Nine Inch Nails live performances

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Drewcifer3000 (talk | contribs) at 19:15, 26 January 2008 (added an extra section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Nine Inch Nails live performances

Nine Inch Nails live performances contrast with the recorded output of the Nine Inch Nails discography.[1][2] In the studio, most if not all of each Nine Inch Nails release is performed entirely by Trent Reznor. On stage and on tour, Reznor has typically assembled groups of backing musicians to interpret the songs in a live form.

I could have just gone out with tape machines or 50 keyboards or whatever and recreated the sound of the record, but I'm much more interested in the challenge of having 4 musicians interpret what was initially composed by one person on a computer. This way, I'm not bored, there's a lot of interaction and it's a unique interpretation of my music. The record and the shows are quite different.

— Trent Reznor, in a 1991 interview[3]

If you see the show and you're used to the CDs it's pretty clear that the studio entity is different from the live entity.

— Alessandro Cortini, NIN keyboardist since 2005, in a 2006 interview[4]

Band lineups

Aside from Reznor himself (who has contributed vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer, saxophone, tambourine and mbira), the live lineup has been modified before each major tour begins.

The first band was assembled to support Skinny Puppy on several dates, and was composed of what a Goldmine Magazine article described as "session musicians." The band was apparently poorly received, as they were asked to leave the tour after 10 dates.

Years Members Tours & Additional Information
1988
  • Skinny Puppy tour
  • Asked to leave after 10 dates
1989 - 1991
  • Richard Patrick - guitars
  • Chris Vrenna - drums (beginning of tour)
  • Jeff Ward - drums (remainder of tour)
  • David Haymes - keyboards (part of tour)[6]
  • Nick Rushe - keyboards (part of tour)[7]
  • Lee Mars - keyboards (part of tour)[8]
  • James Wooley - keyboards (remainder of tour)
  • Pretty Hate Machine
  • Pretty Hate Machine promo tour
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain support tour
  • Peter Murphy support tour
  • Hate '90
  • Lollapalooza '91
  • European 1991 mini-tour
1994 - 1995
1999 - 2000
  • Robin Finck - guitars, synthesizers
  • Danny Lohner - bass, guitars, synthesizers
  • Jerome Dillon - drums
  • Charlie Clouser - synthesizers, theremin
2005 - 2007

Dillon's departure

Midway through the band's first Live: With_Teeth arena show in San Diego, California in 2005, Jerome Dillon was forced to stop midway through the show and was subsequently hospitalized.[11] Dillon's condition was later diagnosed as a non-life threatening cardiac disorder, a consequence of his thyroid medication.[12] Dillon later remarked that when he was ready to return, he encountered "complete apathy and no sympathy" from Reznor and NIN management.[12] Reznor in turn wrote that Dillon's "recollection of the events leading to his departure from the band is once again inaccurate".[12]

Josh Freese initially filled in for two shows before Alex Carapetis joined the band for remainder of the arena tour.[13] After Carapetis' last show in Argentina, Freese joined on a more permanent basis.

Post-Year Zero

The September 14, 2007, edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the September 18 show in Honolulu, Hawaii, would be the last performance of the current incarnation of the Nine Inch Nails live band. Trent Reznor was quoted as stating, "at this point, I want to switch things around a bit. Nine Inch Nails as a rock band configuration, we've done it and we've done it again. I see other ways I can present the material in concert, more challenging, something new. I don't want it to go stale."[14]

Visual elements

Since 1999, the visual design of Nine Inch Nails live shows have been created by Rob Sheridan. NIN shows typically feature a large amount of lights, projected images, and other visual elements.

Guest artists and collaborations

Through the years, Reznor has invited many prominent musicians on stage with his band to perform material outside the usual range of Nine Inch Nails songs:

1995 Dissonance tour with David Bowie

The Dissonance tour with co-headliner David Bowie presented a peculiar challenge for both artists: although Nine Inch Nails were at that point more commercially popular than Bowie, Reznor felt uncomfortable having his idol open the show for him. As a compromise, NIN went on first, concluding with a re-worked instrumental version of "Eraser", and then played several songs with Bowie's band: "Subterraneans", "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)", "Reptile", "Hallo Spaceboy", and "Hurt". Over top the synthesizers in the instrumental "Subterraneans", Reznor performed a saxophone solo whilst Bowie intoned the first verse of "Scary Monsters". They sang duet throughout the mini-set, with Reznor leaving the stage at the end for Bowie's band to perform their own set.[16][17]

