Nine Inch Nails at Lollapalooza 2013
August 10, 2013 6:20 AM   Subscribe

Nine Inch Nails' mindblowing festival tour set from Lollapalooza 2013 [~1h45m], designed by Moment Factory (who created the brain blender that was the Lights In The Sky Tour). The stadium tour NIN is doing this fall will be an entirely different production, so no spoilers here.
posted by hippybear (38 comments total) 45 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh god I love you right now, thank you so much.

I'm seeing the fall tour in Toronto in like 2 months, saw the LitS back in Kelowna. It's gonna be a great set as always.
posted by Lemurrhea at 6:46 AM on August 10, 2013


Stop Making Sense!

Can't wait to watch the rest!
posted by The Deej at 7:02 AM on August 10, 2013


My god, look at those... arms.

Seriously though, dude knows how to put on a show. Thanks for this.
posted by gwint at 7:08 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Jesus fuck this is good shit. Fold up your laptops punk kiddies, THIS is how you make electronic dance music.

Bedankt.
posted by humboldt32 at 7:10 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Feeling very, very tingly about this -- they are really my favorite band ever. I've been going to see them for close to 20 years now, in anywhere from mid-size clubs to arenas to massive outdoor festivals, and they have never once been anything less than breathtaking. Just peerless.

I can't put my finger on why or how it feels like they're playing just for me even when I'm watching them play to a crowd of 30,000 people. So many lifelong anthems in this set; I love that they've never abandoned or disowned their older material. The synth line in "Terrible Lie" still makes me get all verklempt.

Thanks so much for the link, I never would have seen this otherwise!
posted by divined by radio at 7:30 AM on August 10, 2013


So does anyone know what the heck happened with Belew or what?
posted by mintcake! at 7:49 AM on August 10, 2013


The Guardian has the most complete information about Belew's departure. There really hasn't been a lot said about it, overall.
posted by hippybear at 7:57 AM on August 10, 2013


I'm big fan of Trent's musical grimacing; he may be the finest grimacer of our generation.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:12 AM on August 10, 2013 [3 favorites]


I'm only 5 minutes in, but I've got chills and stuff. It would basically take a court order to get me to something like Lollapalooza anymore, so thank you hippybear for this.

I don't think it's much of a secret that working for Trent, particularly in the context of a tour, is not the easiest job in the music business, and probably far from the most fulfilling. When the lights go on, the band isn't there for their creative input. It always seemed like a weird use of Belew to me; something that maybe seemed like a great idea to both of them, right up until rehearsals started.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:13 AM on August 10, 2013


It always seemed like a weird use of Belew to me; something that maybe seemed like a great idea to both of them, right up until rehearsals started.

I'd guess as much, Belew being an inspiring and otherwise unlikely partner. Young TR was in a bar band with my guitar teacher, when I was a teenager. The conjecture even then was that he would be oriented toward much bigger things.
posted by methinks at 8:30 AM on August 10, 2013


It's amazing "Head Like a Hole" has been paying the bills for 20 years.
posted by four panels at 8:31 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


The light show has a simple but brilliant execution.
posted by triceryclops at 8:41 AM on August 10, 2013


It's amazing "Head Like a Hole" has been paying the bills for 20 years.

Well, that, and Closer, and Hurt, and We're In This Together, and The Hand That Feeds, and Only, and and and...

HLAH was a great springboard, but so much else has happened in the decades since it was released.
posted by hippybear at 8:42 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


It looks like half the folks in the audience have their phones out. I hope the quality of their recordings makes up for the fact that they're basically missing the show.
posted by vanar sena at 9:14 AM on August 10, 2013 [8 favorites]


I'm with the deej here. Lets see Trent do the final number in a big white suit!
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:21 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Who is that beefcake on the stage. Oh wait he's singing, it's Trent Reznor.
posted by saber_taylor at 9:45 AM on August 10, 2013


Great, great show, thank you! Also, I think that Trent Reznor and Mark Cuban are secretly the same person. FWIW I like both of them, but for completely different reasons.
posted by NoRelation at 9:54 AM on August 10, 2013


You know the guy in that band? Trent Reznor. He has a degree in computer science.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:08 AM on August 10, 2013


Frankly, I was hoping for Volvos of Despair in the lighting rig like U2 did with the Trebant.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:26 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Glad to see the black t-shirt/cargo shorts/black boots aesthetic never goes away. Could use more floppy/shaved haircuts though.
posted by nev at 11:30 AM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


I will be seeing NIN in Montreal in October. I won tickets super randomly and I'm so excited :)
posted by Strass at 11:36 AM on August 10, 2013


Am I seeing things or is there a sign language translator in front of the stage off to the side? Rad.
posted by Drumhellz at 12:12 PM on August 10, 2013


It looks like half the folks in the audience have their phones out. I hope the quality of their recordings makes up for the fact that they're basically missing the show.

