there was a guy in my 8th grade gym class with a NIN tshirt. I am going to ebay or craigslist the tickets to pay for food and housing bills since my job was cut to part time.

there. do i win?

Heck Yes I want them! I remember when NIN came through and played at La Luna I'm pretty sure Marilyn Manson opened... Unfortunately for me I was 14 and living in Eugene so I cut the add out of The Rocket taped it to my wall above my stereo and listened to Pretty Hate Machine all night long and cried in my room.

God I was such a teenage retard!

because in the last 2 months i've moved from a euopean city life with a great job to small town life in my parents basement and a mind-melting world of unemployment. i've been dumped (yes, already!), stood up for 'Repo!' and the beer store ran out of the Abyss! i haven't been to a proper gig in a bijillion years because southern europeans trying to do 'goth' is even more depressing than my little brother flat ironing his hair and a bit like my granny trying to rap chistmas carols. going to see NIN would remind me why all this bs is worth starting over here in portland! also, i look wicked in vinyl pants! ;-P

I want these tickets, bigger ears and a time machine so that I can play the show over and over while my huge ears recline in the hammock of sound all the while having 9 inches of sequin LED covered nail hammered into my skull.

I saw the first show ever at the Rose Garden, NIN and David Bowie, during which someone puked on my friend Mac. I didn't leave him there though, I drove his pukey smelling self all the way back to Corvallis. I can still smell that puke and would like to have a chance to associate one of my favorite bands with something other than vomit.

When I was in 6th grade I was playing Downward Spiral and my mom heard the song "Ruiner", and asked if the song was about her.

Now any time she screws something up, she says "WELL I'M THE RUINER AREN'T I?"

I want these tickets.

Because I don't know what to get my girlfriend for Xmas and she would love tix to NIN.

I have never lived down giving up a chance to see them for free in 1990, even after I won free tickets, because I decided I could not leave my dishwashing job for a night and leave the snooty restaurant I worked at in the lurch. Especially after the coke-snorting manager tried to fire me for smoking pot on the job, blaming me for someone else leaving the pot smell in the bathroom. Now that I think about it, maybe I am too pure for NIN. Help me prove otherwise.

Because my brother is 20 year old brother has not seen them yet, and that's a damn shame.

Nevermind, I'm too tired to write a decent sentence.

Because my mother was raped by a wild boar when I was 13.

because i would pluck my eyeballs out so trent reznor would have two more holes to fuck me in!

Before i heard NIN i honestly thought music was a waste of time. It was just auditory masturbation to past the time, not something that could make a real difference in your life.

NIN is one of the fews bands (or person i guess) that is able to use music to let you explore those deep and often dark parts of your soul that are almost impossible to get near without a bottle of jack daniels and a shot gun nearby.

I have never had a chance to see NIN live and honestly there are so many aspects of the music that i am not sure are healthy to be experienced in a group setting. I could see it easily degenerating into an orgy of depression, anger, and violent sex. Which is exactly what i am in the mood for :)

---
NIN tag line "Trent Reznor, being horribly depressed and taking heroin so you don't have to since 1990"

Because the guy I lost my virginity to picked me up from my parents house while blasting "closer" in my parents cul de sac.

And I've never seen NIN, perhaps it will be like losing my virginity all over again.

i am the saddest boy in the universe, my life lacks excitement and vigor, i live with grown children, no one understands my pain, i don't have any money, my bike broke, i have terrible eating habits, i wasn't happy when obama won (i don't support republicans or ron paul either, but if trent ran for prez i would vote for him), i need this in my life right now

Oh Oh Oh! Me me MEEEE!! *claps hands and hops from foot to foot*

because I once circled the words "stale incense, old sweat, and lies" in a Clive Barker novel.
because my theremin is hooked up to my distortion pedal.
because I have way too many unnecessary zippers on my pants.
because my television overheated from too many NIN stickers. JK, I don't have a television.
because when you play PHM real quietly, it's somehow easier to sneak out of your bedroom window to go see shows in Ybor City.
because I'm brunette, but dye my hair black, but still, I don't care what anybody thinks about me.
because these tickets are something I can never have.

In 1994, I was 15, and although I didn't know at the time, but when Trent Reznor says to you, "Excuse me" as he waltzes past you, its really just his way of telling you he's got a summer sausage in his pants with your name on it. Well its been almost 15 years since NIN's Self Destruct tour, and that nasty bitch still gets my testiculars a-boiling, and this tour may just be my time to shine. Now I may be quite a bit older, I may have switched to M.A.C from Wet N Wild eyeliner, and my current email addy may not have the words pixie or kitty in it, but if you give me the chance to redeem myself, I promise to think up something better than, "What's the longest you've ever peed" which in 1994, I would sworn would have resulted in my own bunk on the tour bus.

I want the tickets because it's fucking caturday and if the blog software would allow me I would currently be posting some fucking cats.

I need these tickets for the simple reason that I was diagnosed with cancer after being attacked by rabid dogs, and then getting violently fucked in the ass by polar bears. my last few weeks have been kinda shitty and i wanna revert back to my childhood goth face, i never got the opportunity to see NIN and it would be pretty fucking cool

I need these tickets for the simple reason that I was diagnosed with testicular cancer after being attacked by rabid dogs, and then getting violently fucked in the ass by polar bears. my last few weeks have been kinda shitty and i wanna revert back to my childhood goth face, i never got the opportunity to see NIN and it would be pretty fucking cool

I deserve them because Reznor and I became blood brothers over a spoonful of "sugar" during hurricane Katrina in New Orleans--and it didn't kill me. Becoming blood brothers, not the hurricane. Also, I hurt myself today.

