dreadedmonkeygod . net

(Incidentally, I'm going to refer to NIN as "he", since it's really "Trent Reznor and his Touring Band", rather than a proper group. No disrespect to the band, though: everyone was a fantastic performer.)

I was hoping that this wouldn't be just the "With Teeth" tour, and it isn't. I think just about every album had at least one song featured. Reznor introduced Reptile: "This is an old favorite." Lots of old favorites in this show.

And the stage show was unreal. The Bowl is a big place, and I can't even imagine the energy and planning that go into energising an audience, some of which are more than 150 yards away. By far the best show I've ever seen.

I was surprised to see political commentary as part of the show, but it fit, and it was extremely well done. Nice Adbusters-style juxtaposition of images, and in the end the point was extremely clear. I'm going to fumble the wording a bit, but: We secure our own prosperity through violence. A more nuanced essay would be nice here. Is this violence necessary? Are we really so spoiled? Don't we balance the force of our will with generosity of our heart? Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, the Peace Corps, the staggering sums we give in foreign aid.

But, really, no. Not when I see a woman with a gun to her head.

So yeah, the show was un-fscking-believable. But what I'll carry with me (and what I hope others in the audience will as well) is a sense of the necessity of helping the world. It is not a sin to be comfortable. It is, I think, a sin to be complacent.

So I'm off to the gym. I've been whining long enough about how I just can't get excited about working out until I can go back to 100%, but I think it's high time to just get over myself and start rebuilding. I'm no good to anybody if I can't get my own ass off the couch.