NIN Peels It Back in Nashville

Nine Inch Nails brought raw emotion and fury to Bridgestone Arena

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In 1992 myself and my buddy Jimmy Shelley petitioned Lake Brantley High School to make ‘Head Like A Hole’ by Nine Inch Nails the official prom song.  I think Jimmy came to me with the idea as our class was deciding on the theme for that “magical” night.  The song had come out our freshman year of 1989, but it resonated more in that 4^th year.  It was clear to my lot of friends that not all of us were onboard with music’s Industrial Revolution, and I think a Billy Joel song ultimately took the crown much to Jim and I’s dismay. To be honest, I’m guessing the administration had predetermined the choice. So, when i say that NIN has a special place in my heart it truly does and I brought Jimmy with me in spirit to Bridgestone Arena on September 6^th, 2025, for the Peel It Back Tour. 

You see, Jimmy is no longer with us but the band that he and I listened to quite a lot are still here.  To say that those late1980’s and early 90’s was a turning point in the direction of music is a monumental understatement.  A new breed of sound was knocking Michael Jackson off the number one slots, and grunge was breaking record sales across the nation. However, it was that boisterous-metallic-synth driven sound of Nine Inch Nails that revved us up.  NIN had and still have a darkness to them that is engaging to those who need an angry release.  It is a vexation that isn’t necessarily aggressive in a physical matter, but rather it’s a sonic release of pent-up aggression.  Between frontman Trent Reznor’s empathy engulfed lyrics and the transcendent words of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, I had my outlet. One is not of this earth anymore and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to bask in the electricity of what I knew was going to be a phenomenal show. 

I was way up in the nosebleeds for this one with my buddy Will and it was time to mold new memories.  I had Jimmy on my mind as I climbed the darkened stairway to my seats. Boy Noize was the opener and the German-Iraqi electronic music producer, whose real name is Alexander Ridha, was wrapping up his set. As he punched the last sound through the speakers from what was a third performing location in the back of the arena, Trent appeared on a middle stage and began the evening with ‘Right Where It Belongs’ which certainly seemed appropriate commentary on my personal journey. There is a particular piece of this song that hit me hard: 

And you’re really all alone? 
You can live in this illusion 
You can choose to believe 
You keep looking but you can’t find the woods 
While you’re hiding in the trees 

What if everything around you 
Isn’t quite as it seems? 
What if all the world you used to know 
Is an elaborate dream? 

Read into that as you want, which is the subtle brilliance of song writing.  Two different readers can conclude two different translations whilst ingesting the same information. With that, the sold-out arena had embarked on a path together.  We would feed on the same handouts, yet our receptions would vary.  What we did have was a common caretaker in Trent Reznor and the band.  Drummer Josh Freese was also here with us tonight after being “let go” from the Foo Fighters a few months ago. No reason has since been given for his departure. Even he doesn’t know. That’s the journey i suppose. 

The sit-down piano piece, with Reznor isolated in the distance, was a pleasant soft opening to what would be a loud and fury fueled gig.  That is exactly what we signed up for after all. Those of us that gravitated to the likes of Nine Inch Nails were wanting their angst, pain and the ferociousness of the playing. The tones that came from the debut album Pretty Hate Machine were unlike much of what we were used to.  Fuzzy riffs and feedback that those Pacific Northwest kids were sharing had melted our faces, but this was a different feel.  Trent was picking up where Ministry, Killing Joke and Front 242 had dropped us off and he was delivering it in a new way that made us really feel.  He tapped into our psyche and let us know that we were not alone in navigating these complex emotions. We could wear our black, instead of flannel, and lament with NIN, The Cure, The Smiths and Joy Division without changing outfits.

Although our seats were about as far away from the main stage as one could get, Will and I would later both say that we felt right on top of everything thing. Post the opening song the other musicians (minus Freese) joined Reznor as he continued to play on the B-stage, including the thoughtful ‘Ruiner’ and the rhythmic march of ‘Piggy’. After three tracks were completed the band raced to the big platform.  You could see them clearly running, illuminated by cell phones and flashlights. Freese was already there and played violently from their predetermined destination and the rest of the crew joined into the song without slowing down any of the structure. Shootout to the cameraman too who followed them around all night and acted as an extra member of the band. His images projected to large screens, located side stage, and added another element to production.

