Drink It In

I write to you from my Superior Room with Castellana Ave. View in the luxurious Hesperia Madrid. I am enjoying a complimentary Granny Smith apple (they literally have a bowl of them by the elevator on each floor) as I draw my second bath of the evening. My comfort is maximized by the provided bath robe that I am wearing.

Just try to take a moment to imagine how superb that must be.

Now, add the best Nine Inch Nails concert in the history of concerts.

The concert was spectacular. I showed up after doors opened, but skipped the line because I purchased my ticket from the fan-pre-order on nin.com. There was literally no line at the pre-order by this time (all the hardcore fans were already inside)–I got my ticket and walked right in.

The venue was La Riviera–a club that you can pack 2500 people into. I don’t know how many were there tonight, but it was pretty full. When I entered there were probably only a couple of hundred people in the club so I had a fine spot on the floor.

Alec Empire–a German musician–opened. You may have heard of the band Atari Teenage Riot, which he was a founding member of. He was good. It was just him and a woman as a part of the performance; she was on the machines while Alec was singing and playing a bit of guitar. There were a few fans that were overly enthusiastic jumping around and making me throw a couple of elbows, but it was a good warm up for the NIN performance.

As the anticipation for Nine Inch Nails raised, the crowed became more and more packed together. I started back about 8 rows, to the left side of the stage. Little did I know that this was actually a bit too close to the action! When the performance opened and the crowd started moving there were a few people who retreated to the back because of the crushing sways.

The set list and performance were incredible. I didn’t keep track of the set list but I’m sure it will show up. Some highlights were Reptile, Meet Your Master, Burn, Non-Entity, Something I Can Never Have, and–maybe my favourite of the show–the Downward Spiral.

Somehow I ended up being dead centre, about 5th person back from the barrier. I’m not sure if you would call what I was in a “mosh pit”, but there were plenty of times when the only thing keeping me from falling over while I was jumping around were the bodies of everyone else. This wasn’t without consequence: my toes were really beat up. My advice: don’t wear sandals if you might be in such a situation.

The packed people also made it quite hot. I was quite relieved when the security team started passing back some water bottles. The odd drink, and the occasional sprinkle really helped. My shirt was literally soaked through with sweat by the end. Outside was 28 degrees (at midnight!) and it felt cool to me.

The show was so awesome that I decided to get a t-shirt at the end. Watch for it–you might see it some day. I’ll also add here that the Metro in Madrid is awesome.

Already this trip was worth it. I even forgot that I am sick. Good night!

Update: I forgot to add “Last” to my list of noteworthy songs. The song was still in my head this morning. The set list.