2009.05.16 Cricket Wireless Amphitheater, Chula Vista, CA

[bman]

I'd love a Beach/Trip Away opener.

[ESFOS]

The one I really want them to play is My Time!

yeah I could use My Time. Most def.

Trip away (below) would be insane as well.

[Mike]

Jane’s Addiction, NIN rock San Diego

Nine Inch Nails, Street Sweeper Social Club join Perry Ferrell's crew in lineup of 90s stars.

By Jason Owens, SDNN

Monday, May 18, 2009

Trent Reznor loves the gym. Perry Ferrell has a resilient calf muscle. Tom Morello rocks the guitar with his teeth better than most do with their hands.

These are the things I learned at Saturday’s symposium of 90s rock demigods — an old-school Lollapalooza-esque throwback lineup, just angsty enough to make this 30-year-old feel giddy and nostalgic for grungier alt-rock days of yore.

In case you missed it, Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction co-headlined a show at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, complete with an opener from Rage Against the Machine guitar hero Morello and his collaboration with Oakland hip-hopper Boots Riley, Street Sweeper Social Club.

My first reaction upon hearing the lineup was sheer joy, as should be expected from any respectable rocker whose high school graduation coincided with the Clinton administration.

Then I saw that Jane’s Addiction, not Nine Inch Nails, had closing honors. Confusion set in. No disrespect to Ferrell and Co., but unless they’re playing a bill complete with Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead and U2, how is it that NIN doesn’t get marquee billing?

By the end of the night, I understood.

But let’s start from the beginning. SSSC opened up the evening with a six-song set worthy of higher status than its daylight start time. For those who yearned for a more plugged-in version of Morello than his last project The Nightwatchman, their wishes were answered.

The Nightwatchman — complete with a Boots Riley opener — played the Belly Up in December. It was a great show chocked full of energy. But it was predominantly acoustic. And that doesn’t quite fit the bill for the hardcore RATM fan who prefers his music to err on the aggressive side.

SSSC’s set let no electric guitar desires go unfulfilled. Morello plugged in and Riley emceed a show with enough edge and social commentary to make Zach de la Rocha proud.

“We’re here for three things,” Morello announced on the heels of his aforementioned toothy guitar solo that brought the sporadically-filled amphitheatre to its collective feet. “Feed the poor. Fight the power. And rock the fuck out.”

I don’t know how many of Chula Vista’s poor got fed on Saturday, but Morello and his crew delivered nicely on part three of the plan.

At the end of their set, an intimidating yoked figure clad in a tight black t-shirt took the stage and the mic alongside Morello and Riley to great cheers from the pit faithful. My neighbor confirmed that yes, indeed, the middle linebacker double-fisting the microphone was NIN frontman Reznor.

His fully-loaded guns leave no doubt that Reznor has indeed kicked the heroin habit that plagued him through much of his career and inspired a 2001 stint in a New Orleans rehab clinic.

It was still daylight when Reznor and SSSC left the stage. As soon as the sun set about 30 minutes later, Reznor returned with NIN complete with new drummer Ilan Rubin, a 20-year-old San Diego phenom who replaced Josh Freese on the skins in late 2008.

Rubin started playing the drums at 8 years old and was playing a set at Woodstock 1999 by the time he was 11. And on Saturday, not even old enough to legally drink, Rubin took the stage in his home town with Nine Inch Nails.

They started slowly with 2005’s “Home” set in front of a minimalist light set — at least by today’s standards of sensory overload and high production value that accompany big-name acts.

They moved through a wide swath of their library dating back to their 1989 debut “Pretty Hate Machine,” before covering David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans.”

The set was tight and well-played; the band’s talent and proficiency were on full display. But about two-thirds of the way through the show, I couldn’t help but think: Aside from Reznor being right in front of me, this is about the same experience as listening to an album at home.

Judging by the chatter heard over some of the slower moments (which there were many of), I wasn’t alone in my feeling.

It wasn’t until late in the set that Reznor and company grabbed a hold of the crowd. But when they did, it was well worth the wait.

“The Hand That Feeds,” 2005’s anger-filled but dance-inducing uber-hit woke the fans from their slumber. “Head Like a Hole” followed and stole the show, complete with a Reznor guitar toss before exiting the stage.

They returned for an encore of “Hurt,” their 1994 hit given new life by Johnny Cash and left the stage for Jane’s Addiction.

Now I’m not a huge Jane’s Addiction fan. It’s one of those bands that every time they come on the radio I stay tuned and turn the volume up. But I don’t have a lot of Jane’s in my own collection and have never clamored to see one of their shows.

I’ve been missing out.

They completely rocked it. Where NIN left the audience searching for a jolt, Jane’s never let the party even simmer, much less fall flat.

Ferrell, who tore a calf muscle at a show just a couple of weeks prior, ran on stage wearing what can only be described as a zebra-striped zoot suit. He somehow managed to jump around stage — on top of monitors and on the drum kit riser — all night without missing a step. Injured and 50 years old, Ferrell showed no signs of slowing down.

They had the same basic light setup NIN used and failed to bring out the stripper poles and go-go dancers their shows are famous for. It didn’t matter.

It took guitarist Dave Navarro exactly one song (”Three Days”) to lose his shirt in standard 80s glam-rock L.A. fashion. He shredded his solos accordingly.

Wearing a kilt, Steve Perkins sat down at a drum kit that would make Neil Pert blush. With bassist Eric Avery back for the first reincarnation of the original lineup in 17 years and the L.A. band returning to its Southern California roots, Jane’s was in peak form.

After closing out a 10-song set with “Ocean Size,” they took a brief break before jumping into “Summertime Rolls,” a meandering, mellow song - at least by Jane’s standards.

