NIN+JA 2009 = Rock God Central

I can't believe almost four months have passed since I made this post. Four months ago I found out that Trent may be making his last tour for...who knows how long...and a few months after that I found out that a big reason was probably because of his new fiance.

Biatch.

OK - I didn't mean that. She's probably a lovely girl - surely she wouldn't have landed Trent otherwise. I was just bitter that I may not see them in concert again...indefinitely.

But I don't think that will be the case. I'm sure that at some point, maybe 5 years from now, maybe 10, Trent will come back to the stage, happily married, maybe with a child or two in tow, and blow us all away like he always does.

But I digress. It was about four months ago that I found out about the NIN/JA show, and last night I saw it. Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction: a reunion tour 18 years in the making. It was back in 1991 that the two acts were together for the first Lollapalooza concert, a festival I attended last year to see NIN (who else) headline. While NIN has stayed on top of the music game since that first fest in Chi-Town, Perry Farrell's band has not fared as well, for whatever reason. Last year, the two old friends decided to bring back the early 90's magic that brought to life what is now one of the biggest annual music festivals in the world. And what a power lineup the two of them made. They rocked Jones Beach like few others could and every fan (old and young, polished and scrubby) was in their grungy glory. Last NIN show for a while or not, this was the definition of a concert worth the price of admission.

One thing I realized after seeing the show is that Trent knows his fans better than they know themselves. He declared a break not only because he needs one, but because we do. As much as I loved seeing him and the rest of NIN perform last night for the umpteenth time, it became obvious after seeing Jane's Addiction follow them, that it's time for the NIN fans to let Trent go for a while...to find some new music to get obsessed over.

As you may all know, I'm already doing that. My recent (albeit short-lived) passionate obsession with YYY was one of my obsessive spurt. The Foals was another. And then there's TV on the Radio. All worthwhile obsessive spurts though. And ones that put a refreshing spin on my musical tastes. It became painfully obvious at last night's show that not every NIN fan has moved onto new musical discoveries. In fact, it seemed that lots of them haven't moved on from 1991 at all.

Seeing Jane's Addiction take the stage after Trent gave me that sort of enlightened appreciation for all things NOT Nine Inch Nails. While Perry Farrell's energy is almost the polar opposite of Trent's (this NYTimes reviewer pegged it when she called him a "fidgety ringleader), it was still as attractive to me or perhaps even more so than Trent's. It's time for us to give Trent a chance to enjoy life - even if it is with a woman that is not me.

But really - his long history of anger, depression, doubt and angst gave us (or me anyway) years of definition via music. Listening to the band perform Terrible Lie last night, I was transported back to seventh grade, my bedroom, a cassette player Pretty Hate Machine on tape, me listening to it secretly, feeling rebellious as I fell more and more in love with the darkness and intrigue that is Nine Inch Nails. It sounds cheesy but NIN came to define much of my adolescence, and obviously resonates with many people in the same way. But we have all grown up, and so has NIN. Every time I see any concert I'm reminded more and more of how important music is in the world, in life. It would be a crime to only really know one band.