The Savage Animal 09.02.09: Music Fans Can Be Marks Too

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 09.02.2009

In this edition of The Savage Animal, 411’s Mikey MiGo compares wrestling fans with music fans. We come to find out there are marks, smarks, and a lot more in common than you’d think. All of this, a ramble about this past Saturday’s Nine Inch Nails show, a rant on RAW, a review of “The Goods”, a rant on “Weeds”, and more ADHD content than you can.. Look! A Blue Duck!


I attended the best concert I've ever attended this past Saturday and I'm still buzzing from it. I have never been shy to admit that Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band of all time. I ranted, raved, and rambled about NIN probably more than anything else in this column and I'm hoping to not change that in the future. Everyone has their favorite bands and reasons for their love of music, it just so happens that Trent Reznor's work is mine. Saturday was at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois. It was the second of two shows at the 4500 sold out capacity venue and sadly the only of the two I could go to. Sitting there, waiting for NIN to come on stage it really hit me that this would be the last time I ever see them in concert. The time, money, passion, and all the experiences I've put into and gotten from this small section of music has been worth every bit of it. I thought about the first time I heard "The Downward Spiral" album, my first concert, the job I quit to follow NIN around for a week or so in 06, the times I play/played the music very loudly to drown out my own horrible vocals when alone, and basically just random parts of my life. I'm not going to be all "NIN IS LIFE" and semi-pathetic like that, but NIN has definitely been a part of my life. A lot of big, good, and simple moments in my adult life have had that Nine Inch Nail discography behind it as my own personal soundtrack. It was like a mental year book. It was like a montage of moments. It was life flashing before my eyes.

They say that happens at the end. This was the end of this specific chapter in my life and it ended with an explosion. What occurred was a 30 song assault on my being. Songs I've not heard in many shows like "Ruiner" and "I Do Not Want This" shocked me as staples like "Head Like a Hole" and "Wish" rocked my core. From the opener of the "With Teeth" rarity(I guess it is to some) "Home" to the very last note of "Hurt", the gloves were off and 4500 fans were exposed for the creatures they really were. We were also treated to a special appearance of Peter Murphy of Bauhaus fame. If you've never seen this man live, then you're missing out. The stage presence and vocals of Murphy are hauntingly comfortable. He makes you feel at home, but at the same time you're weary that he's going to swarm you and drain you of your blood. If I had to pick one human being to put my money on to be a real vampire, it would be Peter Murphy. He joined in for a few songs and rocked. People have complained that Murphy messed up the lyrics and a few cues during "Reptile", but oh well. I don't think anyone is going to correct the man any time soon and nor should they. I read that Trent was sick this night and the show was almost canceled, but you couldn't tell. I mean, I've been to a show where Trent literally vomited during an instrumental… he seemed fine. At least he didn't show any problems. Trent Reznor, while sick and all, huffed and puffed and blew the fucking roof off the Aragon. There's very few moments where you can literally put a picture to the reason you love music. This was my night. It's a show that'll be with me forever and I thank Trent Reznor, the band, Peter Murphy, and the awesome crowd for sharing the experience. Trent tells us that he will go on as a musician and still release music, but not tour anymore. I know he believes it and it's his right to do so, but deep down I have trouble accepting it's "over". The twenty year anniversary of "The Downward Spiral" is in a couple years. Something is bound to come up…

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YOU FANS ARE ALL THE SAME
I'm pretty sure, the internet has ruined everything.
This past Saturday I attended what was the best concert I've ever been to. For a huge music fan, that's quite a high. One thing that I took in was the crowd. Maybe because the crowd has so much energy to it that I couldn't help but value the experience even that much more. Everyone shared the experience and seemed pretty cool with each other. I started to make me think about a normal concert crowd. Not so much the crowd that night, but just all the concerts I've been to of any band or of any professional wrestling event I've been to, local and big.


I don't know why my mind works that way, but it was as if I had this odd realization that pretty much all wrestling crowds and concert crowds are the same way no matter what you're there to see. They tour, sell merch, put on live productions, and provide entertainment. Some concert tours have the same songs every night just as wrestling has the same matches. There are tons of parallels between the two genres of entertainment and that doesn't stop with the crowd. Really, the same kinds of fans are at just about every professional wrestling and rock show. It's not like the movie "The Warriors" where there are separate gangs or anything like that. It's just a few key specific and harmless character traits that I've noticed of the masses.


