The Orlando show was the best NIN show I’ve ever seen (this was my 5th show). The new lineup sounded excellent and the performances were fantastic. The sound quality on-stage was really spectacular – i’ve never heard an arena sound so clear and powerful. The setlist was a great sampling of the discography. Lighting and stage setup was really cool. The show was my wife’s first NIN experience and she ranks it as one of the best shows she’s ever seen. Alex (the drummer) did a superb job for jumping on mid-tour.

Standout moments:

• realizing the fans during March of The PIgs
• Right Where It Belongs visuals and live arrangement
• Aaron trying to balance on his headstock
• Gave Up (excellent vocal effects for the verses)
• Burn!

I had a strange moment today when visiting out the new Winter Garden Library – I was checking out the new facility, looking through the books, DVDs, and CDs. I noticed they had a substantial jazz section, so I flipped through to see if there was anything interesting. Up comes a cool blue cover with a peculiar name for a jazz group -
The Bad Plus.

I check the track names. Smells Like Teen Spirit. Neat! I also see a track named Flim – now this has me thinking. I had heard about 15 seconds of a jazz cover of one of my all time favorite Aphex Twin songs, Flim, on WUCF, the local jazz radio station when driving around with my wife one day. I thought… “I would love to know who’s covering that.” I hope to someday be in a group that does jazz/electronic live combo music.

So I check out the CD, pop it into the car CD player, and sure enough – it is the one and the same track I heard on the radio. My wife says it’s proof that destiny exists. I say it’s just wild coincidence. Regardless, I have a new favorite CD, and also found about an awesome group, Halloween, Alaska, that features the same drummer from The Bad Plus.

I love finding new great music.