One of these things just doesn't belong.
It was slightly troubling yesterday when Trent Reznor was singing about his "crown of shit" and the "fading fucking reminder" in front of all the Bridge School kids at the big benefit. But he was also completely out of his element, what with it being an acoustic show, and the crowd seemed willing to overlook the somewhat troubling elements of his performance. Besides, all the Death Cab songs were about death too (ironically), so who could begrudge Reznor?
Twenty years of organizing this benefit. Neil Young is DA MAN.
I thought the string section on Reznor's set was amazing - but it was wierd seeing the effect such intensely dark music had on the crowd. He definitely didn't fit in.
ReplyDeleteBrian Wilson on the other hand was my favorite of the night. When good vibrations hit, it was like waves of silliness hit the lawn section around me. People got goofy.
I felt a little bad for Brian Wilson - it seemed like his band had to cover for him a lot. I really liked the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam sets because they actually engaged with the kids, instead of playing to the crowd.
ReplyDeleteThen again, Dave Grohl and/or Ed Vedder could read the dictionary while I was engulfed in flames in hell itself, and I would be mesmerized and entertained. [And probably sitting next to Trent. :)]
I should add that *I* was willing to overlook the weirdness... I have always loved NIN and he's pretty much the reason I bought a ticket this year.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Brian Wilson's voice is pretty much shot. I saw a documentary a couple of years ago on his Smile project - and he's in pretty bad shape. Heavily medicated, prone to extreme depression, and terrified of crowds. He's got a good group of people around him for support though, and you can still feel all the love and joy come through the music.
ReplyDeleteI saw Trent Reznor for the first time about 17 years ago at a night club in SoCal. It was just him at the time, (on a stool with a drum machine) and he did about 4 songs before being boo'd off the stage. His stuff was pretty raw - but I liked it. It might be too intimate and lonely for crowd listening though. About a year after that, Pretty Hate Machine was released - and I was blown away. It was one of the landmark albums of my highschool years.
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