Some of us were using our phones so that our best friends--who introduced us to NIN a billion years ago, but were still in the hospital after giving birth--could watch the show on facetime :)
posted by like_a_friend at 2:45 PM on August 10, 2013 [7 favorites]


Am I seeing things or is there a sign language translator in front of the stage off to the side? Rad.

I believe the Americans With Disabilities Act requires that venues supply ASL interpreters if requested. I've seen them at a lot of concerts across the past while. Sometimes they are the most interesting thing to watch during a show.

ASL concert interpretation seems like it would be a dream job to me -- you'd get to dance and gesture to songs, which I already do. Only you'd get paid to do it, and your gestures would have meaning to others. Right now, I do it for free, and it mostly looks like flailing about.
posted by hippybear at 4:11 PM on August 10, 2013


It looks like half the folks in the audience have their phones out. I hope the quality of their recordings makes up for the fact that they're basically missing the show.

Given past history, I can accept it.
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:29 PM on August 10, 2013


Given past history, I can accept it.

Imagine if Trent opened up the entire arena tour to amateur filming, and then released 5.1 audio for every show so a "perfect show" could be assembled from across the entire tour? *swoon*
posted by hippybear at 4:35 PM on August 10, 2013


Impressive show, though when I heard Trent was dong a Stop Making Sense-inspired stage show, I expected a slower build.

I think, however, I'm the one guy who loves Pretty Hate Machine and could kind of not give a crap about the stuff after The Downward Spiral. (Though I did pre-order Hesitation Marks on the strength of "Came Back Haunted" which was pretty awesome.)
posted by SansPoint at 5:12 PM on August 10, 2013


I was only dimly aware that Trent had restarted the band, so this makes me happy.

(The Downward Spiral is, for my money, the worst NIN album, but I like pretty much most of everything else, but this live concert - which is about as close as I'll ever get to seeing them live - makes me happy).
posted by Mezentian at 10:32 PM on August 10, 2013


this live concert - which is about as close as I'll ever get to seeing them live - makes me happy

If I had a million dollars, I'd fly you to the US to see them live in real life. I really would. I think you need to see them in person just once.
posted by hippybear at 11:19 PM on August 10, 2013


Ad hominem: You know the guy in that band? Trent Reznor. He has a degree in computer science.

He studied computer engineering for a year, but dropped out. (Wikipedia, Pennsylvania Center for the Book)
posted by knile at 3:55 AM on August 12, 2013


Thanks!
posted by panaceanot at 1:54 AM on August 17, 2013


If you want this show to go/ off-line, here's a bunch of recordings of the show, from various forms of the pro video and audio, plus two audience recordings.

And a bonus set: June xx, 2013, Los Angeles, CA, Rehearsals (soundboard)

All this and more from Reflecting the Chrome, a "NIN drive" archive of live show recordings, maintained by dedicated fans.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:06 PM on August 26, 2013


There's a "making of" video about these festival dates which might be of some interest, for those who are still following this thread.
posted by hippybear at 10:01 PM on August 30, 2013


Also available is a 40 minute interview with Trent.

And if you ordered the album through nin.com, you have available an alternate "Audiophile Master" of the album, which has greater dynamic range, a stronger low-end, and basically seems to be Trent launching a "here, have a direct comparison" warning shot across the bow of the Loudness War.
posted by hippybear at 9:03 PM on September 3, 2013


Begun, the Loudness Wars have....
posted by Mezentian at 3:16 AM on September 4, 2013


Always two there are, a master and a remix...
posted by entropicamericana at 7:35 AM on September 4, 2013


And, in what may be a sign of impending apocalypse, NPR interviews Trent Reznor about the new album, his songwriting approaches, and that now infamous (now scrubbed from the internet) music video for Everything.
posted by hippybear at 5:14 PM on September 4, 2013


Huffington Post op-ed: Nine Inch Nails Liberated My Voice
posted by hippybear at 5:14 PM on September 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


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