1996 Nights of Nothing showcase

Nine Inch Nails headlined three one-off shows in 1996 as part of the Nights of Nothing showcase to promote Reznor's Nothing Records. The Self Destruct lineup sans Robin Finck was joined by Kevin McMahon (who played guitar on all of the NIN songs, as well as sang Prick songs "Animal" and "Tough") and Clint Mansell (who sang Pop Will Eat Itself songs "R.S.V.P." and "Wise Up! Sucker"). Richard Patrick briefly returned to the band on this one-off show, performing guitar and vocals on the song "Head Like a Hole" at the Irving Plaza show in New York.[18]

2006 Live: With_Teeth amphitheatre tour and radio performances

During the 2006 amphitheatre tour, NIN and Peter Murphy of Bauhaus performed the Pere Ubu classic "Final Solution", which was also a solo hit for Murphy. For the last show they collaborated to cover Joy Division's "Dead Souls", which NIN has regularly played since 1994.

Also during this tour Reznor, Murphy, and some other musicians performed four unique sets of their favorite songs on radio stations around the country.[19]

  1. June 7: Atlanta, GA; Trent Reznor and Peter Murphy.
    "Head Like a Hole" (originally by Nine Inch Nails); "Sanity Assassin" (by Bauhaus); "Hurt" (by Nine Inch Nails).
  2. June 13: Washington, DC; Trent Reznor, Peter Murphy, TV on the Radio.
    "Dreams" (by TV on the Radio); "Final Solution" (by Pere Ubu); "Bela Lugosi's Dead" (by Bauhaus).
  3. June 23: Boston, MA; Trent Reznor, Peter Murphy, Jeordie White, Atticus Ross.
    "Reptile" (by Nine Inch Nails); "Warm Leatherette" (by The Normal); "Strange Kind Of Love" (by Peter Murphy); "Nightclubbing" (by Iggy Pop).
  4. July 1: Chicago, IL; Peter Murphy with Nine Inch Nails.
    "Dead Souls"; "Twenty-Four Hours"; "Warsaw"; "Atmosphere" (all songs by Joy Division).

References

  1. ^ Jon Zahlaway (2005-05-16). "Live Review: Nine Inch Nails in Boston". LiveDaily. Retrieved 2007-02-10. Those who know Nine Inch Nails only from their studio recordings--industrial-rock affairs heavy on synthesized sounds--might assume that the group's material wouldn't translate well in a live setting. They'd be sorely mistaken, as evidenced by the band's Friday night (5/13) performance at Boston's Orpheum Theatre. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Brent Busby (2007-03-23). "DVD Review: Nine Inch Nails Live". Western Courier. Retrieved 2007-04-08. In theory, Nine Inch Nails shouldn't be a great live band. Reznor's music sometimes consists of non-organic instruments thrown straight onto a computer, at times being twisted to the point of not even sounding like the original source. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Gareth Branwyn (1991-06-19). "Industrial Introspection". Mondo 2000 #5, archived at WELL. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Allan Wigney (2006-03-03). "NIN keyboardist having a blast". Ottawa Sun, archived on Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Closure (DVD). Unofficial release. 2006.
  6. ^ "Getting Down in It". Alternative Press, archived at The NIN Hotline. 1990. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Steve Martin (1990). "Nine Inch Nails". Thrasher magazine, archived at The NIN Hotline. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Stacey Sanner (1990). "Portrait of a Nine Inch Nail". Alternative Press, archived at The NIN Hotline. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "An Interview With Charlie Clouser". Scene magazine, archived at The NIN Hotline. 1996. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ "Nails Singer Loved Omaha". Omaha World-Herald, archived at Painful Convictions. 1994. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Chris Harris (2005-09-30). "Nine Inch Nails Postpone Show Due To Drummer's Heart Trouble". MTV News. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b c Gil Kaufman (2006-05-21). "Ex-NIN Drummer Welcomes You To His Nightmare — Reznor Responds". MTV News. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Chris Harris (2005-10-10). "Nine Inch Nails Recruit Replacement Drummer". MTV News. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Gary C.W. Chun (2007-08-14). "Reznor's edge cuts NIN's bleak outlook". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-08-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Dave Navarro (2006-10-04). "Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole (Lollapalooza 1991)". 6767.com. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Mitch Goldman (1995-10-09). "Live Review: Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie". Enterzone. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Joe D'Angelo (1995-11-03). "David Bowie/Nine Inch Nails". Consumable Online. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ Don Kaye (1996). "Nailed! Trent's Posse Pound New York". Kerrang!, archived at The NIN Hotline. Retrieved 2007-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ "Live Radio Performances". NIN.com. Retrieved 2007-02-10.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nine_Inch_Nails_live_performances&oldid=187078984"