Suffer Some

I had always insisted I’d never go to The O2 because I didn’t think I’d like it. Well now I’ve been so I can say with all confidence – I don’t.

It’s not that they’re not trying hard – for a venue of that size it’s as well staffed, well laid out and well organised as it could possibly be. It’s just too blummin big.

I stuck to my guns when Prince played, I didn’t even give in for Smashing Pumpkins and the lovely Billy Corgan, but for some reason the double header of Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails was the one that made me think I should give it a try.

It’s not like it was a wasted evening, but while I’m reliably informed it was they who were on the stage yesterday evening, for all I could see it could have been a very convincing covers band. I was expecting big screens on either side of the stage, so I could at least get a projected close-up of my heroes, but none were to hand. So now I’ll always picture them as being an inch tall wearing little teeny-tiny costumes.

I didn’t let this stop me enjoying the magnificence of Jane’s Addiction, however. I could feel the chills rising even as the opening bars of Three Days rang out. So instead of watching mini-Perry Farrell, I closed my eyes and relived that splendid moment, back in 2003, when the full-size version strode out onto the stage at the Forum, dressed from top to toe in brilliant white with an enormous feather hat perched on his head. It was possibly the finest rock entrance in history, in my esteemed opinion.

The set list was the thing of dreams, all those old favourites I love - Pigs in Zen, Mountain Song, Whores. We even got a beautiful acoustic version of Jane Says for the encore. I was moved to say the least.

I’m not such a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails, so in the vast auditorium they started to lose my attention. The other big problem is the sound. It’s like seeing a band at a festival where it’s great if you can get close enough to the speakers, but beyond that half of the sound disappears before it gets to you.

I do remember a stunning version of Terrible Lie but then it all started to merge into one a bit. What I really wanted to hear was Head Like A Hole and Hurt, but a quick peek at the set list on their website during the afternoon had revealed they were saving the best till last. I’m ashamed to say wanted to do the middle-aged thing and leave before the end to avoid the traffic, so I watched them for an hour and then scarpered. When did I suddenly become so very old? I used to SO look down on people who did that!

It was a good night, but in a better venue it could have been amazing.