People do go to concerts to enjoy their favorite bands and wrestling products/performers. With that there are normally a few typical breeds of mentality. A lot of people do and say these things without even realizing it. I think it's probably just human nature to try to "mark your turf" or provide awareness of themselves. The thing here is that it all depends on the show for a lot of people. I don't like say a "Black Eye Peas" more than "The Roots" so at their show I'd be less excited and probably not be as into musically as someone who's a fan. Same would go if I was forced to go to a TNA show. I'd care more about the show if it were a WWE one. So I'm thinking all live show fans, including myself, are guilty of a few of these traits at some point or another. From my experience of going to my fair share of concerts and wrestling events, this is who we are and what we have to deal with.


"Nerdy Fan" (The Smark/IWC)
There's always the casual intellectual/"bigger fan than you" dominance procedure. These people could be the nicest in the world, but they'll still ask the same common questions. "How many times have YOU seen them on this tour?" or "Were you at (place random event from back when the band was first learning their instruments/the wrestlers were still learning arm drags)" or "I heard at the last stop on tour they played (place obscure B-side here)"! It's as if they're testing your knowledge and love for the band. Wrestling is the same. You hear people in line say "I've been to (place large sum here) shows" or "I saw this shoot tape with (place mid card wrestler from 10 years ago here) and blah blah blah". It's almost as if they're asking for the secret "we're the real fans" handshake.


"Alpha Male Fan"(The Obnoxious Smark/Asshole)
Of course there's the physical dominance. That's not even just in the pit anymore. Pits can be brutal, but for the most part the guys in the pit are all in their own little "Fight Club Heaven". The "pushers" are the real danger. The ones who show up five minutes before the show and eventually push, shove and basically maim the tired and worn out obsessive fans from the front of the rail. It's always seems to be some normal typical drunk alpha male type. They get up there and have the time of their lives and go on to tell the story of their strenuous feat. That's just the concert people. With wrestling, the obnoxious asshole will shout at the wrestler using their REAL NAME (oooh, bad assssss) or they'll be vulgar douche bags despite the innocent children around them who don't know a Carly Colon from their long division. They paid for their ticket and they don't give two shits about the rest of the crowd.


Obsessive
This is simple. The stalker type goes here. It's the people who show up at dawn with coffee, a sleeping bag, and board games. It's cool you're excited, but you could show up later and still have a perfectly fine vantage point from the stage. You don't HAVE to be in front. Sweat and water bottles can fly pretty far. I see this with wrestling shows too. This, I don't understand AT ALL. Professional wrestling shows, at least on a respectable level, has assigned seating. No matter how early you are, you're not going to experience anything different than the guy in before bell time. There are also those who just go a little too far with their appearance. Writing a wrestler or band's name on your face with glitter isn't cool, cute, or fun. It's lame. Nothing looks cool in glitter.


Clueless
There's always the person who's there, but doesn't care at all about the show in front of them. Maybe they were dragged along or just there because it's something to do, but these people are oblivious. These people just flat out ruin the experience of anyone who is within listening distance. Some of the more curious on-lookers will always ask a lot of questions about the wrestlers, the band, and pretty much every little thing. The little things that are so obvious that you cringe more and more with each question. "Of course THAT is the good guy and THAT is the bad guy." "Of course you've heard this song before, I've been playing it around you for months." Then there are those who are completely aloof. They're not paying attention and are texting the whole time. Despite the event in front of them, they still take it upon themselves to talk loudly, gotta make sure they're heard, about personal affairs. I can deal with people asking questions and being interested in the show, but to flat out disregard it? Criminal, I say! Criminal!


The Enhancer
Speaking of deviant activity, is the experience just not quite cutting it? This is where "the enhancer" comes in. At wrestling shows it's more common for "the enhancer" to drink a lot of cheap beer. They'll just keep drinking them down, with each one getting more and more into it. This is common at concerts as well, but you find a lot more recreational fun. There are those who smoke weed before and often AT the shows. Your nose wasn't born yesterday. You know it's there. Pretty much any drug that's used at recreation can be found at most concerts. I'm not anti-experimentation, but some of the group gives the rest a bad name. Those who keep shouting a little too loudly to their friends about "I think it's kicking in" or "This is going to be so bad ass on these SHROOMS!"… Yeah, way to be awkward.


