LimeWire Music Blog

My third and final NIN|JA experience happened at Jones Beach, which is perhaps my favorite venue in all the land, with the smell of the ocean, intense wind, the moon hanging low and full in the sky, and the water trickling calmly at the side of the stage.  It was heavenly, and this particular show may have been my favorite of the three I’ve attended on sheer atmosphere and proximity alone.

We began early, tailgating in the parking lot in the afternoon, grilling up a series of treats and spending time with friends new and old.  I was kidnapped just in time to catch Nine Inch Nails’ soundcheck, which echoed down the span of the small, sandy beach on which we stood.  It was a perfect moment, listening quietly as the band performed “The Frail/The Wretched,” Saul Williams’ “Banged and Blown Through,” “Non Entity,” and “Suck,” songs I had been hoping to hear more of in the main set, but which hit the spot even from a distance.

(We leave our mark in the sand after soundcheck)

After eating far too many home baked cookies, we took to our seats just in time to catch Street Sweeper Social Club’s final set.  From a mere eight rows back, the band’s intensity and fledgling craft was even more impressive, and we took no liberties in letting our bodies rise and fall to the music once more.  The highlight was still “Promenade,” but each song struck the crowd as powerfully as the last, and it was impossible to resist temptation to pump our fists in the air in time with “100 Little Curses” or to sing along with the band’s infectious cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes.”

(”We’re not just a band, we’re a social club.”)

Though Nine Inch Nails had been playing second on this particular tour, tearing through their set as the sun set in the distance, I had yet to see the band in daylight, as previous experiences yielded gray skies and rain before nightfall.  I admit it was a surreal experience, watching the band walk on stage with full daylight behind surrounding the venue,  but I quickly put it aside as the familiar computerized ticks of “Somewhat Damaged” began what may very well be my last Nine Inch Nails set before their imminent departure from the live circuit.  It was a bittersweet feeling from beginning to end, watching the band pour their hearts out to the devoted crowd for what very well be the last time on that stage.  The set itself was as aggressive as Camden’s, complete with smashed guitars, seldom allowing room for both the band and audience to breathe.   Gems on the set list included a riveting cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans” (remixed as a single by the band in 1997), the punchy and abrasive “I Do Not Want This,” and again, the beautiful catharsis of “The Fragile.”  The set was also chock full of classic singles and standards (”Survivalism,” “Terrible Lie,” “The Hand That Feeds”), which kept me a little less enthused towards the end, but all the same, the set rang with a saddening sense of finality as it concluded with the crashing, feedback-laced climax of “Hurt.”  So were the sounds of a band’s final fury, as crucial as ever.

(Trent Reznor and Robin Finck during the explosive ending of “Burn”)

That palpable sense of longing stuck around between sets, as we grabbed a few vacated seats four rows from the stage.  Now a converted fan of Jane’s Addiction’s live show, I was eager to rid myself of those feelings with a little dose of rock ‘n’ roll mayhem, and that’s just what happened.  The band’s sets, though still virtually identical as the previous shows, grew better as the days progressed, and I was finally able to enjoy the band without either disappointment or exhaustion at hand.  We watched, awestruck,  hanging on each dramatic gesture and word from Perry Farrell, enjoying each of Eric Avery’s tremendous stomps, feeling every boom from Stephen Perkins’ drum kit, and spying each lick of smoke that eminated from both Dave Navarro’s mouth and guitar, respectively.  The band was in top form, and smiles were intact throughout the entirety of the set.  The mellow, bass-driven sway of  “Summertime Rolls” was a particular highlight this time around, as Avery swung his feet high above the crowd on a stack of guitar amps.  Meanwhile, both “Mountain Song” and “Stop!” invoked a sense of danger seldom seen since their last foray on stage together almost 18 years ago.

(Farrell and Perkins under psychedelic lighting)

If Nine Inch Nails had left the stage with a tremendous (and pleasant) sense of despair, aggression, and longing, Jane’s Addiction left with a string of good vibes and otherwise rock ‘n’ roll finesse, an interesting and welcome juxtaposition that brought both the evening and my experience full circle.  It’s a bit hard to go back to real life this week, without either band’s antics to keep me company into the long, summer nights.  In short, there’s a likely chance that neither of these bands will ever be seen on stage again.  Should that be the case, any in attendance can attest to experiencing something extremely special and vital.

Set lists below.

Street Sweeper Social Club
1. Fight! Smash! Win!
2. Somewhere in the World It’s Midnight
3. Paper Planes (M.I.A. cover)
4. The Oath
5. 100 Little Curses
6. Promenade
7. Nobody Moves (Til We Say Go)

Nine Inch Nails
1. Somewhat Damaged
2. Terrible Lie
3. Heresy
4. March of the Pigs
5. The Frail
6. Metal (Gary Numan cover)
7. I’m Afraid of Americans (David Bowie cover)
8. The Becoming
9. Burn
10. Gave Up
11. The Fragile
12. I Do Not Want This
13. The Downward Spiral
14. Wish
15. Survivalism
16. Echoplex
17. The Hand That Feeds
18. Head Like a Hole
19. Hurt

Jane’s Addiction
1. Three Days
2. Whores
3. Ain’t No Right
4. Pigs In Zen
5. Then She Did…
6. Up the Beach
7. Mountain Song
8. Been Caught Stealing
9. Had a Dad
10. Ocean Size
11. Ted, Just Admit It
12. Summertime Rolls
13. Stop!
14. Jane Says

imaged by Natalie Kocsis