Because the fucking Bug is opening, and the fucking Bug is some fresh shit, and anyone who really doesn't want to get there early enough to see the Bug doesn't really deserve to get these tickets. And anyone who won't be entertained by the Bug would surely be entertained watching me dance to it.

The reason I need these tickets is, quite simply, that the universe has prevented me from getting GA NIN tickets every time they have come to Portland. I won’t bore you with the stories of how – I’ll get right into why MY life will be the most changed by these tickets.

I love NIN. Specifically, I love Trent Reznor. I was introduced in my teenage years – think Fragile era. When I first listened to the Fragile all the way through, it was like there WAS a god. He’s five foot three and moody. I remember having serious angst that I was so young, and had missed the “glory days” of NIN – Pretty Hate Machine, the Downward Spiral, Broken and so-on. I took my McDonald’s paychecks and went about righting the wrong of me being born too late. I bought every CD I could find, every bootleg, every poster, every t-shirt, every book, every tribute album (...that last one, I admit, TINY waste of money.) Every day for four years I wore a metal necklace with the Broken "backwards n" on it, and I would judge people for not recognizing it. I had several boyfriends for the SOLE reason that they correctly identified my necklace the first time they saw it. I can sing the lyrics to every NIN song ever released, and many that weren’t. Not that you’d want to hear me do so... I just figured it was the sort of thing that I should include to "prove" my worth.

When three small-venue tour dates were released a couple years back, I bought tickets to two of them. I spent a total of forty hours in the car to see NIN in Reno and Fresno. (Why Fresno, Trent? Why?)

Which brings me to current day. Through every fault of my own, I missed the pre-sale for the GA tickets. Just as I missed the GA tickets for the two prior Portland shows. While I will never forgive myself for this, YOU have the power to correct my most egregious error. This is my last chance to see NIN in Portland – next summer brings me to The Netherlands from here on out. I NEED to be at this show. And not in a seat. Seeing NIN in a seat is like the musical equivalent of seeing an apple pie, smelling an apple pie, but getting to EAT no pie. It just isn’t tolerable. I need pie.

NIN needs to be seen in the middle of a pulsating, pushing, studded, smelly crowd. I promise not to throw any elbows, unless somebody steps on my foot.

I don’t have a fake story about assraping or sharing drugs with Trent (even though everybody knows he’s TOTALLY CLEAN NOW), but I will cry like a little baby if I win. And that’s got to be worth something.

I only purchased Chinese Democracy because Robin Fink allegedly played guitar. And I miss seeing Trent run across the stage and tackle him. It's adorable, like throwing a midget at a giant bowling ball. I like it when he bounces right off of him and Robin gets that look on his face like, "Who threw something at me? Fuckers." And Trent falls face-first on the ground and picks up the mike and snarls like he's tough. He's probably too old to run and tackle men a foot taller than himself anymore, but if he does I'll scream like a drunk girl on the rebound.

Pick me because I still think Trent rocks hard--even though he's 4'2" and now qualifies for the senior citizen discount at Denny's. If you think you're angsty, you should see Trent when he doesn't have his Moons Over My Hammy. And you should see me when I inevitably lose this contest to some douche bag who makes a lame comment about being ass-raped by polar bears.

You should pick me, rather you should pick me and my son. He's 14, he used to listen to NIN all the time, but now for some reason, all he listens to is AC/DC, Joan Jett, KISS, Crue and stuff like that. This would be his first concert and seeing NIN live might help steer him back to music that is relevant, interesting and new.

Remember this sage advice...

"I believe the children are our are future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be
Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me"

My first Nine Inch Nails album was, like it was for many others, The Downward Spiral. TDS came out when I was 14 and it was quickly my favorite. Over my high school years I put as much money as was possible into acquiring everything NIN related I could. I bought all the albums, all the imports, all the tshirts, all the posters, all the stickers that I could find.

I didn't get the opportunity to see NIN until 2000 when they were on tour promoting The Fragile. At the time I lived in Birmingham, AL and they were playing in Atlanta, GA. At the time I didn't have a car, so I was relying on friends for a ride to the show. Long story short, the friends decided to go on a cross-country trip instead and I was left holding two promises, in the form of tickets, that I was unable to cash in.

Because of moves and tour dates I was unable to see NIN in concert again until 2005 here, at the Rose Quarter. I was unemployed, as I had just moved here, but luckily I had a wonderful girlfriend who realized how important it was for me to go. She bought us tickets and we had a wonderful time. In the words of a friend, who also attended the show, that was what chuch SHOULD feel like.
The feeling that came over me was some completely indescribable form of adulation. That show was easily one of the best few hours I've ever shared with thousands of strangers.

So here it is, three years later and I once again find myself unemployed (cut-backs at my former employer). I'm not going to cry about it, but I'm unable to afford anything but the essentials. You asked why we should get the tickets and I'll tell you why I'd love them. Nine Inch Nails has always brought me comfort and in these tough times seeing them live, being drawn up in the energy of the crowd, feeling the beat of the familiar song inside me; would offer some welcome repose.

Thanks for the opportunity.

P.S. I never wrote lyrics on roller hockey skates, but I DID create some really crappy mid-90s fan web pages (complete with midi background music).

Soooooo, who got the tickets?

Well, it was tough. To be honest, I thought we'd get 2-3 comments, tops. Our "all-star panel of former goths and cutters" went with Ritchie, since our heartstrings were pulled by his kid going to his first concert. I hope he didn't make that up.

But Ritchie has yet to email us back, so if he doesn't get back to us by tomorrow, we'll pick another winner.

Thanks again to everyone who entered, I wish we had more tickets to giveaway.

I'm so not making it up! I just got the email and I'm going to let him know in a few minutes.

I might tell him he has to write a review of the concert and send it to you.

Thanks again.