Funny that after joking that Nine Inch Nails’ live show should come with a warning for epileptics that I would actually meet one in the crowd. Asked if she ducked out of the set after the strobe-light show began, Fiona, who has been taking meds to suppress epileptic episodes all her life (and who declined to provide her last name) said no, but added that Sunday’s anchor show on the main stage was the best she’d seen Nine Inch Nails in years. She speculated that it was because lead singer Trent Reznor is noticeably beefier these days. Fiona has jokes.But as Jonathan Cunningham mentioned earlier, as you near the Gorge’s general seating area where Fiona and her friends were seated, the sound become noticeably worse. I’d hurried over after the close of M83’s set just in time to hear the opening chords of “La Mer,” and though the industrial roar on that particular song doesn’t kick in for at least three minutes, the sound was noticeably not as good, or as loud, as it could (should?) have been. Thankfully, Nine Inch Nails is the kind of band that can compensate for sound issues–as they demonstrated throughout a blistering, two hour set.A final note: As the show closed I saw two couples engaged in what I’ll call a quadruple kiss–think the more popular triple kiss with the ante upped. Now, anyone who has spent some time in the camping area outside the venue will tell you that Sasquatch ’09 has a Spring Break-like flair–maybe all of these outdoor festivals do. Still, it strikes me as strange that anything plucked from the back-catalog of Nine Inch Nails could get someone, let alone four people, in the mood for baby-making. I’ve listened to enough of NIN’s music to realize that it can be intense, even sexy at times. That said, D’Angelo Mr. Reznor is not. So, what am I missing? Can someone make me a mixtape?
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