I’m still deaf from seeing Skinny Puppy last night, but it was worth it and then some - they’re easily the best live industrial act I’ve ever seen, and possibly the best live act of any kind. I joined the line outside early enough to be the third or fourth person there, so I was front and center up against the barricade when the doors opened (and have the bruises and fake blood stains to prove it). I was a little concerned about being in the pit again after Ohgr, but the worst thing that happened was some guy elbowing me hard in the back of the head. He found me outside after and apologized, which I certainly wasn’t expecting any more than I was expecting him to give me his Skinny Puppy dog tag (which he did).

The Irving Plaza staff were very strict about cameras, but there are photos from the Boston show on Saturday here (that’s where I got the photo above). The setlist was more or less what I posted as my playlist yesterday, except that the encore included Blue Serge. The highlight of the evening was Al Jourgensen (!) joining Skinny Puppy to play guitar for Tin Omen, although Glass Houses and Hardset Head turned out to sound the best live. There was a great mix of older stuff along with a handful of songs from the new album, and Ogre’s energy made the whole thing completely unlike any other industrial show I’ve seen (including Ohgr, as much as I like Ohgr). There are hints of another tour in the fall, and I’ll definitely be there if they turn out to be true.