Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails played a nearly packed house in Lexington’s Rupp Arena last night. Trent Reznor, being something of a role-model for me as a visionary, one who embraces emerging technologies better than anyone else, and one who makes utterly incredible music, I had been excited for months since I first learned of it and began strongly promoting the show. I’ve said it before, Trent Reznor is a visionary, and I think unequivocally the most important man in music today. This was the show I had been the absolute most excited to see for the summer, because after being a lifelong fan since Pretty Hate Machine, and seeing them in 2006, I knew that this show would be artistic buffet of incredible sound, visuals and energy. Naturally, I was not let down in that regard.

Similar to the 2006 experience, the first song of the set, 99,000 began as the stadium lights were still illuminated, so as to catch people off guard. In 2006, it had been pinion which silently crept into our ears. I recall at that time recognizing it immediately and to begin getting into it. Last night, the crowd didn’t take quite as long to recognize the song being played and the crowd erupted as the stadium lights quickly faded to black and the blue and red stage lights revealed Trent and the rest of the crew.

In 2006, I was in the first row on the floor and the experience was surreal with the energy and angst of the crowd flowing along with the music. With this experience, detached from the energy of the crowd, I was able to give perhaps greater appreciation to the visual elements of the 3 layered LCD screens, and the beautiful imagery they created. Nine Inch Nails knows how to use a stage better than any band I have seen, fitting a wide number of instruments from the normal guitar, drums, mics, to less conventional things such as a dulcimer, marimba, water jugs, chimes, timpani, keys, multiple interactive LCD screens and more. As everyone was able to see, Trent set an electronic drum sequence using a large touch sensitive LCD screen just prior to Echoplex. What most people may ot have realized was that during The Great Destroyer, Robin Finck, Trent Reznor and Alessandro Cortini all appeared to be live mixing the LCD screen from white static to blue and green, incorporating several other visual elements into it, including the Microsoft blue screen of death. Each of these had a monitor in front of them with a touch senstive LCD screen on it which they appeared to be controlling. The visual element to this show blew away what they had done in 2006. It was magical.

Watching this show and realizing that Pretty Hate Machine was released in 1989, you can’t help but feel while Trent has been a rock god for years, that his evolution quickens, and never moreso than in the last two years. Having released the operatic Year Zero, alongside the incredible campaign he initiated to elevate the expereince of new media, to his later ran in Australia where he encouraged the Aussie’s to download his albums for free online, to dropping his record label and adopting what is in my opinion the best current and most sustainable method of distribution with Saul William’s album, as well as his release with Ghosts I-IV, to his thank you in The Slip. It has been a big year for music, and at the forefront, Nine Inch Nails. I mention this because you can see it in the way that the performance ran last night. From everyone I have spoken to, whether they’ve seen NIN once, twice, or twenty time, last night’s show has been the best. Trent’s energy commanded your attention, and the amount of time each of these guys have spent in studios and touring together has left them with incredibly tight and precise coordination, whether it is bringing walls of sound to a suddent and abrupt hault in the blink of an eye or putting together the beautiful pieces that is Ghosts.

I’ve heard a lot of people talk about Ghosts as though it were some major departure for the band, but can’t help but wonder if they don’t recall hints of what was to be Ghosts in tracks like A Warm Place from The Downward Spiral, arguably one of the more beautiful songs of the time. As the series of Ghosts songs began is when the LCD screen really came into the show. Serene piano-heavy music set to what might have been post Year Zero industrial landscape just before leading into the second best visual display of the night, a rain storm which hid the band from us only until a patch cleared up for us to see them, and finally, shattering. The best visual display of the night was no doubt a blue screen on The Greater Good, which showed what looked like a topographical map and the image of portions of Trent’s face and mic as he sang the subtle beauty of the that song. At the conclusion of the song, someone with a flashlight came to the stage to wipe the screen clean using a flashlight. As the person flashed the light at certain areas of the screen, the blue of the screen cleared away to reveal NIN again to us.

During Survivalism, a series of live feeds were set up showing various areas of the arena, namely Camera 1) Trent, 2) Crowd, 3) Bathroom sink, 4) Sound Guy, 5) Stairwell, 6) Crowd, and 7) Toilet. While some of the feeds were definitely live, we all have our doubts about the Camera 3 feed because during the song, it depicted a guy having sex with some girl from behind directly on the sink in focus (picture below). Also, the sound guy seems an odd choice, particularly since he happened to be going NUTS, but nevertheless, the feed was wonderful and played into the theme of the Year Zero very nicely. I would love to catch an all Year Zero show, even while fans are generally coming to hear their favorite Downward Spiral and Pretty Hate Machine songs, I think there would be so much room for a really creative set for Year Zero only.

The show ended with a fury of fan favorites, namely Only, The Hand that Feeds, and Head Like a Hole. By this time, the frustrations I had dealt with before the show were wiped completely from my mind and all I could do was appreciate what was happening as the NIN logo climbed its way down the LCD screen before standing prominently before us. For some it is merely a logo, and for others of us, a symbol of strength, edurance, innovation, and brilliance.

