I pulled into the Marquee. This was the culmination of my ticket adventure back in March. When I had unsuccessfully tried to get tickets online and later had to line up for coveted NIN tickets before they sold out.
The parking lot was full so Renzy and myself ended parking near the Tempe town lake. After the pat down we walked inside the lobby to wait with the rest of the anxious crowd. We caught the Dresden Dolls set, which was entertaining more so than I expected. After their set we headed to the patio to wait in between set changes.

The cavernous theater was steamy with body heat. At 9pm, the lights dimmed and the audience cheered and moved to the front of the stage. The marching beats of Wish rallied the ensuing mosh pit where sweaty men pummeled each other flesh to flesh in a show of homoerotic ‘masculinity’. “This is the first day of my last days” screamed Trent Reznor. His well-defined arms toned and muscular hiding the four decades behind him.

Sin was next and the house became a sing along party as people raised their fists as they sang along the chorus. In between songs Trent threw water bottles at the crowd that probably started a few fights and ended up on eBay. The heavy bass lines of The Line Begins to Blur followed, it’s slower tempo mellowed the moshers at least until the band started March of the Pigs and didn’t that make “every motherfucking pig in Phoenix” feel alright?

My favorite NIN song came next. The rest of the band left the stage and a spotlight shined on Trent as he began to play Something I can Never Have. Which caught everyone by surprise to say the least and lighters flickered in the darkness. The mournful torment of a shattered soul singing to his devoted following is something to be remembered. We inched closer to the front of the stage as different people moved around. Even though we had to keep one eye on the moshers and another on the show.

The new single, Hand that Feeds followed to a roaring of cheers. Bodies flew over the audience as some brave (or stupid) souls surfed the crowd. Terrible Lie followed with all of the anger my inner 15yr old remembered as the crowd asked “Hey God, why are you doing this to me?” The band segued into the drum-heavy rarity Burn with Trent on guitar. His prisoner-like arms glistening from sweat and bright lights. After that NIN played Closer which had everyone singing “I want to fuck you like an animal.”

Even Deeper and Reptile followed before the band ventured into the new one Love is Not Enough. Trent for the most part remained quiet and tossed more bottles at the crowd before beginning Suck. The mosh pit got heavy and bodies surfed again during Gave Up.
Hurt followed, another somber moment between Trent and his disciples. Lighters flickered and everyone sang along “what have I become, my sweetest friend…” Starfucker followed.

For a few minutes the lights turned red and the intro drums to Head Like a Hole began. The crowd screamed and sang along to what would be the last song of the night. Sadly, no encores and despite the moshers it was a great show nevertheless.