NIN – Valentine’s Day with the Irwins – by Jason Irwin.

What is more romantic than an evening of industrial rock in Newark, New Jersey? I can’t think of a single thing. Our story begins at 7:30 am on Saturday, February 14. I wake up early in general — a habit that comes along with doing a morning radio show. My wife, Lisa, truly enjoys her weekend sleep-in sessions, so I know I have a good two hours before she shows signs of life. But I’m a restless person anyway, so I start prepping for our trip. Lisa does the packing in general, but I try. Snacks. I need emergency snacks, always. And of course, a NIN travel playlist had to be established. I’m good at things like that. Remembering toothpaste — not so much. The better half eventually arose, and we hit the road at about 11:30.

Our hotel was adjacent to the venue — win #1. That isn’t always the case, but if it’s possible, boy, is that convenient. On-site parking, another plus. We did realize that we left ourselves with about 5 hours of free time before the show, and that can go a couple of ways with us. Time to find out. We had asked Lisa’s mother, who is from the Garden State originally, “Karen: We’re going to Newark, what do you recommend?” “Don’t go,” was the answer. I’m assuming she meant it jokingly. We ignored her warnings and set out from our hotel to see what the city had to offer. We didn’t make it far, as there were plenty of establishments located around the perimeter of the Prudential Center. Another win. This was appreciated and in stark contrast to another one of our adventures — Green Day at Citi Field in NYC in ’24. There is absolutely nothing around that place (although I did score some black-market White Claws from a hot dog vendor, but that is another story). Edison Place acts as one of the venue’s perimeter streets, and it didn’t take us long to hear Nine Inch Nails blasting from at least two different restaurants directly across from one of the Center’s main entrances. Our first stop was Redd’s Biergarten, a really cool — and large — German-American spot. We only stayed for a warm-up of a couple of beers so we could find some more Irwin-friendly (we’re basic) cuisine, which we did just a few doors down at American Whiskey — more of a restaurant than a bar, but we did enjoy a fantastic chicken parm and grabbed a couple more drinks. Lisa impressively (usually it’s me) initiated our first confrontation by arguing with a guy about Phil Collins. She doesn’t like him. Don’t ask me why. That smoothed over soon enough, and after a stop back at Redd’s for a Green Tea shot, we headed back to the hotel to prep. Lisa — a full wardrobe change. Myself — trading my Converse for a pair of Doc Martens. Have to fit in, right? I had a beer (I packed the snacks, remember?), then I shared some time split between watching her try on outfits and looking up Barry Manilow’s contact information for a possible Xperience interview. And then, we were off.

There was a pretty long line to enter the venue from our hotel, and I attempted to make friends by leading our fellow standees into several choruses of Nine Inch Nails-themed show tunes. A few actually joined in. Most were not impressed. Once inside, we hit up the beverage stand and took a stroll around to get the vibe. I can say that I have never seen longer merch lines before in my life. I’m not big on official band wear. Too expensive, and I’m too impatient to stand like that for that long. Besides, a guy was selling the same shirts outside the bar earlier at greatly reduced prices. Licensed? Probably not. We eventually found our seats, and after making friends with the people on either side of us, we discovered that they were not our seats. I’ve never been “that guy” before. That night, I was “that guy.” After relocating a few rows back, we attempted to make friends with the people on either side of us, again. That went reasonably well. At this time, the Grammy-nominated opening act, German-Iraqi electronic artist/DJ Boys Noize, had begun pounding the crowd with beats and sounds. I would have preferred a live band, but I’m sure Trent Reznor doesn’t care about my opinion. The crowd was mildly interested, but you could tell they were just waiting for the main act. Can’t blame them for that.

Ok, now the show. Finally, right? I’ve seen Nine Inch Nails before, a ways back. Lollapalooza at SPAC in 1991 was the first. That was something to see. I think a few times in between, somewhere, sometime. This was a new one for Lisa. She’s a Swiftie, so I assured her it would be “something like that” when I presented her with the initial idea. Kind of similar, I’d say. Lisa loves Valentine’s Day, so I didn’t want to let her down with my activity selection.

Note: Spoilers ahead! The show structure of the Peel It Back Tour is pretty interesting. It was divided into four parts and alternated between two stages — one conventional (as conventional as NIN can be) main stage and a smaller center stage. The show opened up from stage 2 with a whisper. I thought that was a pretty fantastic approach. Just the frontman and his piano, and a slowed-down version of “(You Made It Feel Like) Home,” followed by “Non-Entity,” for which he was joined by most of his band, including longtime collaborator Atticus Ross. “Piggy” came next, which, being more recognizable, amped up the crowd for what was to come next. The main stage was shrouded in translucent scrims that also acted as projector screens for roaming stage cameras, and paired with plenty of white strobe lighting and fog, presented a pretty cool effect. This was the “Unpeeled” portion of the show. “Wish” was the first number here, and here we got a treat. One of my all-time favorite drummers, Josh Freese, exploded from the darkness and (literally) kicked this one off in high contrast to the low-key (literally, again) first act. Freese — recently formerly a member of this band, recently fired from the Foo Fighters, and replaced by former NIN drummer Ilan Rubin, weird swap — seemed happy to be back. I’m pretty sure I treated Lisa to an overextended version of this story around this time. This was followed by the equally hard-hitting “March of the Pigs” and then a few lesser-known (to me) songs before moving back to the center stage. Here, the band was joined by only Ross and opener Boys Noize for a few remixes, including “Closer,” which drove the arena absolutely wild. Mr. Noize was definitely more appreciated here. The stage was completely drenched in fog for most of this set, which I found annoying, but it didn’t seem to affect the energy of the crowd. Bits of the band were shown on the main stage’s cloth cover … which was soon to be “Un-peeled.” Get it? Now, we had a concert going. For the final act, we were exposed to the band in full form (and full view) as they pounded out hits like “Head Like a Hole,” “The Hand That Feeds,” and “The Perfect Drug” wedged into a few lesser-known tunes. I expected to hear the 2005 hit “Only” at some point, but that one was left out this evening. I was prepared for variation from show to show. I think that’s understandable — especially from an artist like Reznor, who couldn’t really care less what I — or anyone — thinks. We did get his Bowie cover “I’m Afraid of Americans,” though … which was more than an acceptable trade. The show closed appropriately with “Hurt,” which has gathered its own cult following. I liked Johnny Cash’s cover, but when you revisit the original … man, you really feel the emotion that created it. Lisa truly enjoyed the show as well, so my true mission was accomplished.

After the concert, we did what the Irwins do, and hit the scene. Apparently, for longer than we thought, as we discovered the next day from our credit card record. Regardless, I was up pretty early, as usual. I scanned the room and noticed evidence that I had consumed a few more drinks after the show. So … one of those nights, I guess. At least I remembered the concert. I did some social media, cleaned up a bit, then scored some points by bringing her breakfast to our room while she was still in recovery mode. “This seriously is the best apple juice I’ve ever had,” she claimed. I mean, it was just a 12 oz. Tropicana from the hotel Starbucks. “Thanks,” I said. “It was eighteen dollars.” I should also mention that while I pride myself on not requiring a lot of sleep, my lovely wife offered to drive home so I could rest. Although she did accuse me of snoring, which I most certainly do not.

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