There is a huge difference between spectacle and performance – something thrown into sharp relief by a recent slew of bands whose hyper-choreographed, super-processed spectacles offer remarkable showmanship but very little soul. In contrast, the likes of Tool and Nine Inch Nails offer a genuine, adrenaline-charged performance, that is supported (rather than driven) by the exquisite visuals they use.
This has never been more apparent than tonight at the O2 arena when Nine Inch Nails, returning after a three-year absence, put on the performance of a lifetime, blitzing through a setlist that includes a healthy dose of The Downward Spiral, as well as a handful of rarities.
Eschewing the traditional support band format, the show starts tonight with an ambient-industrial set from Boys Noize, the stage name for German-Iraqi DJ / songwriter / producer Alexander Ridha. Performing from a tiny stage that stands, wreathed in smoke, directly behind the sound desk, Alexander provides a soundtrack to the apocalypse, recalling the bizarre remixes-not-remixes that Aphex Twin provided for Further Down The Spiral. With the arena bathed in blood red lighting, we’re transported to some clanking, rusted hulk of a Berlin nightclub, and it perfectly sets the stage for what’s to follow, not least because the performance segues directly segues into Trent’s appearance.
Emerging not with the usual explosion of light and noise, but with a fragile touch, Trent appears on a second ‘B’ stage, sat alone at the grand piano for a heartbreaking solo rendition of Right Where You Belong. One of the most poignant songs from With Teeth, it still has the power to send shivers down the spine and, when he interpolates elements of Somewhat Damaged into the track’s conclusion, you start to feel the lines begin to blur. It’s followed by a semi-solo take on Ruiner, members of the band drifting on to the stage to deliver a gritty, pulsing conclusion, before wrapping up the opening portion of the performance with the rarely-heard Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) from Further Down The Spiral. It’s a mesmerising start and, as Ilan Rubin appears on the massive curtains flanking the main stage, the band leap into the crowd, making their way forward for act two.
With Piggy having established a certain ferocity, the next portion of the set underlines the cathartic power Nine Inch Nails can bring to bear when the mood so takes them. Opening with Wish, Broken’s potent opening gambit (if one ignores the grinding horror of Pinion), the band are on fiery form, with Trent slashing away at his guitar like a man possessed. It may not be as self-destructive as once it was, but the power of the performance is undiminished – it’s just channelled into a more positive form of group catharsis than once it was. It’s followed by a visceral March Of The Pigs, the stage lights flickering with monochrome intensity, before Reptile’s industrial nightmare takes centre stage. Largely sung by awesome guitarist Robin Finck (and missing one verse almost entirely) thanks to the mic issues that periodically effect the show, Trent jokes that it’s a remix but, even absent the vocals, it still hits hard, the punishing bass running through the arena and shaking it right to the very depths of its concrete foundations.
With things largely back on track, the rest of act two flies by, with Add Violence highlight The Lovers making its tour debut, Copy Of A finding Trent surrounded by shadowy clones of himself, and Gave Up decimating the arena. For those looking to see Trent Reznor mellowed by age and Oscar success, this six-track act is enough to serve as a stinging riposte – this machine still burns, and the stunning lighting only serves to emphasise the band’s raw power.
Returning to the B stage for act 3, we are treated to a very different side of Nine Inch Nails. Reminiscent of the break out stage used during the 2007 Year Zero dates, it finds Trent, Atticus, and Alessandro joined by Alexander Ridha for a devastating EDM set that sits closer to Nine Inch Nails’ various remix EPs than their album originals. The act opens with The Warning – an apocalyptic highlight from Year Zero, followed by a radically revised Only and a punishing Come Back Haunted. It’s yet another example of Nine Inch Nails prioritising performance over spectacle for, while it surely looks amazing as the lighting swoops down towards the fragile performers caught out in the open and surrounded, it’s the desperate edge they give to this reworked handful of tracks, one of which hasn’t been played in nearly a decade.
The final portion of the set finds the band back on the main stage and on fire. Racing through Mr Self Destruct and Heresy, the band simply tear down the mesmerising atmosphere built up during the EDM act. Another track from Add Violence pops up in the form of Less Than, which sounds utterly amazing, making us want to revisit those EPs; while Closer (interpolated, as has long been the tradition, with The Only Time) is almost perfect, with only a mic fail spoiling its conclusion.
A brief pause confuses the crowd, who wonder if this is some kind of weird break for an encore, before Trent rather shamefacedly admits technical issues have forced him to fill the space. For us, it’s a few seconds only but, for Trent, it probably feels like an eternity as he’s forced to introduce his band “who are feeling as foolish as he is”. However, a raucous take on Earthling single I’m Afraid Of Americans gets things back on track, while Ilan drums like a demon on a surprise rendition of standalone single The Perfect Drug. It leaves a brutal Head Like A Hole (which finds a frustrated Trent smashing his guitar at the conclusion) and a stunningly poignant Hurt to this utterly immense show to a close, before the audience are left to stumble out into the London night, still trying to process what they’ve just witnessed.
There is a huge difference between spectacle and performance. Too many bands have allowed the spectacle to dominate their show, quantising the life and soul out of their music in the process. Nine Inch Nails perform for their lives tonight, and while it looks absolutely stunning, it is the music that connects on a visceral level. Let us hope the next generation of performers were in the crowd taking note.
