"Though I didn't collect submissions for this date since it technically is not a part of the PIB tour, I will tell my personal story since I was there. This show was a secret pop-up for fans in the area promoting the new 'TRON: Ares' movie who got to attend for free. The short performance occurred after the world premiere of the movie.

I've been a fan of NIN since I was a teenager. I accidentally discovered them on my shitty iPod Touch in middle school, during English class, when I would sneakily listen to music. I did what any broke kid in the 2010's who couldn't get streaming services did: download YouTube proxies (PlayTube and the like) to listen to music offline. I was listening to some other metalcore band in class, which was my taste at the time. I usually had all my playlists on repeat, but for some reason that day, I had forgotten to toggle the repeat option on, and the proxy recommended an unfamiliar song. I looked at my phone and immediately realized my playlist was not looping, but the beat was hypnotizing, the lyrics enticing, the chorus addicting, and the entire song magical. I had never heard anything like this song before. I had no idea music could even sound like that.

A black-and-white lyric video for 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails had started to play, and I found that I didn't fast-forward the song, change it, or turn it off. This sent me on a spiral of finally discovering the beauty that is industrial music.

I had what I like to call a 'canon experience' that most new NIN fans have: we hear a song we like, we go on a binge of their hits and discographies, and we become obsessed. Then we discover tour documentation, such as Closure. Then we find out how much other people love NIN, and how wonderful the archival and fansite communities are in the NIN World. Though I don't ever wish to go back here, I remember what it felt like to be the only goth, semi-openly queer person in high school in a conservative town: all the dumb, excessive bullshit you would expect from close-minded individuals that I won't list here. But out of all the dark experiences, listening to Hesitation Marks and The Fragile, binge-watching NIN interviews, and reading about things like fan stories on Reddit and the Internet Archive, almost override those experiences; reading other people's words and experiences, and the NIN Wiki, were like being transported into a different pocket of time. I knew that one day, I would be able to go to concerts, participate in music history, and chase that high that so many fans talked about.

This show was that high for me.

Though the PIB tour wasn't my first time seeing NIN, this show was what felt the most full-circle to me throughout the entire tour. Growing up as a teen, reading about secret shows, meet-and-greets the band did, tour documentation, recordings, and the Year Zero era that was so heavily fan-involved, and finally getting to experience a surprise performance was a feeling like no other. I felt like baby Star looked up at me and smiled, really smiled, that day. They would go crazy if I told them that in the future, we get to attend the world premiere of a movie whose score was composed by one of our favorite artists, and on top of that, we get to see an intimate performance.

Hearing the live debuts of 'Shadow Over Me' and 'Forked Reality' was incredible. I have a music binder where I keep live show memorabilia. Every lanyard, slip of paper, including any parking passes and reminders of that day, rests there. This date is no different. I was even lucky enough to win a free t-shirt that day!

As a bonus, I got to attend a Q&A the very next day with Jeff Bridges, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross at a movie theater. I never thought I'd get to be in the same room as visionaries I admire outside of a live show. I'll never forget it, and neither will baby Star. :)"