Phoenix Concert Review: Nine Inch Nails Owns the Cricket Pavilion Stage May 15 2009

by Cassie Roberts, www.FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

Some shows, have a lot of hype, from fans, from the media and well from just a lot of great PR, however, after the show begins, you realize its all just hype. Occasionally, this is due in no part to the actual band performing, but in some cases, the crowd itself, or some other outside factor like the weather. In some cases the bar, has simply been set too high.

Here in Arizona, we already have two things going against us, the weather (anytime after March) and the crowds (which aren’t exactly known for being the most supportive, in the I’m going to stand the entire show type of way). Even the most seasoned performer can fail to deliver with these two roadblocks, you just never know until the set has begun.

There was a lot of hype with the NIN|JA tour, after all it is the first tour in 9 years with them sharing a stage… so I have to admit I was concerned, but with my ticket in hand, with faith in Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction, I had a good feeling about tonight and I was right!

I do have to give props to Street Sweeper Social Club. I had read and heard some great things and they provided a set that was unlike anything I was expecting. I feel privilege to be there on the ground floor with them on this tour. Sure, I’m talking about Tom Morello and Boots Riley, two legendary performers in their own genre, but would they mix? The answer to that is an overwhelming YES!

Jane’s Addiction also delivered a strong set and was able to get the crowd motivated and on their feet, however, the night belonged to Nine Inch Nails.

All of the elements were in place for one of those once in a life time performances. Sure it was hot, but there was an amazing energy in the crowd, that was matched by NIN on stage. The sounds, the lighting, the crowd and the music all collided to create the perfect enviorment for NIN as to deliver, perhaps the one of the best performances I have ever witnessed. The set was moving, the stage and lighting were unprecedented and the crowd was eating out of the palm of their hands.

To steal a tweet from Tom Morello (http://twitter.com/tmorello) @tmorello shared: “It is near impossible to make a musical moment in a 15,000 seat venue “haunting” but NIN “Hurt” is that and more. Just stunning. Unreal.” Keep in mind who this statement is coming from.

If you missed this show, you may never forgive yourself, however, you still have time to catch them on tour for the rest of the summer near by. It’s time for a road trip!

NINE INCH NAILS & JANE’S ADDICTION May 15th!

Nine Inch Nails and the original Jane’s Addiction lineup will embark on a co-headlining tour that will see these seminal artists sharing a stage for the first time since the historic debut of the Lollapalooza festival in 1991. The genesis of the upcoming tour came about in late 2008 after NIN’s Trent Reznor was tapped to produce Jane’s first recordings since reforming. The upcoming tour will make a stop in Phoenix at Cricket Wireless Pavilion on Friday, May 15. The show will begin at 7:30pm with Street Sweeper, a collaboration between Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine/The Nightwatchman and Boots Riley of The Coup. Tickets will go on sale Saturday, March 21 at 10am.

The NIN/JA tour will feature a streamlined NIN with Reznor on vocals, guitars, keys, Robin Finck on guitars and keys, Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass and keys, and newest NIN member IIan Rubin on drums and keys. NIN’s stripped down configuration for the upcoming dates was inspired by a pair of club shows toward the end of last year’s wildly ambitious Lights In The Sky tour. Leaving the massive production in the trucks for those two nights freed up the band for spontaneous performances including several seldom-aired NIN classics and inspired NIN to take a similarly unencumbered and unpredictable approach to the May/June dates, which include previously announced NIN appearances at the Sasquatch and Bonnaroo festivals.

For the first time in seventeen years, the original lineup of Jane’s Addiction will tour - vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins. The possibility of reforming first took shape in April 2008 when the musicians performed and accepted the Godlike Genius Award bestowed on them by N.M.E. Magazine at their US Awards ceremony. The band then tested the waters with small, secret shows around the Los Angeles area and the tremendous excitement from the shows lead to their decision to tour again.

TICKETS ON-SALE SATURDAY, MARCH 21 AT 10AM

The “full circle” nature of the co-headlining tour has not been lost on the artists, with Reznor recently blogging…

“Towards the beginning of my career in Nine Inch Nails, our biggest break came in the form of an invitation to perform a series of shows with Jane’s Addiction. These performances essentially created and defined the term “alternative” rock in the US, created an ongoing festival franchise that is still thriving (Lollapalooza), set the stage for Nirvana to shift popular taste a few months later, and were really fucking FUN to play and attend - truly the best times I’ve had. The shows were epic. So epic, they propelled NIN to the “next level” (whatever that means), but caused Jane’s to implode. The band broke up at the end of that tour.”

Jane’s guitarist Dave Navarro responded in kind, paying homage to the recent collaboration with the Nine Inch Nails frontman and revealing enthusiasm for the upcoming shows.

“Since our reformation, we have been spending a lot of time with Trent in the rehearsal studio and in the recording studio, working on new stuff, addressing some old stuff and more importantly, creating a friendship and working relationship,” Navarro explains. “It’s rare that touring partners have an opportunity to spend so much time together creatively before a tour. Regardless of the collaborative outcome, our time with Trent has brought forth a new focus and sense of purpose that we plan to share with you on a nightly basis.”