LISTENING PARTY FOR NINE INCH NAILS’ WITH TEETH

A listening party is a strange entity, especially when held at a rock venue. What are you supposed to look at? Is it OK to talk? Is it OK to talk about anything other than the music? Protocol, please?

I was part of the capacity crowd packed into Slim’s on March 30th to hear the upcoming Nine Inch Nails release With Teeth, which came out for real on May 3rd.

We first got to Slim’s around 7p.m., an hour before doors were to open, to switch out a defective wristband (and partake in the greatness that is the Costco $1.50 hot dog/drink combo). The line already stretched itself from the 11th Street entrance and ¼ of the way around the block on Folsom. I guess that was to be expected for a free event debuting music from a band that has not had a full length release since we were partying like it’s 1999.

Post hot dog, we checked out the line of black clad hopefuls, now wrapping its way up Folsom and into the alley behind Slim’s. The doors were opened shortly after 8 p.m. and I made my way up to the balcony to have a seat and survey the floor below.

But first: ID check, NIN hand stamp, free postcard, free poster, and a three-page Tower Records survey that, if filled out, gave you a shot at winning a pair of tickets to see NIN at The Warfield at the end of April. And then I sat.

I watched a line form inside at the Tower booth, with fans taking the opportunity to pre-order the album and get a limited edition 7" featuring two non-album tracks available only at listening parties. I wondered whether all of those people actually owned a turntable, and got my answer when I checked eBay the following morning.

The screen at the edge of the stage played videos from the NIN catalogue. The party started with “Head Like a Hole” and “Down in It” (my personal favorite) and made its way through tracks from The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, and everything in between. The crowd had their favorites, and the devotees in their 1990 NIN sweatshirts cheered loudly for “The Perfect Drug.”

After the last 50 people were packed in, a NIN logo flashed on the screen and at 9:15 p.m. we were introduced to With Teeth. (No track names were given, so I pulled these from the official NIN website.) Here were my first thoughts:

“All the Love in the World” – The album started on a mellow turn. I liked the song immediately. I also uttered the phrase “tambourine is the new cowbell” and cracked myself up.

“You Know What You Are?” – The actual catchy and repetitious line in this song is “don’t you f*$&ing know what you are?” I know this because everyone in the venue was singing it about two minutes into the track. This one was much harder than the previous track, and again, I liked it immediately.

“The Collector” – This track started with a contagious drumbeat and I sat up and remembered that Dave Grohl was a guest on this album. And yes, you could tell. This is a straight up rock track, one I’d like to play loudly in my car if it had better speakers. This was also the first track to have a collective response from the crowd at its end, and the first track to earn a “woo!”

“The Hand That Feeds” – It maintained a steady, grooving pulse and I remember saying, “I really like this album so far.” I also swear I heard moog. This was the second, and final, “woo!” I attribute that both to the fact that it’s a great track, but also because this one has gotten local airplay and people almost always cheer loudest for “the single.”

“Love Is Not Enough” – This one was slower and heavier, with a beat that immediately gave me the feeling of something creeping or sneaking up on someone.

“Every Day Is Exactly the Same” – More mellow again; this was the first track where my mind began to wander and the song lost me for a bit. I remember some guy at a table near me trying to sing along but not actually knowing the words.

“With Teeth” – Another percussive start. The tempo was similar to track six with a deep bass line. This song also tricked me into thinking it was over as the song ran quiet for what seemed like an eternity before the bass line kicked back in loudly.

“Only” – Yet another percussive start, much more up-tempo, with almost a new wave sound. (Is that a moog again? Do I hear that tambourine again?) After the lull of a few songs, people on the floor began to dance again.

“Getting Smaller” – Another straight up rock track, this one kept the faster tempo going.

“Sunspots” – AKA: The one where Trent whispers.” - The chorus was heavy, and Reznor sang very soft vocals, so much so that I gave up even trying to understand what he was saying.

“The Line Begins to Blur” – Oh wait. That’s right. They are an industrial band.

“Beside You in Time” – This one almost lulled me to sleep. Again with the whispering. The lyrics were repetitive and morose in tone, and frankly, I was depressed throughout.

“Right Where It Belongs” – I couldn’t even tell track 12 had ended … but hey, I was depressed and contemplating the failures of my life at that point. This one just kept it quiet, and the album came to a close with the tinkling of a piano.

Nearly an hour after the first track, we began to file out. I was ready to go – too tired and too brought down by the mellow ending. I left favoring the first half of the release. I didn’t feel the need to pre-order, but come May 3, I’ll be adding With Teeth to my collection, both to hear the tracks that initially attracted me, and to see how my opinions change of those that did not.