It's a pretty unique experience following a tour around the country. It's invigorating and wonderful, yet also exhausting. There's a lot of flying involved, as well as hotels, friends, unhealthy food, and generic madness.
One thing there isn't is downtime. I can appreciate how bands are flung together and flung apart just as quickly, which is why it's a testament Nine Inch Nails & Queens of the Stone Age that they are still touring and appearing to love it.
Now finally, we're all in Christchurch, the city Queens attempted to play in 2011. Back then, while they waited to fly in from Auckland airport, the quake struck. It was Homme who convinced everyone to put Christchurch back on the list this time around. Homme told me that, for him, it was a "no brainer". Thank goodness they did the third show, because it was a doozy.
Brody Dalle kicked things off bright and early (before 7pm!) with a string of numbers off her soon-to-be-released debut solo album. The former Distillers-front woman packs a mean punch, her punk roots shining through. She barks out her lyrics, yet they're also somehow filled with charm. While many came to this gig confused about who this "Brody" was (some girls behind me in line: "Who is he?"), I get the feeling many will have left with a new found appreciation. Her shirts certainly appeared to be selling well from the merchandise stand.
For the first time on this tour, Trent Reznor lost the coin toss, and his band (recruited fresh every time he goes on tour) opened the show. It was by far the best opener for NIN this tour, and one I'd been hoping they'd do. While the house lights were still half up, a pounding rendition of 'A Warm Place' filled the arena as spotlights circled the crowd.
Anyone who was a fan was instantly transported back two decades to The Downward Spiral, before being pummelled forward into 1999 with 'Somewhat Damaged', the industrial masterpiece that saw Reznor return from a five-year silence with The Fragile. 'Somewhat Damaged' was that album’s call to arms, and hearing it live is an absolute pleasure.
The rest of the set was also very different from the other shows, Reznor's Oscar-winning 'Hand Covers Bruise' from The Social Network score being a gig highlight.
The atmospheric build-up of 'Beside You In Time' was first time I'd ever heard that song live before, and 1989's 'Terrible Lie' sounded like it had been written a hell of a lot later than, well, 1989.
Reznor, 48, closed the set with 'Head Like a Hole' and 'Hurt'. From blisteringly fast to restrained - the two songs demonstrate what has made Reznor's project such a success. Nine Inch Nails is a roller coaster ride.
Special mention must go to his band, too. The drummer is obviously a big part of any industrial band, and the fusion between Reznor and Ilan Rubin is impressive.
Alessandro Cortini on keys and synths (as well as being in charge of other tools I don't understand) has become an integral part of the band. And guitarist Robin Finck - well, it just wouldn't be NIN without him, would it?
After a short break (the transition between these two bands is insanely efficient), one of the coolest and most respected guys in rock - Josh Homme - takes to the stage.
Like the other two nights, you're reminded of just how many hits QOTSA has under their belt. Whilst coming across like an incredible chilled out band, they're incredibly loud, tight unit, drummer Jon Theodore holding the circus together. He's as impressive to watch here as he was with The Mars Volta all those years ago.
Guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, with that white streak of hair amongst all the black, is also fun to watch. His other band Sweethead is releasing their second album shortly - I am curious to check it out.
Mostly, the Queens set is full of huge rocking numbers. But it's the quiet moments that shine too, the piano ditty of 'Like Clockwork' a chance for the audience to regain their composure. As well as the giant numbers like 'Go With The Flow', there are a lot of new songs from Like Clockwork on the set, accompanied by some unsettling, stylised visuals on the big screen.
It's these images that remind us that Queens aren't a happy-go-lucky stoner group - they hit on some incredibly dark content, which is why they're such a great fit on the road with NIN. I actually saw Finck watching the Queens set from the audience. In a hat, no-one appeared to recognise him.
Homme constantly charms us all. At one point he takes a comb out of his pocket and slicks his hair back. Next he's lighting a cigarette and smoking it during an entire song. I'm scared for his lungs, but god it's a good moment.
Before the Encore - including 'The Vampyre of Time and Memory', the song that's been a highlight this tour - Homme thanks the other bands and the audience. He summed it all up best in the line, "The pleasure was all ours". Ginger Elvis meant it.
3 News
source: newshub archive
