiling of any normal basement, as well as the bar itself. So this area is mainly empty throughout the show. From what I gather, the main pit in front of the stage is the only area where you can see the stage, and this is probably what the 300 capacity comes from. This place makes Webster’s Hall look like Buckingham Palace. Kasie and I feel very lucky to be in amongst the few hundred in this tiny room to see this massive band.

Being such a small venue with low ceilings, you can tell that the temperature is just going soar through the roof. So to avoid the heat and the crowd, we find an elevated platform in the corner off to the side with a great view over the pit. Being behind the crowd, we are still only 10 to 12 meters from the stage, with a giant fan cooling off the venue in front of us as well. This seems to be the ideal spot cause it’s going to get hot. The support band, Health, takes the stage and puts on a very energetic and very loud show. They are a decent opener and sets the stage for what will be a spectacular night. And our ears are going to blow in the process. We grab a few drinks from the deserted bar from the back and plant ourselves onto our spot.

When NIN takes the stage, they casually starts their set with a slower beginning to “Somewhat Damaged” before all hell breaks loose in the middle of the song. The heat jumps up 20 degrees, and the volume skyrockets along with it. The crowd is going nuts and those who were not in the pit before, are all in it now. We continue to watch somewhat comfortably by the giant fan in the corner. It is unclear whether there is actually air conditioning in this place, as the temperature constantly drops momentarily before suddenly jumping up again rapidly. Trent even asks for the ac to be turned up at one point. The show is rather normal as far as set lists goes, and it is a more tone down show much like the Bowery Ballroom was supposeably like. But to be in such a small space for the show, in itself, is very special. We can feel every note in our bodies, as the volume level causes the entire venue to shake along with the music. I could literally see the walls moving. And even though we are standing right by the giant fan and away from the crowd, we are sweating like dogs. I can only imagine what it’s like inside of the pit.

Near the end of the set, Gary Numan joins them on stage for a few songs which is pretty cool, although they did not play “Cars” like they did at the previous show at the Palladium last week. During the encore break, I spot the twins from New York, Mic and Jen, in the crowd so I holler at them. They say hi and then step back towards our area to watch the remaining of the show. All in all it is a solid show with nothing that really sticks out that would make it extra special. Kasie thoroughly enjoyed it, and as did I. But I’m glad that this is not the final show, as I would have expected them to go out with a little more of a bang. I’m sure Trent is still recovering from his sickness, but I am also sure he is aware of the setting of the Echoplex and thus thought having a final show in such a small place would not make sense. The Wiltern is just a nicer building, with better sound quality, and it holds more fans to send them off on their farewell. I will just have to explore my options now to see if it’s logical for me to change my flight by one day. Joe hung around the venue for the start of the show but never got in.

SETLIST:
Somewhat Damaged * The Beginning Of The End * The Collector * Discipline * March Of The Pigs * Something I Can Never Have * The Frail The Wretched * Terrible Lie * Ruiner * Head Down * Burn * Gave Up * La Mer * Non-Entity * Gone, Still * The Big Come Down * The Way Out Is Through * Wish * Survivalism * Down In It * Metal w/Gary Numan * I Die: You Die w/Gary Numan * Physical * The Hand That Feeds * Head Like A Hole
~~~~~
Dead Souls * Hurt

Sep 10 – Los Angeles, CA (The Wiltern)

The next day is labour day, a day of rest for all of us hard working folks. For me this year I have worked a total of 0 days, so needless to say, I deserve the day off, if only a day off from all of the hectic shows. It also happens to be Joe’s mom’s birthday today, so we have a nice bbq at her place around their lovely jacuzzi pool, which was still in construction the last time I visited. Sipping on Coronas in the pool, we enjoy Kasie’s to-die-for 7 layer dip as appetizers before having some equally as tasty corn and ahi tuna. I make my contribution with imported Montreal smoke meat from Schwartz. The day is very relaxing with good company all around. I even chatted with Joe’s mom about UFC and boxing, as she is apparently an avid fan of George St Pierre in addition to The Wizard of Oz.