As Echoplex opened the encore, Trent created the aforementioned electronic drum sequence using the touch sensitive LCD. As an electrical engineer and patent attny, I was mesmerized. My personal favorite and has been one of my favorite songs since 1994, was Hurt. As soon as the introductory swirling wind sound began, I started jumped, excited to know what was about to happen…and then it kicked in, Trent’s confessional plea “I hurt myself today”. The crowd went nuts. As the end of one of the greatest concept albums of all time, I cannot find a place for it anywhere than at the very end of the set, particularly when the last suicidal blast happens at the close, and the power struggle is lost. While I enjoyed In This Twilight, I felt its placement was poor. The sentiment of Hurt is so powerful, and although out of context from the rest of the album, it loses some of the cumulative meaning of the concept of Downward Spiral, anyone with familiarity with the album is surely aware enough to pull it together themselves.

All in all, the show was incredible both visually and musically. I missed a large part of the energy being a wallflower stuck in the stands, but the music more than made up for it.

Setlist:
99,000
1,000,000
Letting You Get Away
Discipline
March of the Pigs
Head Down
The Frail
Reptile
Closer
Gave Up
The Warning
The Great Destroyer
Ghosts 21
Ghosts 14
Ghosts 19
Ghosts Piggy
The Greater Good
Pinion
Wish
Terrible Lie
Survivalism
Ghosts 31
Only
The Hand that Feeds
Head Like a Hole

Encore
Echoplex
The Beginning of the End
God Given
Hurt
In This Twilight

By Cory from BackseatSandbar.com
Photos by James Crisp

Meet White Williams

Electronics meet art pop with White Williams, the opener for the upcoming Nine Inch Nails show. White Williams doesn’t only have a unique and interesting sound, but they are only opening for Nine Inch Nails for a single show in Lexington, KY. Want to know more? Hit the jump to read a biography about them and and interview. Read more

Taste of What’s To Come

While on vacation, I was able to catch the Nine Inch Nails show this past Saturday at another venue. Bad news: I won’t be able to make the Lexington one, Good news: I can tell you how extremely awesome it is going to be. Read more

Photos From the NIN Tour

Nine Inch Nails has been on the ball with still keeping their site and fans up to date despite them being in the middle of their tour. They have been posting mobile photos every day from various places they visit along the tour. In addition to that they have actively been updating their Flickr page with photos from their performances at various venues.

If you are still on the fence about going to the show then this would be a great way for you to get a better grasp of the visual elements and the feel for the performance. If you already have your tickets then this will only make you salivate more than you already are.

Lights In The Sky: Over North America Tour 2008 Photos

Nine Inch Nails Rehearsal Videos

Videos of their rehearsal for their upcoming tour were recently released on the Nine Inch Nails website. It will give you an idea of who you can expect to see alongside Trent Reznor on the stage this summer. Each video is a rehearsal of a song off their new album The Slip (available FREE online) which was just released. Below are images that link to each video, click them to play the video of that song.

It is safe to say there will be plenty of songs off their new album in the setlist for the show. I am sure this isn’t the last thing they will do before the show so stay tuned to this blog and we will be sure to keep you in-the-know about any videos/songs/graphics that they offer up on their site.

Videos Hosted and Available at NIN.com :: Originally Released at Pitchfork.tv

Nine Inch Novelties

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has made lots of news lately for his innovative ways to release music and interactivity with the Nine Inch Nails fan base. In line with their recent generosity (releasing a full album for free online), Nine Inch Nails has released some media (desktop wallpapers, buddy icons, posters, etc.) for their upcoming Lights In The Sky Over North America 2008 tour that will be at Rupp Arena on August 31st. I thought people may be interested in downloading the PDF of the tour poster. You can either download the whole extras pack, or click on the image below to download just the poster.

What is even more exciting is that the free downloads don’t stop there. Nine Inch Nails released a tour EP that you can download for free on their site. It features a Nine Inch Nails song off their newest album as well as a song by the bands that are opening for them around the country at various venues. It is a great way to listen to the opening talent and get a feel for their sound before seeing them on stage. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a band only to fully appreciate them a month after I saw them. With this, if you like their music, then you could listen to them more and have an understanding of them already when you see them in concert. Click on the below image of the EP album art and it will direct you to the Nine Inch Nails site where you can download it for free.

If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet because you are in question about the show, let me give you some insight. Nine Inch Nails is just as visually appealing and innovative as they are socially innovative online. Their show in 2006 was absolutely stunning and had some of the coolest stage lighting and effects that I have ever seen. I hope everyone is able to go and experience it for themselves.

Nine Inch Nails Is Coming Back to Rupp!

That’s right, you read the title right, Nine Inch Nails will be coming back to Rupp Arena during Labor Day weekend of this year. There are not many details beyond the date available at this time, but you can keep stopping by the official page for the event on the Rupp Arena site. As with all Nine Inch Nails tours, Trent is the only member who stays consistent, so although there may be some of the same band members, there will also likely be some new people joining the group for this go-around. It is also safe to assume that there may be some material from the recently released Ghosts I-IV album.

Stay tuned to this blog and our website and we will be sure to update you with ticket information and more details as they become available.