The Concert

I'm going to try to keep this post short since I am currently battling a dehydration headache and I'm just not ready to be moving around yet.

After an initial rough start of locating my backstage pass, I got into the concert to discover that I had front row seats just after the pit. The opening band was Street Sweeper Social Club and they remind me a lot of Rage Against the Machine, and I'm not just saying that because Tom Morello is their guitarist. They were excellent and I plan on downloading their album. Let's just say that Tom Morello is freaking amazing. It was the first time I had ever seen him in concert and he put on a hell of a show. In case you don't know who he is, Tom Morello was the amazing, astounding, genius guitarist behind Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.

Second was Nine Inch Nails. I've been to several of their concerts at this point and I always get chills when I see Trent Reznor sweep out onto the stage. He is just so amazing. They actually played two songs that I didn't recognize at all -- which is both strange and exciting. I thought I was very familiar with all his work. Apparently not. However, he also played "I'm Afraid of Americans", which he originally recorded with David Bowie, along with perrenial favorites such as "Gave Up" and "The Fragile." Trent was amazing and I was in heaven.

And then it got better.

At 9:00 p.m., I was taken backstage where I got a little black book I carry for notes signed by the members of Jane's Addiction. Ten of us were selected to go backstage, meet the band, and have them play for us a few songs as they warmed up. Sadly, I can't remember what they played. My brain had shut down. I was sitting in a small room with the original members of Jane's Addiction. I remember that Dave Navarro is amazing on the guitar and I could watch and listen to him play for hours. Perry Farrell was very animated and sipped from a wine bottle throughout the songs. And Stephen Perkins had a big grin on his face the whole time he drummed. Eric Avery stood just at my shoulder so I didn't seen him too clearly, but he seemed very intent on each song.

After the meet and greet session, we were guided backstage where we were allowed to watch the Jane's concert from the sidelines instead of at our seats. It was so awesome. Tom Morello walked up during the last couple songs and watched the show as well. I stood near him, but didn't have the courage to say anything. I figured he had had a long night and didn't need me bugging him. The guitarist for NIN also stopped by for a few minutes as well. The only thing missing is that I didn't get to meet Trent, but I'm not complaining. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was freaking amazing.