When we return back to Joe and Kasie’s place in Ventura, the night begins to wind down and I begin looking around for options on flights. Changing my flight is once again out of the question, however, Alaska Airlines has a one way flight from LAX to YVR for $150 including taxes. Done. Now all I need is a ticket to this much sought after show. But with all the changes that occurred, there are bound to be people refunding tickets, so I am not worried. I send out a text message to a few people that I know and immediate get a reply from my friend Malina informing me that nin.com just released some more tickets less than a minute ago. I quickly log in and am successful in purchasing my ticket to the Wiltern. I ask Joe if he wanted to go, as there are probably still some tickets available, and he says hell yeah. Within a minute, Joe is able to sign up for both nin.com and their musictoday ticket page, and then purchase a ticket to the last ever Nine Inch Nails show. We are now set and going to the show.

With the Wiltern all sorted out, I decide to skip the rescheduled show at the Henry Fonda, and stay in Ventura for some surf, some relaxation, and some Mexican food. When Thursday Sept 10 rolls around, Kasie drops me off early at Avis to pickup a rental car and I head into the city stopping only at In N Out burger. Joe is at work in Santa Barbara all day, so I figure that I would line up for once and save us a decent seat for the show, as he expects to arrive near show time. It takes roughly an hour to get through light traffic before I am in Hollywood, where I park at a nearby parking lot for $12 and then arrive at The Wiltern, venue for the final show, at 1:00pm.

As I round the corner of the entrance, I see the massive lineup on the other side of the building. The lineup is for picking up tickets, as the first 250 or so tickets will be given access to the pit. Last time I was at the venue was for the Eddie Vedder tour, where they had reserved seating through out the entire building including in the pit, so this will be much different. The venue is completely general admission, but there is only a limited amount of space in the pit. From there, the lower section is staggered into 3 tiers that gradually step up towards the back, and then there is a balcony full of seats. So many fans are hoping for the extra wrist band that grants you pit access. The group at the front of the line has been here since tuesday, skipping the Henry Fonda show. The next group came here immediately after that show, Sarah is in that group.

I walk further down the line, which seems endless, and notice some interesting ways for people to keep comfortable. There are sleeping bags, pillows, inflatable mattresses, inflatable rafts, even cushions normally used for pets to sit on are used for the patiently waiting fans. To stay away from the sun, there are umbrellas of all sorts in the area including some tropical straw tiki ones. The lineup is rather colourful. It continues on for 2 blocks on Western Ave and then it rounds the corner on 7th, this is where the lineup ends. I walk to the end, and there is a gap between the last person and the lineup. I can tell that this person is also in the lineup, as he is joyfully eating his lunch in the shade provided by a tiny tree. Smart guy. I stake out my spot behind him, also in the shade of the tiny tree, leaving the same gap, which is being scorched on by the sun, open. I spend the next few hours chatting with some pretty nice fans. The group in front of me came down from Michigan, while the ones behind me drove down from Northern California. All of us share the limited amount of shade from the magical tree and wait patiently for 3pm, when the tickets will be handed out.

Parked beside where we are standing, I can’t help but notice a red Ford Aerostar minivan all painted up. This is apparently the NIN version of the Touring Van. It’s has the traditional NIN spray painted on the front and on the sides there is white spray painted through the body with birds marked out in black all over. There is a space on the other side for fans to sign and write comments on, and there is even a space for band autographs, but this section is still empty. A black sharpie surprisingly sits on top of one of the door handles, presumably for fans to use on the van, but I am more impressed at the fact that it has not been stolen yet. I peak inside and it looks pretty dingy. Word is that this van has driven to a bunch of shows in the west coast during the NINJA tour last year and now to Los Angeles for these shows, so it’s just a regional touring van. Seems like child’s play to me. The Dodge Ram beats the Ford Aerostar any day of the week. Good effort though.

Throughout the afternoon, I am constantly buying more water to rehydrate myself. Even having the benefit of the tree, the temperatures are still exhausting. I receive a text from one of the NY twins, Jen, stating that her friend has bailed out on the show because she can’t get off of work, so she asks if I know anyone needing a spare. I tell her that I would find someone, as I’ve noticed a few people coming around throughout the day asking for tickets. A few moments later I grab one of these people coming by and let them know of the available ticket. I know this guy is a fan because of the wrist bands he’s got on his arm from the other shows. The line then begins to move slowly, as the tickets are being handed out. Everyone takes down their furniture and moves along with it. With a very systematic way as usual, the process is slow, but efficient. Jen arrives soon after the initial move, and we get her ticket sorted out. By the time we enter the ticket distribution station, all of the wrist bands for pit access have been given out. That means there were over 250 people in front of us. No problem though, I am aiming for the balcony to save a seat for Joe anyways.

