NIN Returns Home

My belief was that Trent Reznor is out-growing Nine Inch Nails. I'm not the typical goth.  In fact, I'm not a goth at all; just a nerd who likes to dig into his past and put on all the angst-driven music that fueled his teen-age years.  Trent's hair is short.  The skinny man wearing the Satanic Army tank-tops and upside-down crosses now suits up in a skin-tight black, red or orange t-shirt, showing off his beefed-up appearance to prove to the world that he has come to terms with his past.  Many people, including myself, viewed this as a sign that the music would get softer, the visceral lyrics would give way to thoughtlessness, and we would have Michael (Trent) Reznor the solo artist.  The solo artist is still around but his band hasn't left.  NIN is as powerful and in-your-face as ever. 

I won't go into reviewing the first two groups Peaches and Bauhaus. It was the first time I had listened to them live or on recording so I'll leave it to the true fans.  I enjoyed both shows. 

Nine Inch Nails started with the lights up and people talking.  You could hear some whispering  which I took as the house music.  After a few seconds it evolved into Trent singing the lyrics to Somewhat Damaged a cappella.  I refused to check the set lists prior to the show so every piece was a surprise to me, lights and music both. At once the lights dropped and the song picked up in its normal state: loud and powerful.  The beginning showcased a song from each full-length album showing a great interpretation of older songs.  Trent's voice sounded better than six years ago and his energy level was higher.  I do miss the old members but everybody fit in their respective places nicely and made the music evolve to a higher level.  Highlights include Somewhat Damaged, Even Deeper, Closer, and Help Me I'm In Hell.  HMIIH had lighting that blew my mind and made a two minute instrumental seem like a 5 minute masterpiece. I was surprised at the ammount of material pulled from The Fragile.  I was under the impression that Trent viewd this album not as a mistake but a mixed-up smorgasborg of sounds and experiments.  The combination of La Mer and Into The Void showed Reznor's compositional skills and the direction he can still go. Not much With Teeth material was played (only three songs and Non-Entity) but this is probably due to the over-playing of it live over the last year of non-stop touring.  The metal bar-lights that rolled and unrolled at different times made some variety in the staging.  The colors blended and transformed always reflecting the mood of the audience and music.

The crowd was full and seemed rather responsive. Even during slow points (for most other people) the crowd was just as into it and were moved by Trent's desperate words.  I was happy to be part of it and can't wait for the next tour in 7 years.  NIN is not dying in the mass of shitty pop music and Trent Reznor is certainly not out-growing it.

technorati tags:review, concert, rock, industrial, live, Nine, Inch, Nails, guitar, microphone, fans, audience, lights, black, red, stage

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