This was quite the show. Mid-90’s Bowie was an odd bird, with a legendary back catalog, and recent attempts at relevance in a rapidly changing music scene. Nine Inch Nails was coming off some excellent musical efforts, hitting full stride. So, an odd pairing? Not really, but the audiences were very different. I went with my friend Chris Martin (not THAT Chris Martin…), and we got there early enough to get a nice spot in the pit one person from the barricade. Nine Inch Nails opened, and they were on fire-very dynamic, tossing their keyboards around, just creating musical mayhem. I’m pretty sure a pit started behind us, and this one short guy kept trying to get past us. He never succeeded. So Bowie comes out for a few songs at the end of NIN’s set, and then launches into his catalog, with a mix of old and new. Very good show, well paced. And half the pit left. That’s why I said an odd pairing…it was a good show, as I liked both artists.
As a postscript, several years later my friend Susan, when I recalled going to that show, said that WE went together. We didn’t, but were probably 10 feet from each other and didn’t know it.