We get our tickets and wristbands and then head back around the entrance to other side of the venue on Wilshire Blvd, where the line up runs down 2 blocks and then around the corner. We get our spot and slowly watch the line continue to expand down another block and wrap around the corner to where we were standing earlier on 7th Ave, before continuing on down Western Ave on the other side. This is ridiculous. There would be cars driving by asking what the hell was going on. With capacity of the Wiltern at just over 2200, it appears that everyone is already in lineup. Our friendly neighbours agree to save our spots so Jen and I head over to the local bar for a few drinks before the show. Sarah and Malina both join in for one as well. When it’s time for the doors to open, we retake our spot in line and wait for our turn to enter the venue.

Once inside, it is a mob at the merchandise booth. Everyone wants one of the limited event specific t-shirts for the final show. Malina and I are in the middle of this mob waiting patiently, but I can’t seem to find Jen who was waiting with me. I send her a text and she replies that she has a couple of seats in the 2nd row of the balcony saved for me and Joe. Good girl. When I get my t-shirt, I find our seats and they are excellent, just over looking the stage on the right side. In the middle of the balcony are a few empty sections reserved for VIP seating. There are quite a few celebrity NIN fans out there, especially with this being the Wiltern. Apparently, model Adrianne Curry is a huge NIN fan and has already been spotted in the lineup waiting in the hot sun since 8am this morning. At the Eddie Vedder gig last time in this building, it was celebrity central, so it shall be interesting to see who turns up.

I send a message to Joe informing him of our seat locations, and he turns up midway through the set of the opening band IO Echo, who are very entertaining. Like Kasie, this is also Joe’s first NIN show and he is very excited. We head out to grab a giant Corona each, which costs $15, and bring it back to our seats to watch the VIPs roll in. As I take my seat, I spot Sarah down below dead smack center on the rail of the pit, so I text her informing her that I found waldo. She replies and says that she can hear the radio on the security notifying the arrival of some VIPs. We turn around and sure enough spot a hand full of them making their entrance, including Tony Hawk, Tony Kanal the bassist from No Doubt, Rick Rubin the producer, and Penn from Penn & Teller. The latter two, in fact, are sitting just a few seats over from me in the front row. These are the people I recognize anyways. Then a huge roar comes from down below in the pit and a chant starts for Ron. Ron Jeremy has entered the building. He acknowledges the crowd and comes down to the front row to shake hands with Penn, although I am not sure the magician wants to shake hands with a porn star. However, he is soon confronted by security. We are not exactly sure what is going on, but It seems as though they they are asking Ron to produce a ticket. The discussion continues up the row back to the entrance of the section, and it appears that Ron Jeremy is getting the boot from the front row for some reason. It is all very comical to watch, as it keeps us entertained until the band comes on.

When it’s show time, NIN goes through their motions for a normal show during the first set, but also brings on David Bowie’s pianist Mike Garson for a number of songs including a powerful version of “Just Like You Imagined” before giving way to Gary Numan for his lot of songs to end the first set. The band comes back on just by themselves for a powerful encore that ends with a couple of regular show closing songs. So I take a peak at my watch and it’s 11:30pm, they’ve played about 2:15 so far, but this can’t be it. They thank the crowd and leave the stage. “I’m waiting for them to start breaking stuff” Joe says to me. I assure him that there will be some breakage, as it is their last show, so why should they care.

When Trent comes back on to the stage he is joined by his studio partner, Atticus Ross, for a few songs and then by Dave Navarro who heard that there was a camera in the building. With Atticus on stage, it is a more electronic set, but it ends with Trent tossing his guitar up in the air and pushing his keyboard off the stage during Gave Up, much to our enjoyment. It’s also a sign of things to come. During the encore break, another drum kit is brought onto stage, to which I thought they were setting up to play “Perfect Drug” finally for the first time. However, this is not the case.

“I hope you guys aren’t getting tired?” Trent asks while he comes back for a third encore. This time he is joined by all of Dillinger Escape Plan for some carnage. They start out with “Mr. Self Destruct” throwing cymbals and light stands around and then Trent tells us that their plan has changed and that they are going to start destroy the stage now. Joe and I cheer madly as they go into “Wish“, which is just total destruction. The bass drum from the second drum kit is ripped apart and they begin beating on it with their bare hands. The signer from Dillinger Escape Plan then stage dives in to the crowd feet first, before the guitarist joins him to a lesser extent as the song closes. The drum kit is once again the target of their destruction, as a drop kick takes down the remaining pieces. This is more of what we were hoping for. With the drums needing to be piece back together, it is almost like another unofficial encore break before the show continues on again.

