* All photos were taken by me.Which is nothing to sneeze at considering I was also punching and being punching in the pit while taking pictures.
Last year marked the twentieth anniversary of Nine Inch Nails. As I fan since I was a twelve years old, I have constantly cursed the horrible fate I had growing up in the 1990s. I wish I could have been in my twenties in, say, 1993 and then experienced Trent Reznor (the man who is NIN) in all his skinny black leathered fishnet glory. However, since the commercial peak of NIN has past I get to enjoy Trent minus the cocaine and depression. Meaning that now he throws himself entirely into music in order to stay healthy. Last year, I attended three of the Lights in the Sky shows. First, at Lollapalooza in Chicago, The Forum at Englewood, and finally, I caught the closing show in Las Vegas at the Planet Hollywood.
I have always been drawn to the theatricality that Reznor captures in his music and videos. It should be of no surprise that he actually has a small background in musical theatre. Lights in the Sky was one of the most thrilling beautifully designed shows I have ever seen. Reznor and his art director Rob Sheridan (I highly recommend checking out his work and blog) work extensively with the technical designers Moment Factory of the mind-blowing Cirque De Soleil to give the each song an entire story arch. MF and NIN worked perfectly together as MF's tagline is 'Music for your Eyes' and NIN clearly took them up on this.
The set list looked something like this with occasional bonuses. ------------999,999 1,000,000 Letting You Discipline March of the Pigs Head Down The Frail Closer (The Only Time) Gave Up The Warning Vessel 5 Ghosts I 17 Ghosts II* 19 Ghosts III* Ghosts Piggy The Greater Good Pinion Wish Terrible Lie Survivalism The Big Comedown 31 Ghosts IV Only The Hand That Feeds Head Like A Hole Echoplex Reptile God Given Hurt In This Twilight ---------------The concert began with the new tracks that were just released from The Slip and then slowly shifted into some crowd favorites from The Downward Spiral. (Which I might add, is ranked as one of the greatest heavy albums of all time) Then the set list comes jumps back and forth from Year Zero, Ghosts, Broken, With Teeth and back to the aforementioned albums above.
What made the concert so powerful was the way all the songs were deconstructed to their core meanings for the stage. As mentioned in the first video clip, Reznor wanted the stage to be an instrument that he could play. The set included three giant LCD screens unlike anything I have ever seen before. The screens were able move, contort, and create new images based on the song. Take for example the series of songs from the album Year Zero. Year Zero is a concept that criticizes contemporary policies of the United States Government (the Bush years) by presenting a dystopian vision of the year 2022. The screens adapted to portray the world of Year Zero. This can be seen in the first video clip titled 'The Good Solider'. The same screen would move down stage in front of the band for songs like ‘Only’. (Discussed a bit in the clip from Moment factory).
Technically the show was extremely impressive. However, as someone who attends a lot of concerts, I can safely say that no matter how intense the bells and whistles are, that nothing can make up for a remarkable performance. Reznor and Co. did not disappoint. For the three shows I attended all four brought everything they had to the table. Reznor’s music ranges from fist pumping screaming industrial to soft gothic piano melodies to distorted and catchy beats, and the Lights in the Sky tour gave the music the epic landscapes it deserves.
