I Got My Fist, I Got My Plan, I Got My...NIN Handbag?

Currently in: Kyoto, Japan (man these Japanese keyboards are weird)

Damn, can't upload pics from a public computer, so you'll see it later.

NIN in Osaka was all kinds of awesome, setlist for both nights to make you jealous:

May 23:
1. Hyperpower!
2. The Beginning of the End
3. Last (you have not lived until you've heard this live!!)
4. Survivalism (so awesome live!)
5. March of the Pigs
6. Something I Can Never Have
7. Capital G (didn't like when I first listened to YZ, but now I can't stop going "HUH HUH")
8. Burn
9. Gave Up
10. Help Me I Am In Hell
11. Me, I'm Not (One of my favorites from YZ, performed in a way you wouldn't expect live)
12. Eraser (Drummer Josh Freese is just mesmerizing to watch during this)
13. La Mer
14. Into The Void (I love this 1-2 punch)
15. The Good Soldier (Not much different than the album version)
16. Wish
17. No, You Don't
18. Mr. Self Destruct (Finally popped my MSD live cherry - didn't use a condom and loved every minute ;)
19. Only
20. Get Down Make Love (Trent said Queen was his favorite band growing up - FUCK all the Queen haters!!)
21. Dead Souls (One of 2 songs at the top of my list of songs I wanted NIN to play live that I haven't heard yet....calling me....)
22. Hurt
23. The Hand That Feeds
24. Head Like A Hole

May 24:

1. Somewhat Damaged (Still my favorite NIN opener)
2. You Know What You Are? (The crowd was so into this)
3. Terrible Lie (The best I've ever heard it done live by NIN - most likely because the crowd was so into it -- HEY GOD!!)
4. Sin (Always awesome as usual)
5. March of the Pigs
6. Piggy (Hell yes!! Always a crowdpleaser)
7. The Beginning of the End
8. Survivalism
9. Ruiner (Fuck yeah!!)
10. Burn
11. Help Me I Am In Hell
12. Me, I'm Not (extra long intro this time)
13. Reptile (The 2nd of those 2 songs I most wanna hear NIN play live...I got goosebumps during the opening beats of this)
14. The Frail (no Wretched, which was strange....he played the piano chord from The Fragile -- "I won't let you fall apart" -- I would've loved to hear that live -- The Fragile is still my fave NIN album)
15. The Good Soldier
16. Wish
17. Only
18. Capital G
19. Suck
20. Down In It (I WAS UP ABOVE IT!!! NOW I'M DOWN IN IT!!)
21. The Day The World Went Away
22. Hurt
23. The Hand That Feeds
24. Head Like A Hole

It was keyboardist Alessandro's birthday and Trent led the crowd into a nice rendition of "Happy Birthday" for him. Two scantily clad women presented him with a birthday cake and tried to throw it in his face, Alessandro ducked it though....that didn't stop Trent from picking it up off the ground and throwing it at him again though. Didn't miss that time!

Trent also spoke that being the last show of this leg of the tour, he was gonna take a couple months off and work on his next album (big crowd response, obviously).

Thanks to the Osaka crowd for being the best I've ever been to. They were loud yet polite, they jumped but never pushed. They let Trent sing Hurt without screaming during the quiet parts or clapping. The NIN diverse fanbase shows up again as you see middle-aged Japanese businessmen and even women bringing their newborns (!!). They weren't just there, they were into it too! ZEPP was also a fantastic venue, very nicely air conditioned unlike most places.

2 hours and 24 songs each night, aka HEAVEN. If you haven't seen NIN in a small venue, then you haven't seen NIN at their best.

Alive!

Currently in: Shanghai, China

Next Stop: Hong Kong

More updates later, so many stories to tell.....fans of "Actual Things Said By Eric So" will have a lot to devour.

Where In The World Is Steve?

Hong Kong International Airport watching The Cartoon Network at the Kid's Lounge

Tales of the Babysitter's Club: Prologue

So I've got this big vacation coming up, but going with two questionable subjects (Eric S. & Phil), one has to wonder how much of a vacation it's really going to be. If we actually get past customs without getting imprisoned (by Phil's nervousness and twitchy hands) or tortured (due to Eric's stone-faced sarcasm) and we have decent internet access, I might be able to bring some updates.

Here's some things I'll miss:

• My own house and bed


• Building my massive Xbox 360 Gamerscore over Ed's


• NHL Playoffs (Should be back in time for Canucks in Cup Finals though!)


• May Sweeps and TV Show finales (thank god for VCRs, PVRs and Bittorrent!)


• Spider-Man 3 Midnight Show on opening day (Sam Raimi is god. Hopefully I can catch it over in HK or Japan)

But here's some things that should make up for it:

• Tiananmen Square in Beijing


• The Great Wall of China (No Eric, we won't be sprinting it)


• Qin Shi Huang's Tomb featuring a thousand-plus life-size terra cotta warriors in Xian


• Shanghai's Bund and Jade Buddha Temple


• Victoria Peak in Hong Kong


• Nara's Todaiji Temple and kasuga Shrine


• 2 back to back nights of NINE INCH NAILS in Osaka (!!!)


• Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan


• Kyoto's Nijo Castle, Golden Pavillion and Old Imperial Palace


• Miyajima's Itsukushima Shinto Shrine


• Hiroshima's Atomic Bomb Museum


• Tokyo's Mt. Fuji & Hakone National Park, Lake Ashi via Boat Cruise, Mt. Komagatake via Rope-way ride and Asakua Kannon Temple


• Kegon Waterfall and Lake Chuzenji in Nikko


• Meeting Eric So's imaginary girlfriend

In between preventing Phil from buying useless souvenirs and stopping Eric from general mayhem such as littering and peeing on the streets, hopefully I'll be able to enjoy myself. And seriously Phil, do you really need a separate piece of luggage just for shoes? He's such a girl.

Unfortunately, the trip's length has been tripled due to costcutting features as requested by Phil. We will be arriving and leaving via Cargo Boat, or "The Scenic Route" as Phil likes to call it. "It'll only take a few extra weeks, and we save a few cents!" he says. "Can't we take the Japan-Canada Cross-Pacific Bridge by car?" responds Eric. So even though the the trip ends in Early June, we won't be back until July. Oh well, at least we'll still have cell phone access when we travel across the Pacific Ocean!

Oh god, what have I gotten myself into??