Downward Spiral, must have been ‘94 at the Rosemont Horizon outside of Chicago. I had been to a handful of concerts before.

jim Rose and PWEI opened. The curtain was up waiting for NIN. I had no idea what was coming. We all know what those shows were like, different from anything I’d seen. The music was unbelievable live, but the spectacle was insane. I remember a guy next to us trying to explain the production. He said Robin could fall over dead and it would sound the same. He also had some crazy story about driving Clint Mansel around after a show.

i had trouble describing the staging and performance to friends, especially the integration of film. Like you guys, I’ve seen him a bunch of times since the first, and I’ve been to hundreds of others. What impresses me the most is that Trent keeps raising the bar and leaving me a bit awestruck at every show.