"That Guy"
When I think of this person my brain automatically goes back to "Waynes World". The rule of "don't be the guy wearing the shirt of the band you're there to see" came into my young life. Wrestling fans are obviously a lot different on this rule, but not out of the blue. There's those who show up with replica championship belts to hold onto and show off all night or even worse, those who come wearing luchadore masks. Those guys are the creepiest and should be monitored by someone. Then, in both cases, are those who want the world to know where their headed by blasting the band's music or wrestling theme songs as loud as possible from their radios. That's a bit much. You're going to see it LIVE in a little while, why take away from the impact? These people aren't doing any harm to anyone and are just having fun. It's just I'm a mid-level snob about some things and I know for a fact that I'm not alone.


"The A-Typical Casual Fan"
This is who we all think we are for the most part. If we're a fan, we have entitlement. If we're not and still there, we're aloof and sometimes kindly/sometimes not at all impressed or at least respectful. The casual fan might own the CDs and watch the TV show as much as they can, but they don't have all the imports and random reissues or shoot tapes. They'll have maybe a shirt or two, but not a wardrobe dedicated to the cause. The wrestling mark, like a concert mark doesn't follow the backstage gossip of the show and are just there to have a good time and enjoy themselves. While that's perfectly true in most cases, we're kidding ourselves if we deny that we don't normally fit into at least one of these categories. It's really ALL the same.

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RANDOM VIDEO(s) OF THE WEEK
"I was there, man!"
Nine Inch Nails Live : August 29th, 2009 – Chicago, IL

The 411:This well done and awesome ten minute highlight montage of 8/29 Chicago show by fan Charlie Worthley pretty much captured the experience. You can feel the energy just by watching this video. We start with "Heresy" where off the bat you can see how much on their A-Game the band was this night. Then the insanity of the best performance of "March of The Pigs" that I have seen. The drumming is massive to lead into the whole thing just erupting. It cuts into "Ruiner", a song that I always want to hear. It was one of the highlights of the show for me. Glad it's on here. Then into "La Mer", where things were calming down. At most shows the "calm down" is where you regroup, but this song is so well orchestrated that you still attentively watch. The lights in "Echoplex" are almost too cool for school. The song was a small surprise, but a good one. I don't think I've seen it live before and it's a good update for "Even Deeper". "The Hand That Feeds" is a song that I normally don't like to listen to on CD, but I love it live. It's a arena anthem without doing so on purpose. The video then cuts into "Hurt", the final song of the night and I'm sure the final song that many of us in the crowd will ever hear live. Trent seemed to be feeding from the vibe and got really into it. He was behind a 4500 person wall of isolation as he seemed to let himself pour out. You really couldn't ask for a better ending.

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RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"THE GOODS"
STARRING JEREMY PIVEN
I saw this documentary a few years ago about a guy who goes town to town selling used cars. The guy was over the top, loud, and very… how you say… sleazy. But none the less, this guy was a pro. He knew what to do, how to do it, and was selling used cars like it was nothing. I wonder if writers Adam Stock and Rick Stempson saw the same documentary because there seems to be more than a few coincidental similarities here. The movie is about Don Ready (Piven) and his team of misfit hustlers (Ving Rhames, David Koechner, and Kathyn Hahn) going town to town selling used cars. Piven's character is over the top, loud, and very… how you say… sleazy. Just because I'm a nerd who watches an occasional documentary doesn't mean this movie wasn't fun. The reviews and box office have been brutal for this movie. They plugged the shit out of it, told us "it's like The Hangover!...but not.", and now it's faded faster than Lady GaGa's self respect. That's really annoying. The way Piven always tried to piggy back The Hangover sucked. This movie is good enough to stand on its own two legs. Piven rocks the lead role with just the right amount of charm and sleaze. The supporting cast rocks and pretty much everyone in the movie got a legitimate "laugh out loud" from me. I'm going to go as far as proclaiming this movie "The Iron Man of 2009". "Iron Man" was a great superhero movie, but it had the bad break of coming out the same year as "The Dark Knight". If "The Hangover" hadn't of come out this year, "The Goods" would have gotten more attention. At least that's how I think. It's not a perfect film. It's not as "hip" as "The Hangover" got to become, but it's enjoyable and a movie that I can't wait to catch "Unrated" come DVD time. It's better than most of the comedies I've seen in recent years. Mark my words, this will pick up their following once it's available on plastic circles. I give this an honest B for a comedy. It's worth checking out with an open mind. Just try to forget it being shoved down our throats.

