To me, a live gig by a great musical act is one of the best ways to experience fully the sheer energy of simply being alive. The more intense the better, but such an abstract concept can be measured by several factors, like the stage presence of the performers and the energy of the songs, who is with us, the emotive strength of the lyrics, the technical quality of the show, interesting live experimentation, appealing visual and scenic elements, an so on.
Sometimes I wonder, if I could attend a concert of some band or musician whose apogee was before my time which would I choose? Would it be Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Manic Street Preachers, Tupac, Thelonious Monk, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, At The Drive-In, ...? By now I've watched live recordings of all of them and others, and moments like Live at Pompeii by Floyd or the Manics playing Glastonbury 1994 make me jealous for the people who were there, but it turns out there's another contender, less obvious, with a specific performance. Because one of the most impetuous, aggressive, visceral and energetic artistic performances I've ever seen is Nine Inch Nails in Woodstock '94.
The gig was part of the Self Destruct Tour and the touring band included Danny Lohner, Robin Finck, Chris Vrenna and James Woolley besides, obviously, Academy Award winner for Best Original Score in 2010 (The Social Network) Trent Reznor, leader and sole songwriter of the musical act. The Downward Spiral, their second album, had just been released, ending what is regarded as the most cohesive cycle of creativity and recordings for Reznor, which started with the seminal album Pretty Hate Machine and also includes the EP Broken. The chosen setlist (listed above, click it to watch the whole show) was, then, almost perfect, the sole sin being the non-inclusion of Mr. Self Destruct or That's What I Get (I don't think Hurt would fit the setting). Technical-wise, it didn't go well though, with the gig riddled with "terrible" problems with the instruments and monitors. The band was utterly wet and covered in mud, due to a backstage "fight" that happened before between themselves and with fans, which is obviously uncomfortable. These mis-shapes, adding to the fact that they were only there (by Trent's admission) to get the funds for the rest of the tour, would probably look like omens for a gig going horribly bad... but no. NIN went into it with such fierceness that turned it into a brilliant and unique performance, one that went down in history as likely the best thing to have happened in Woodstock '94 (and Aphex Twin, Santana, Metallica, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Peter Gabriel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Aerosmith and Joe Cocker were there too). Nine Inch Nails played for one of the largest audiences of the festival and were seen in pay-per-view by about 24 million people, eventually winning a Grammy Award (Best Metal Performance) for Happiness In Slavery.
Now, allow me to shut up and please enjoy this. My favorite moments are spread around the post.
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