Things got off to a rocky start for me on the way to Nine Inch Nails‘ Peel It Back tour at PHX Arena on Tues. Sept. 16.
Long and short of it, the light rail (my method of transportation for most downtown Phoenix assignments) was delayed for about 25-minutes.
In addition to the concert, there was a Diamondbacks home (baseball) game happening simultaneously — literally next door to the arena.
With five minutes to spare, I made it to the show at 7:25. It was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. It didn’t.
For thirty minutes, all I heard was repetitive keyboard programming over the PA. Eventually, at 8:00, electronic-heavy DJ Boys Noize finally began. He wasn’t bad, however, there’s no reason to have a DJ play an hour-long set at an arena show. Frankly, an intermission with great songs would’ve sufficed just fine. But I digress.
Apparently, BN even did an early Nine Inch Nails cult classic, Down In It, as the second (of 14!) songs. Truth be told, I didn’t even recognize it! That’s another way of saying BN put his spin on it — for better or worse.
It should be said that the (roughly) 14 or 15,000 in attendance didn’t seem to mind Boyz Noize all that much. In some ways, his music kind of reminded me of being in downtown Scottsdale clubs in the 90s and early ’00s on a Saturday night. Like I said, for better or worse.
There was one unique thing about BN’s show. It’s not very often that the opening act literally segues into the headliner’s set. In fact, it doesn’t happen at all.
At 9:00 p.m. sharp, BN concluded his set and just seconds later, the remaining house lights went out. Then a curtain opened to reveal a small “B-stage”, with NIN frontman Trent Reznor solo on piano for opening song Right Where It Belongs (from 2005’s With Teeth).
For the next two songs, Ruiner and Piggy, Reznor’s longtime collaborator and keyboardist Atticus Ross, as well as bassist Alessandro Cortini took to the B-stage.
There’s no doubt that NIN use keyboard programming and technology to the nth degree. Yet, it still sounds aggressive and the simple-yet-effective visuals complimented the music perfectly.
Regarding the latter, the rear-screen projection images even looked a little different from other shows. On the main stage, there was a lot of black-and-white images of the band through a curtain surrounding the entire stage.
Drummer Josh Freese kicked the song Wish (from the 1992 EP Broken) into high-gear along with lead guitarist Robin Finck. To my ears, it was like a heavy-synth take on something that Motorhead would’ve written in the 80s. It was also an ideal song to “open” the main stage with.
I suppose what made this show’s staging unique was the fact that they utilized both stages more than most bands do with a similar setup. The show was also being filmed, which is possibly why they didn’t permit access to photographers.
Songs like March Of The Pigs, Reptile and Copy Of A went down a storm with the largely Gen X audience. In some instances, their Gen Z kids were right there with them.
Opener Boys Noize returned to play a couple of slightly reworked versions of Vessel and Closer on the B-stage, the latter easily being one of the top 100 singles of the 90s. It also brought the roof down, more than any other song NIN played Tuesday night. No surprise there.
There was only one new song in the set, As Alive As You Need Me To Be, from the upcoming movie soundtrack TRON: Ares.
Of course, I should add that a pretty cool cover of David Bowie’s I’m Afraid Of Americans really gave the set a timely feel, for lack of a better word. It contained all the angst and despair that NIN are known for.
There isn’t a better song to end the main set with than Head Like A Hole. When it was released in 1989, you could see the video played on MTV during Headbangers Ball and 120 Minutes, respectively.
Closing out the night with Hurt (yes, the song that the late Johnny Cash remade in 2002 I believe) worked like a charm. The band was in exceptional form throughout.
To that point, I can understand a fan saying that NIN just might be at the top of their game after 35 years. If nothing else, at least they played a 20-song set (in spite of it being a paltry 95-minutes) because most veteran bands today with sizable catalogs seemingly struggle (or refuse, take your pick) to even play 20 songs — minimum.
In short order, that’s just plain embarrassing. Not to mention shameful. Yet again, I digress.
The final verdict? Four out of five stars — they can still deliver live without question.
Nine Inch Nails set list:
B-Stage
Right Where It Belongs
Ruiner
Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
Main Stage
Wish
March of The Pigs
Reptile
Heresy
Copy Of A
Gave Up
B-Stage (with opener Boys Noize)
Vessel
Closer
As Alive As You Need Me To Be
Came Back Haunted
Main Stage
Mr. Self Destruct
Less Than
The Perfect Drug
I’m Afraid Of Americans (David Bowie cover)
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Encore:
Hurt
