Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails, originally uploaded by karlakp. That's me giving the "rock n roll" sign and Hook Em Horns all at once.)

KICK ASS SHOW!!!!!!!!!

I think my outfit worked out pretty well. I added some fishnet tights to it, and as the evening wore on they got progressively holier, from jewelry snagging and general mistreatment by me. (I never spend more on hose than I would be upset about from only wearing once, as I am legendarily hard on them.) I think the holiness of the fishnets added to the feel of the outfit, eclectic sexy grown up Goth. (Hopefully it came across that way and not just Old Tramp.)

It rained a couple hours before NIN came on, but we just stood under a tree and it was no problem. Everyone had their clear plastic ponchos, except me, but it really didn't matter and it was just warm enough that standing around in a plastic bag would have just become a personal sauna, which was not appealing. Plus I bulletproofed my hair by having it in two little ponytails on the back of my head, so even if it did frizz, I wouldn't have to deal with it in my face. I rather liked my hair like that, will keep doing it like that, as it's easy care and simple.

Oya Festival is an extremely well organized and planned event. I give wholehearted kudos to everyone who plans it. They covered practically the whole fairground with this white fabric flooring so that all the churning feet would not turn the grass into a mud pit. What a great idea! It felt so clean! The food area and drink stands were reasonably priced and well located. The food offerings were actually some of the best I have seen at a public event EVER in Norway. They had everything from crepes to burgers to curries to pizzas. Why can't they have food like that at other events? And as for stuff to drink, wine, beer, champagne, whatever, it was all there and (for Norway) very fairly priced. Me, Elaina and her boyfriend David chipped in on a litre 'bottle' (carton) of a nice little Italian Sangiovese. Great solution for shared drinking. (And oh my yes, I was snockered.) Everything there was either organic or "ecological" which I am not sure what the difference is, but it certainly did not result in a lessening of the effects of the wine, so hey, I'm all for it.

Nine Inch Nails KICKED ASS. they started at EXACTLY 9:45, on the dot, and just ripped into the set with such force I felt momentarily knocked over. Then I started screaming and hopping up and down like the NINny I am. They played a bunch of stuff from the new album, of course, but also some more obscure stuff (a song from the "Lost Highway" soundtrack) and some really old stuff (Head Like a Hole!). And yes, they played "Closer" which was as cathartic as you can get without actually being catatonic, for me at least. I've ALWAYS wanted to hear that song live. (When I saw them in 1990, it was really only all about "Pretty Hate Machine" and so "Closer" wasn't even out yet.) It sounded great, Trent looked great and the band was really powerful, thrashing about and yet still producing some great sound. Trent Reznor is one of my Gods.

The crowd was fairly friendly, only once did I have to really get forceful with someone. This blonde chick kept trying to get in front of me by way of just pushing me out of her way. I guess she thought if she pushed hard enough I would become transparent and she could walk through me. It pissed me off to the point that I finally just slammed my elbow back at her, hard, and I think I sent her flying, at least, I felt a woosh of air behind me and then she was gone. (It takes a bit to make me get physical, but then when I do I ain't holding back and I am bigger than she was.) Apparently she also tried that shit with David and he did the same, so I am thinking dumb blonde girl has alot of elbow marks on her today. I stood next to this nice, big, lantern jawed guy who indulgently sort of stood me back up whenever I lost my balance (which was alot). Once, as he propped me back up again, I looked up at him and screamed, "WOOO! I'm from Texas!!!", and he gave me a huge smile and we were total buddies from then on. He reminded me of my brother.

Now as great of a time as I had, I am feeling it today. It's all good and nice to rock yer ass off at a show by yer fave band, but when you are pushing 40, things HURT the next day. Rock and Roll will never die, but I sure am getting old. So here is a bullet point list of things that hurt:

• Feet (miles of walking) (MILES)
  
• Calves (bouncing up and down in place like a Kalahari Bushman)
  
• Middle finger on right hand (from clapping, my ring bangs on the bone and left it bruised!)
• Biceps (from holding my hands up in the air and making devil horns all night)
• Right Elbow (Blonde girl bashing)(oddly satisfying, that was, I do confess)
  
• Ass (I'm not actually sure about why on that one, I don't remember any ass intensive activities)
• Neck (head banging, 'yo!) (6 good headbangs and I am done for)
  
• Shoulders (I think from holding up the arms)
• Head (wine, loud music, not enough water, neck tension, etc.)

And I have a strange scratch on my neck, not sure AT ALL where that came from.

There are more pics posted on my Flickr page. (I have upgraded my account. Plus I can live blog from there with my cell phone, so I sent some pics from last night there in real time. Cool....) Keep checking it out, as I am going to be adding alot more pictures and stuff there over time.

Late addition: Here's a video Elaina's boyfriend David took. I'm a little embarrassed, here, as I am going NUTS and it's caught on film, but whatever. I'll post it down here and only you sharp eyed ones will see it.