The song that Nails went into next was ‘Wish’ (Check out my video in link). It was at this moment that the concert seemed to shift into that faster paced motif and the lights flickered and moved and tricked our eyes into seeing more shadows than men and then the backlit monsters awakened our souls.  ‘Wish’ is off the 1992 EP, Broken and it’s an abrasive and aggressive guitar attack that pops off lyrically with “This is the first day of my last days/ I built it up, now I take it apart/ Climbed up real high, now fall down real far”. Now I knew that I was exactly where I should be. 

I peered around the probable 15,000 people and saw so much joy.  People were in disbelief that they were even in the moment.  I was included in that demographic.  The air filled with whistles and shouts of “I LOVE YOU TRENT!” I love taking those moments to look away from what’s directly in front of me and enjoying what is off to the side or behind.  It is important to take the time and recognize life from multiple angles even if only for just for a few seconds.  Nine Inch Nails powered through the set with no nonsense.  There had been no break between the supporting act, who also accented several songs during the show, and no breaks in between songs except to sprint back to stage-B and the main stage and back again. 

The setlist drew from The Downward Spiral more than any other album, although they played from various records. The group was now gaining momentum with rising fury and ripped one expeditious track after another; this included ‘March of the Pigs’, ‘Repitle’ and “Heresy” (all from The Downward Spiral); then ‘Copy of A’ (from 2013’s Hesitation Marks) and ‘Gave Up’ (also from Broken). They then began their rapid trek onto the more intimate setup where it got more electronic with Boys Noize joining in for all four of the songs. These were essentially remixes as Boys Noise shifted the tonality a bit with his additional soundscape.  It was ‘Vessel’ (Year Zero), ‘Closer’ (The Downward Spiral), ‘As Alive as you Need Me To Be’ (from the new TRON:Ares soundtrack) and ‘Came Back Haunted’ (Hesitation Marks). I would love to hear a proper recording of the joint they prepared on ‘Closer’.

Everything was so good, including the acoustics (which locals tend to warn you about).  I have yet to attend a show at Bridgestone in which the sound was affected by bad resonance.  The curation of the setlist was most notably perfection.  Sure, I wish it were longer, but the band jammed 20 songs into 1.5 hours and didn’t break until an hour and ten minutes into the set when Trent finally said hello and introduced the band. The reaction for Josh Freese received the loudest cheers. That’s exactly what I want!  Play the music and leave the talking to interviews.  

We left the clubbier rave version of the band to return to a heavier finale on that centered frontier. The lights were again magnificent and flowed in a pulsing motion to glow both in and up.  It was here that the vast white lights seemed to focus on the audience and strobes blasted our way.  It was almost intentionally a nod to our participation.  That last hurray was seven songs including, ‘Mr. Self Destruct’ (The Downward Spiral), ‘Less Than’ (Add Violence), ‘The Perfect Drug’ (The Lost Highway soundtrack), ‘Burn’ (originally Natural born Killers soundtrack), ‘The Hand That Feeds’ (With Teeth), ‘Head Like A Hole’ (Pretty Hate Machine) and ‘Hurt’ (The Downward Spiral). 

In ‘Hurt’, I could hear the pain in our frontman’s voice. I could confirm in the next day from people’s social media posts that were way closer than I was, that this was indeed the case.  His emotion was raw and undaunting.  Trent Reznor pools all his moods together and leaves them for us to swim in.  He is only speaking his truth to get it off his chest, but he invites us in to share our story through his creations.  I graciously thank Nine Inch Nails for being a fabric of my existence, for creating a soundtrack that creatively frames my life and most importantly, for forming friendships that I might not have otherwise developed.  Yeah, the show was really, really, really good. 

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SETLIST

1. Right Where It Belongs
2. Ruiner
3. Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
4. Wish
5. March of the Pigs
6. Reptile
7. Heresy
8. Copy of A
9. Gave Up
10. Vessel (with Boys Noize) (Boyz Noise remix)
11. Closer (with Boys Noize) (Boyz Noize remix)
12. As Alive as You Need Me to Be (with Boys Noize)
13. Came Back Haunted(with Boys Noize) (Boyz Noize remix)
14. Mr. Self Destruct
15. Less Than
16. The Perfect Drug
17. Burn (Preceded by band member introductions)
18. The Hand That Feeds
19. Head Like a Hole
20. Hurt

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