In the time of Doc Martens, dyed black hair, and silver chains enough to choke a den of werewolves bands like KMFDM and Skinny Puppy reigned supreme over suburban malls across America. And while the popularity of the industrial goth aesthetic has waxed and waned over the years, one band that has consistently found a foothold in the angst of each subsequent generation since then has been Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails, led by frontman and songwriter Trent Reznor, has been going strong for nearly 40 years. On the heels of the band’s new material as part of the film Tron: Ares, the band announced a massive world tour, The Peel It Back Tour, through the summer with a stop at Baltimore’s CFB Bank Arena. The famed industrial act last graced the streets of Charm City way back in 2008 as part of the Virgin Mobile Fest (though Reznor and company did play The Anthem in DC in 2018). But Nine In Nails more than made up for the lost time on Tuesday night.
Walking up to the former Baltimore Civic Center, where so many legendary artists made their mark over the last six decades, I was pulled back in time to those days chains and leather was more lifestyle than fetish. And it wasn’t just older concert goers with more than a few gray streaks beneath the jet black facade that filled the ranks. Waves of younger fans dressed up for the occasion stood in the long lines getting into the arena and the longer lines to one of several merch booths inside.
Looking over the arena floor on August 26, I saw the fans fill and circle two stages — a larger, more traditional stage and a second rectangle directly in the middle of the venue floor. But as the lights dimmed there was a third stage near the back of the arena where opener Boys Noize kicked off a DJ set amidst columns of smoke within fiery red stage lights.
As the floor filled up, surrounding the second stage lights above the smaller stage came up to reveal Reznor at a keyboard as he began playing, “Right Where It Belongs” from the 2005 record With Teeth. With just voice and the soft chime of the piano in the blank spaces you couldn’t help but focus on the words. “See the animal in his cage you built / Are you sure what side you’re on?”
Stream “Right Where It Belongs” by Nine Inch Nails on YouTube:
While still playing the piano, now on to “Ruiner,” an older song from The Downward Spiral, Reznor was joined by collaborator Atticus Ross and bassist Alessandro Cortini. And as Reznor stalked the stage for “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)” with guitarist Robin Finck joining the trio before ending the first set on the second stage.
As Josh Freese pounded away on the drums to the tail end of the song, the other members of the band made their way from that second stage to the main stage, joining Freese as they went right into “Wish” from the early EP Broken. And from there it was a more driving, straight ahead set of pieces from personal favorites, “March of the Pigs” and “Reptile.” Each section of the performance highlighted the various ways Nine Inch Nails and Reznor in particular have clothed these songs over the years.
Lights flashed and pulsed, images projected on what seemed like sheer material in front of the stage creating a trippy effect as multiples of Reznor appeared seemingly everywhere. Behind the stage images of each band member appeared as a camera zoomed from one to another.
As the main band thrashed through the ending of “Gave Up,” Reznor returned to the to the centrally located second stage to join Ross and opener Boys Noize as the trio faced the center of the square for a more electronically-focused.
Electronic beats punctuated through the smokey flashes kicking off “The Warning” before Reznor and company began the hit single, “Closer” from The Downward Spiral with a herky jerky thrum as everyone in the place sang along. And before leaving that third set with fan favorite “Came Back Haunted” the red-tinged smoke seemed to boil up out of the stage as Reznor then appeared back on the main stage.
Back at that main stage Nine Inch Nails wasted no time launching into “Somewhat Damaged.” The band, back in a more rock band configuration went through some of the band’s more popular songs like “Perfect Drug,” “The Hand That Feeds,” and the one that put the band on the map, so to speak, “Head Like a Hole,” from Pretty Hate Machine as the crowd sang along, leaving Reznor a moment to take it all in.
Watch the official music video for “Head Like a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails on YouTube:
As a brief encore, Trent Reznor returned to the stage as a single light illuminated him hunched over the microphone as he began on “Hurt.” Singing along, the crowd waved cell phone flash lights, filling the arena with a wave of single bright dots. Hearing those lines — “What have I become, my sweetest friend / Everyone goes away in the end…. If I could start again, a million miles away / I would keep myself, I would find a way” — well, I know I wasn’t the only one with a lump in their throat.
Nine Inch Nails continue their tour as they wrap up in September with stops in LA.
The setlist included:
B-Stage:
Right Where It Belongs (Trent Reznor piano solo)
Ruiner (Piano version)
Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
Main Stage:
Wish
March of the Pigs
Reptile
Heresy
Copy of A
Gave Up
B-Stage:
The Warning (with Boys Noize) (Remix)
Closer (with Boys Noize) (Remix)
As Alive as You Need Me to Be (with Boys Noize)
Came Back Haunted (with Boys Noize) (Remix)
Main Stage:
Somewhat Damaged
Less Than
Every Day Is Exactly the Same
The Perfect Drug
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Encore:
Hurt