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RANDOM STUFF ON MY TV IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"WEEDS" (Season Finale)
If you're a Weeds fan and actually watch the show on television as opposed to on DVD, as I have for the past seasons, you'd know that this past Monday was the Season Finale. I'm not going to put asterisks and make a big deal about "spoilers". It's done and over with. This isn't a Smackdown taping. If you've read this far and don't want to know what happened then you should skip ahead to the next section about now. So yeah, how about that finale? I wasn't that into this season except for about a third of the episodes. The rest just felt lame. From the lame cop from the first part of the season, the lame result of Celia's hostage situation, the lame pay off of Nancy's sister showing up, and all the anti-climatic nonsense. Things just sorta seemed thrown together and didn't really pick up until Shane was shot. From there, the season really kicked into high gear and was back to the old Weeds I used to love. The ending, which I won't just flat out say, was awesome and abrupt. I'm sure you have tons of questions leading into next season just like me. I was almost considering abandoning this show, but dammit I'll be back next year. Now on with the Californication and Dexter! Both shows feature my two favorite actors (David Duchovny and Michael C. Hall) on TV right now.

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WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS
Looking Out From the Inside.
I really enjoyed RAW this week. Shows like this past RAW are a good reminder why I still watch wrestling religiously every Monday. It wasn't a profoundly epic show, there wasn't any four star-workrate matches, and there was still some portions I could do without… but it was a fun ride. Seriously, for my personal enjoyment, it had a lot to do with Cena not being featured or shoved down my throat. I don't dislike the man playing the role THAT much, but his character and ring work has become unbearable to endure, at least for this one viewer. I dug the 6 Diva Battle Royal. It was a painless four minute royal and was a much better way to feature the divas than to have a match where only 50% of the participants actually participate. Then I actually thought that Beth was going to beat Mickie in their match. I had myself convinced that with her recent miscues and what not that she's of taken a couple weeks off to refresh her batteries. But no, Beth kicked her ass and then the awesomely sold swinging DDT put her out. Well done by all involved. My only gripe was that you could see Mickie signaling for Beth to come at her while she lay in between the ropes and post. It was blatant and irked me. Still, no real complaints. The US Title Four Way was a good match. They got eight and half minutes and filled that time slot with a lot of action, suspense, and everyone in the match came out looking strong. Kofi hasn't gotten to really feud with anyone yet, but now he's got three very solid heels chasing him. Kofi is an awesome US Champion. I just wish he'd get a chance to show some emotion outside of the ring and actually get to use the mic. The Tag Title stuff is going good. Jericho and MVP had a great TV match, while Show and Henry was more of a spectacle than something I'd consider a "match". Regardless, the whole feud is giving MVP and Mark good rubs while keeping them in the reserves before their next singles feuds. I'm just hoping and praying that Mark Henry doesn't turn on MVP setting up a feud between the two. I like them both, but that match doesn't sound appealing at all. Have Swagger and Henry feud and MVP take on The Miz or something. It'd be watchable on both accounts. I won't even touch on the Chavo/Hornswoggle bullshit. It's a waste of time. I'm not the demographic that enjoys these brutal displays of "comedy matches". By "demographic" I mean I'm not brain dead and have been to an R Rated comedy. The Dusty/Legacy plan was awesome. I seriously thought "Cool. Cody's going to get a chance to shine like Ted did a while back" and was geared up for the match. I didn't except him to win, but I did except to fight. Then Bam! I was caught off guard by the attack on Cena. Maybe it was obvious from Jump Street, but the wool was definitely over my eyes. The build up to it was awesome and then with Orton's added attack to Dusty anyway was com-pel-ling TV for wrestling standards. The crowd chanting Cody as he wigged out in the corner with hysteria and confliction was one of the best moments I've seen on RAW in a long time.

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CHECK THIS OUT! [CHEAP PLUGS]
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That's it for this week. I've been toying with the idea of comparing wrestling crowds to music crowds for awhile, but didn't quite have a direction for it until the NIN show. I enjoyed thinking about it and putting it all in terms. I hope it sparks some discussions amongst yourselves and offers a new perspective on crowds in general. I really don't have a clue right now what next week's column will be about, but I assure you that it will exist. Until then… Have a Great Week!