On this date in history, 9/10/1994, I traveled to the Ball State University campus in Muncie, IN, to see an incredible show at Emens Auditorium featuring Nine Inch Nails, The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, and Marilyn Manson. To say that this show brought out an interesting crowd is a massive understatement.

Marilyn Manson – Sweet Dreams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUvVdTlA23w

I was so mesmerized by the collection of enticing goth girls and assorted bold fashion statements worn by the members of the incoming audience that I barely took notice of Marilyn Manson during their opening set. I would rectify this poor decision with a quickness in the following weeks, but at the time I spent most of their allotted time simply people watching in the lobby as the fringes of society converged on this prestigious venue to witness this wonderful collection of alternative possibilities.

The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow:

The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow featured bizarre displays of physical abnormality performed by characters such as The Enigma and Mr. Lifto, all energetically emceed by the charismatic and manic Jim Rose, who participated in the show by laying shirtless in a pile of broken glass with a heavy female volunteer gleefully standing on his back…and he never stopped talking during the entire stunt.

The main event was the brainchild of Mr. Trent Reznor, the incredible Nine Inch Nails. This was at the height of their popularity and the lights, sounds, and sheer physicality of the performance was absolutely riveting.

Reznor designed the light show himself, and it dazzled with enough strobe lights to cause seizures, but also featured some disturbingly haunting imagery in some of the best screen projections I have ever witnessed at a concert.

Nine Inch Nails – March Of The Pigs (Unclean Live) 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL72Tyxe1rc

This was my first NIN show and would not be the last. Actually, I’m hoping to see them again now that they have new music to bring to the faithful.

Written By Braddon S. Williams aka The Concert Critic