After a few Joy Division covers, Trent thanks his band, his crew, the fans, and clarifies that just because they are no longer touring as NIN doesn’t mean they will stop making music. In fact, they will continue to work together on future projects. This leads into an awesome performance of “The Day The World Went Away“, which for me is the ideal way to end the show and their tour on. However, they continue on with “Hurt” and then the conclusion with “In This Twilight“, which is also an excellent way to end on, as each band member puts down their instruments one at a time and walks off the stage one by one until Trent remains by himself, giving a final wave at the end.

Wow, what an unbelievable show. Now this is going out with a bang. My watch reads 12:45am, as the show lasted over 3:30 hours and around 38 songs. What a marathon. We stand in our seats for a moment to make sure it is actually over because there has been many times throughout the show that it could have ended but was extended. When the house lights come on, we know it is over, but we still remain standing at our seats to make sure that it is over. “I’m kind of disappointed” Joe says. “This is my first NIN experience and I’ll never get to experience this again.” Those mix feelings are going through my mind as well. It has been one big adrenaline rush since this mini tour started back in New York and it has climaxed here tonight. Is it really over? Is this really the final time I’ll see NIN? My mind is numb after this brilliant show, without much words to be said. It was simple an extraordinary show.

I say goodbye to Jen and then to Joe, thanking him for the hospitality as usual. After we part ways, I meet up Amy, who made it just in time from Phoenix after she was not sure if it was going to happen. We say hi and exchange a few words. “I’m kind of glad that this is over in a way.” She says. “It’s really difficult to follow 2 bands on tour.” I concur and we say bye, but we both know that we will see each other in Seattle in 2 weeks for Pearl Jam. I then meet up with Sarah and being stilled wired from the show, we attempt to make one last In N Out stop, but it is already closed, so we head back to her hotel, where we are splitting a room with her friend Christo for the night, and we pass out from exhaustion. Los Angeles has been exceptionally fun. Thanks to Joe, Kasie, Sarah, Jen, Mic, Molina, Amy, and the nice people in the Wiltern lineup for a wonderful time. I wake up the next morning, expecting to go to another show but there is none. I am instead going to the airport and flying home to Vancouver. My ears could probably use the break, and I could probably catch up on some sleep, but all the effort and money put into this was worth every bit of it, and I want more. NIN is the Perfect Drug.

Sure, Trent will probably continue to perform and play shows, maybe even NIN reunion shows, but there’s nothing like touring with a band, and this is their final tour. Thank you Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails for all of the music you’ve provided, all of the fan interaction projects you’ve allowed us to be involved with, and all of the efforts you’ve put into your live performances. You guys are revolutionaries in the music industry and you can teach other bands a thing or 2 about the music business. Perhaps Trent can be a consultant for other bands and show them how to do it. Good luck with whatever it is you guys are going to venture into, I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Nine Inch Nails – 1989 to 2009 – Wave Good Bye

So that’s one down and one still going. What will happen if Pearl Jam ever does a farewell tour?

SETLIST:
Home * Somewhat Damaged * The Collector * Discipline * March of The Pigs * Something I Can Never Have * The Frail * The Wretched * Ruiner * Head Down * Burn * Just Like You Imagined w/Mike Garson * La Mer w/Mike Garson * Eraser w/Mike Garson * The Becoming (Still) w/Mike Garson * Down In The Park Intro * w/Mike Garson * Down In The Park w/Gary Numan * Metal w/Gary Numan * I Die: You Die w/Gary Numan
~~~~~
1,000,000 * Letting You * Survivalism * Suck * Down In It * The Hand That Feeds * Head Like A Hole
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Me, I’m Not w/Atticus Ross * The Warning w/Atticus Ross & Dave Navarro * Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) w/Dave Navarro * Gave Up w/Dave Navarro
~~~~~
Mr. Self Destruct w/The Dillinger Escape Plan * Wish w/The Dillinger Escape Plan
~~~~~
Atmosphere (Joy Division cover) * Dead Souls (Joy Division cover) * The Good Soldier * The Day The World Went Away * Hurt * In This Twilight