It was the perfect setup for “Stop!,” the highlight of the night. The crowd roared when Navarro jumped into the hyper opening guitar rift. Before the song was over, Ferrell had engaged the entire amphitheatre in a sing-along and set the stage for closer and crowd favorite “Jane Says,” complete with Perkins on the steel drums.

When the lights went up and I left the concert still buzzing from the show, I had a new appreciation for Jane’s Addiction and an even greater appreciation that a downer of a NIN set didn’t have to follow that act.

Random thoughts/rants (Drunk girls and T-shirts edition)

– A familiar concert plague reared its ugly head in not-so-surprising fashion during the NIN set.

The drunk obnoxious girl that knows all the words and shows up at every concert was standing right behind me during “Hurt,” a soul-searching, somber song thought to be about Reznor’s drug bouts. A note to that girl. You’re not Reznor. You’re not Ferrell. You’re not Jim James. You’re not Thom Yorke. People didn’t pay upwards of $100 to hear you “sing.” Keep it to yourself. And stop following me…

– Cricket consistently boasts some of the best summer lineups San Diego has to offer. And it consistently frustrates concert goers. I had an extra ticket to leave at will call for a friend showing up late. Except there was no will call. I checked with three different booths (including the same booth I picked my tickets up to begin with) before giving up and resigning myself to hanging out by the gates in between bands to track down my friend and give him his ticket. The Casbah has will-call. The Belly Up has will call. Why can’t Cricket get it right?

Combine that with having to wait in line for three songs to buy a $12 beer then battling a 10-minute wait at the men’s room line to dispose of said beer, and San Diego’s biggest outdoor concert venue leaves a lot to be desired. And I haven’t even gotten to post-show traffic.

– I was stunned by how many NIN T-shirts I saw. My hipster friends tell me it’s definitely not hip to wear a T-shirt of the band you’re going to see. Maybe the NIN faithful are on a whole different level of irony.

Jason Owens is the SDNN sports editor and moonlights as a rock writer whenever he gets the chance. Email: jason.owens(at)sdnn.com

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-18 ... -san-diego

Sigh... after 25 years you'd think people would know how to spell Perry's name.
O well other than that it's another good review and in fairness the reviewer does say that he's not a big Jane's fan.

[paintsrdri]

When the lights went up and I left the concert still buzzing from the show, I had a new appreciation for Jane’s Addiction and an even greater appreciation that a downer of a NIN set didn’t have to follow that act.

[Mudget]

I just could not imagine either of these bands opening for the other. They are both goliaths. I had just assumed they would be changing the headline position nightly, but logistically that would have been crazy. Obviously I'm personally happy the way it turned out. Nothing but respect for Trent Reznor, who wanted JA to headline. Some of those folks crying about NIN opening changed their tune after seeing the show. There are new fans being made on both sides, for sure.

[hydro]

beautiful set of pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28568889@N07/


this is awesome!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/33179711@N08/

[Mudget]

Yup.

Hell froze over.

Pigs fly.

Those are beautiful pictures.

I wonder if there's a future for this band after NINJA?

[ESFOS]

These 4 cats were meant to jam together.

Unfortunately there was a long break, but lets hope we get back a little what we missed on this tour and perhaps some future gems...

I have been waiting a long time for this man.

[Mudget]

These 4 cats were meant to jam together.

Quoted for mother. fucking. truth.

[Mike]

LIVE AND DANGEROUS: Get unbelievably intoxicated with the NINJA tour talent

Amanda Macias, Staff Writer

Published: Monday, June 1, 2009

Updated: Sunday, May 31, 2009

Almost nothing sets the tone for a concert tour more than the tour’s name. The Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction NINJA tour is no exception.


Just like the typically iconic ninja, the performances took audience by surprise and left them without a clue as to what had happened, though they secretly knew that their minds had been blown.


The show got off on the right foot with Street Sweeper Social Club taking the, donning its own merchandise and performing “The Oath” and “100 Little Curses.” The impeccable talents of guitarist Tom Morello were praised by the audience on multiple occasions especially when he decided to finish off a song with just a touch of style, incorporating his teeth into the mix.


However, nothing got the crowd more pumped than when the Lenny Kravitz look-alike, front man Boots Riley, graciously stood aside as the one and only Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails stole the mic and belted out SSSC’s cover of MC5’s song “Kick Out the Jams.”


It wasn’t until Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor took the stage with the rest of the band, that every seat in Chula Vista’s Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre was completely occupied. With spectacular lighting, mystifying smoke machines, superior stage presence and drumming prodigy Ilan Rubin, Nine Inch Nails was able to deliver an unforgettable performance.


NIN captivated the audience with classics such as “Head Like a Hole,” “The Hand That Feeds” and even David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans.” Throughout the performance, Reznor awed the audience with his gift of music and the incorporation of his keyboard talents.


Closing out the show was none other than Jane’s Addiction. With a personalized song dedication to Tony Hawk, a ubiquitously shirtless Dave Navarro and a multitude of sexual innuendos, the Jane’s Addiction set managed to be as unique as Perry Farrell’s wardrobe. Maintaining the hype created by NIN, Jane’s Addiction belted out an array of ballads including, “Ted … Just Admit It,” “Standing In The Shower” and the infamous ‘90s hit, “Been Caught Stealing.”


In its entirety, this show managed to keep a constant buildup of intoxication, promiscuity and entertainment. As the tour progresses toward the East Coast, the bands continue to rock out to their fullest potential, gaining and renewing appreciation for their collaborative talents from coast to coast.


For more information regarding the NINJA tour, visit www.ninja2009.com

http://www.thedailyaztec.com/tempo/live ... -1.1757652