Last Wednesday, hordes of concertgoers braved extremely icy conditions to make the journey to TD Coliseum in Hamilton for industrial legends Nine Inch Nails. This marked their second date in the GTA as part of their Peel It Back Tour, and I was stoked to be invited by Live Nation to check out the concert, having missed the Toronto date in the summer.
The night began with a DJ set by Boys Noize, warming the cold crowd up as they took their spots in the arena. For those who don’t know, Boys Noize is a German-Iraqi producer, songwriter, and DJ who actually has a collaboration project with NIN called Nine Inch Noize. He was a perfect opener for the night!
Unfortunately for me, this was once again a "no photographer" tour, so this review is accompanied by cell phone footage to document the highly detailed and impressive production involved. The show was basically broken up into four acts, going back and forth between two different stages, which made for an interesting live music experience.
The show started on the B Stage right in the middle of the floor, which was fun, featuring a few slower-paced songs. It really felt like being at a more intimate concert than a huge venue . From there, the band rushed over to the Main Stage for Act 2, amping up the energy and jumping right into hits such as "Wish" (a personal favourite) and "March of the Pigs."
The visuals for this concert were absolutely amazing. For Act 2, they played behind a thin curtain which kept the band visible but also allowed them to have projections playing in front of the band, instead of the usual back screen. It made for a really cool unique effect, with the screen wall also being backlit by bright lights.
After a solid mini-set of songs, it was back to the B Stage for Act 3, featuring Boys Noize. This set was interesting, as all the tracks were Boys Noize remixes, really leaning into the electronic aspect of these industrial bangers. Seeing the band squished on this tiny stage and showing so much energy with very little space to move was impressive, especially with the lights going off all around the venue.
Finally, Act 4 brought even more crazy visuals. Each song during the entire set (and entire concert really) seemed to have its own theme, colour, and effects. There was never a dull moment visually, that’s for sure! For the final part of the concert they dropped the curtain for an unobstructed view of Trent Reznor and company (Robin Finch on guitars, Josh Freese on drums, and Stu Brooks on bass), who all sounded absolutely amazing. I can't stress enough how phenomenal Trent Reznor sounded! 10/10 vocal performance for sure.
Between the innovative stage production and the incredible performance by all the musicians, it was definitely worth the punishing trek to and from Toronto in an ice storm to catch Nine Inch Nails. If you have a chance to catch them on this run of the Peel It Back Tour I highly suggest it!
Act 1: B-Stage (Mid-Floor)
- (You Made It Feel Like) Home (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross cover) (Included a snippet of Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence")
- The Line Begins to Blur (Partially acoustic)
- Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
Act 2: Main Stage
- Wish
- March of the Pigs
- The Frail
- Reptile
- Heresy
- Copy of A
- Gave Up
Act 3: B-Stage (with Boys Noize)
- She’s Gone Away (Remix - with Vessel elements)
- Closer (Remix)
- Parasite (How to Destroy Angels cover) (Remix)
- As Alive as You Need Me to Be
Act 4: Main Stage
- Somewhat Damaged
- Less Than
- The Perfect Drug
- Burn
- The Hand That Feeds
- Head Like a Hole
- Hurt
