Emily's Blog

Following Nine Inch Nails
by Emily Zemler (06/14/09 04:18 AM)

I'm not sure if the story of my night is better told in photographs and videos, or in words. We'll do both. I was invited to join a group of fourteen Nine Inch Nails fans who each donated $1,000 for a VIP package at the show to help Eric de la Cruz, a man in need of a heart transplant. In exchange for their kind gesture (which is happening at every show NIN plays this summer), the excited fans got to attend a private meet and greet backstage with the band and were escorted onto the stage to watch NIN's set tonight. One couple, who met at a NIN show three years ago, told me how thrilled they were to get to be onstage, let alone be onstage for NIN.

After the meet and greet, the fans were let loose for an hour, with specific instructions to be back at the side of the stage at 12:45 a.m. Then a lovely lady escorted the group onto the stage. As you can see we were pretty much standing behind the drums once we got up there. 

I climbed up on the railing behind the stage and tried to get some videos, although one very zealous fan was jumping up and down so hard that the entire back of the stage was shaking. 

It was a pretty Bonnaroo-appropriate set, with longer instrumental interludes, although it's safe to say that "March of the Pigs" and "Head Like a Hole" got the craziest responses. 

Here are a few more pictures. I couldn't seem to get a good shot of Trent. Maybe because someone was shaking the stage and everything kept coming out blurry. 

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