Wow!!!! Just home from nine inch nails at the barrowlands in Glasgow. It’s been a while since I was in the barrowlands, never mind such a good concert.
Having barely been in Amsterdam 12 hours, it was time to head off to Scotland for T in the Park. As I left last week, I noticed in the paper that nin were playing at the barrowlands on the day I was coming over for the Scottish music festival. By now 7.7.05 will probably have been made in to 9/11 by the UK media. I was traveling that day, and all I felt was numbness to it – maybe denial as a protection measure(I found out in an airport – I don’t/can’t start worrying about Armageddon) or maybe I just can’t handle the media. Anyway – who wants to self analyse before a nine inch nails concert.
Nine inch nails were always a little heavy for me – but when contemporary music is shit, you tend to revisit older music you had dismissed. I always liked the idea of nin, but was put off a little by how hardcore the fans were. I have pretty hate machine, but had to be in the mood for it. Now heavy is not as heavy as it used to be, and I augmented my music collection with the new album “with teeth”. It blew me away – I keep on meaning to get round to writing a review of it on here. All in all, its avery well put together album of good intelligent music, the likes of which I’ve not heard in a good while. If you’re not sure, listen to the first track – “All the love in the world”
So I decided that since I was arriving in Scotland for T in the park today, that I would try to go and see them at the barrowlands – they are playing in the Netherlands, but it is in Nijmegen – which is far away(By NL standards). Traveling from Vienna to Amsterdam – Amsterdam to Glasgow, and then picking up a mate and going and buying tickets from touts, felt very rock and roll. The price I paid from touts was stupid, but that’s the price you pay for being too busy to keep your ear to the ground.
The touts are pros. They all have English accents, but I don’t doubt for a second their ability to hold their own in the east end of Glagsow. He tells me that the ticket is standing that he has no seated tickets. Anyone who knows the Barras(Glasgow speak for the Barrowlands), knows that there are no seats – I find this pretty funny. Also – while I’m doing the deal, he starts to inquire about nin. He realises I’m not daft, so tells me that he’s been doing this for years, and he’s never seen an audience like this he asks with what is almost fear in his voice “how heavy are this band??” I try to explain that they are dark, but I think visual gamuts mapped onto aural textures is too much for him to handle.
I’ve picked up an old friend from school. If I’m not the traditional nin listener, then she really isn’t, but she is a fun loving full of energy bouncy person, who I think knows that you should listen when I say some music is going to be good.(Okay – I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be up to scratch).
Walking up to a queue of nin nails fans outside the barrowlands ballroom was wonderful – it’s a site I’ve seen so many times. The Barrowlands ballroom, is a 1930’s(???) ballroom in a very rough area in the east end of Glasgow. It was the battleground for the Glasgow razor wars, it was where Scotland’s serial killer bible john found his victims, but more importantly it is one of the best music venues in the UK. I’ve seen in excess of 30 bands here. By the time I was living in Glasgow, I was going to any concert that I could until I overdosed on too many mediocre bands – but tonight is something different. It feels like a sold out concert.
The audience, because it’s nin, are a complete freakshow. This is a compliment – for some time, Glasgow has had a group of teenagers, who have embraced a watered down version of goth fashion and sat outside the modern art gallery in Glasgow. I always thought I’d be so pissed off if I was a real goth, that these neds(Scottish for delinquant – but far more descriptive), had stolen my alternative and made it mainstream – but tonight we see that there is a big difference between the real and the fake.
Apart from the almost compulsory base colour of dark black, everyone is their own fashion. There is a PVC basques, torn suspenders, high heels, platforms, dreadlocks, and just about everything you can imagine, but it has far less of the fake that it used to have when I was getting bored with concert going. This is far more real.
The friend who is with me is getting the value of her ticket pricing by people watching alone. The first band is some hip hop thing. I don’t even give it a chance. I prefer to soak up the atmosphere and catch up. We stand in amongst the incoming crowds moving from toilet to bar to cloakroom to stage. We feel rather underdressed, but it soon becomes clear that almost everything is acceptable.
There’s a lot of firsts. I think I may have been the first person to attend a nine inch nails concert with a girl wearing white. It’s so much fun taking in the atmosphere. I reminisce about pre/early Brit pop where there was camaraderie with your fellow concert goers. I blame oasis. Concerts became acceptable domains for “lad” culture, and everyone was far more protective of their space, but tonight feels so much different. Maybe cos it’s been a while, maybe cos almost everyone here is an individual so appreciates the other individuals. It feels good anyway.
It’s 9pm, so time for Trent and the boys to take to the stage. The stage set has three microhphones, a kind of computer/synth/keyboard booth, and a matte Black drum kit. This makes me laugh – glass black would have been too happy I think. As we stand quite near the front, lights down, crowd energetic, we have what I belive to be another first. As a result of discussing Evanescence and my inability to get really into bands with female singers, one of our number(lets face it – it wasn’t me), is singing Joni Mitchell as Trent Reznor takes to the stage. Live Goths will be rolling in their coffins.
We start with a blue light on a piano playing reznor in the middle of the stage before we are introduced to the real sound.
The band are LOUD. I’ve been to a lot of concerts. I’ve ruined my hearing and need things a little louder – but this is LOUD. The guitars are loud at almost every frequency across the spectrum – reminding us what a guitar should sound like. The guitarist is pretty goo – we also have lots to watch – he jumps arouns a lot and seems pretty angry with his guitar. The drummer is the epitomy of an 80’s skinny goth, even down to having half long hair and half shaved head. Twiggy Ramirez(I don’t know his post Manson name) is quiet(as a good bass player should be), but along with the drummer keeps things grounded. The drummer has a kit constructed of both analogue and digital elements – this works so well, cos it allows the changes of timbre and pace, and orchestration which reznor can do so well.
I can’t remember the set list. I’ll get it on line later. Hand that feeds was fairly early – and so so good. They also did closer, head like a hole, the collector, terrible lie. They played for about 2 hours – maybe more. I’m not sure. It’s all a bit of a blur.
I am now hobbling around home preparing for T in the park with a pulled muscle in my calf from jumping up and down to head like a hole. My ears are still ringing – but It was so so good. I’ve not had a concert like that in a very long time. The spontaneity, the crowd, the venue, old friends – all wonderful. What a good way to start a weekend of music.
Here's the setlist:
1/ Pinion (Intro)
2/ The Frail
3/ The Wretched
4/ You Know What You Are?
5/ The Line Begins To Blur
6/ March Of The Pigs
7/ Something I Can Never Have
8/ The Hand That Feeds
9/ With Teeth
10/ Terrible Lie
11/ Burn
12/ Closer
13/ Reptile
14/ Love Is Not Enough
15/ The Collector
16/ Suck
17/ Even Deeper
18/ Gave Up
19/ The Day The World Went Away
20/ Hurt
21/ Wish
22/ Starfuckers, Inc
23/ Head Like A Hole
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