Ohio Native Trent Reznor brought the (Sold Out) house down at Blossom Music Center, with
special guest surprises and a bill of friends and co-influences
September 24, 2022
by Michelle Waters
On Saturday, September 24th, Nine Inch Nails performed a once-in-alifetime concert, along with their friends Nitzer Ebb, Ministry, and artists from previous Nine Inch Nails incarnations. Industrial and Electronic music fans received more than they could have ever hoped for in this homecoming concert that brought NIN to their own back yards for the first time in almost
10 years.
I remember being in high school in the 90s and visiting with a friend who told me about Nine Inch Nails for the first time. He played some of their music for me, and couldn’t stop talking about how industrial music was the future, then mixing and sampling and layering his own electronic, industrial music for hours while we’d hang out in his living room. I was fascinated by it, the freshness of it, and how raw it felt to hear, for me. It hit me on a primal level that other genres couldn’t touch. As the years went on, it was so cool to follow Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor’s path to success along the way, and to think back on those days when I heard Head Like a Hole for the first time. Seeing this concert felt like a full circle event, and a love letter to everything
Nine Inch nails has meant to me along the way.
Opening act artists Nitzer Ebb absolutely exploded onto the stage to open the night, starting with late 80’s hit Control I’m Here. Bon Harris (drums, keyboards, synth, bass, vocals) had so much energy, he could have maybe exploded. Harris’ energy was infectious, and had everyone smiling and even jumping up and down with him before their short, 6 song set was through.
Lead vocalist Douglas McCarthy was welcomed back to the stage after taking a few shows off to recover from an illness. His presence was commanding, and while his energy was lower than that of Bon Harris, I think pretty much everyone else’s was, too (it was hard to top). Other songs in their set were Hearts and Minds, Getting Closer, Lightning Man, Murderous and crowd participation favorite, Join in the Chant. It was mentioned to me by several concertgoers (as well as Mr. Trent Reznor himself, to the crowd) that Nitzer Ebb was a major NIN influence. It as easy to see why their music has transcended time and been influential to so many.
After a brief break, and a team of people pumping out more fog and setting up the signature tall, chainlink fence the full width of the stage, Ministry took over and completely slayed the crowd. Markedly louder and visually more intense (the sun had set and the light show dazzled in between and alongside thumps of bass and pounding, metallic beats). I joked that it felt like a musical haunted house with all of the fog (and a really good soundtrack), as a photographer…searching for the artists, and then BOOM,
there they were. It kind of felt that way with their music as well. The buildup of the crowd and the rumble of the fans was overpowered and greeted by insane thumping and powerful screaming lyrics. Al Jourgensen (frontman) still connected with the crowd through the literal (and symbolic) fence barrier, encouraging shouting, pounding of fists in the air, and raging along
with him through opening song Breathe, hits like N.W.O and Just One Fix, and ending their 9-song set with Thieves. Ministry also did a cover of Black Sabbath’s Supernaut (which Jourgensen sent out to Trent Reznor).
It was really cool to see the bands genuinely shouting out to one another, referencing each of them as sources of inspiration, and seemingly just genuinely glad to be sharing a stage. More on that in a minute. As anticipation built for Nine Inch Nails to take the stage, amped up so well by the two opening bands, the at-capacity Blossom was surging with excitement. It’s not that Nine Inch Nails had meant to wait so long to come back home, but pandemic regulations kept changing plans. Once the NIN set officially began though, Trent Reznor enthusiastically proclaimed how glad he was to finally be back home. From the roar of the crowd, you could say we were all enthusiastically glad, too.
As the concert continued, Trent (Reznor) mentioned he “grew up right down the street from here (Blossom Music Center)”. Decades ago, Reznor spent countless hours and days creating layers of music on his computers, much like my friend in his apartment in my high school days, making groundbreaking music that would become Nine Inch Nails’ first album, Pretty
Hate Machine.
The roar really never let down, with the fog-filled, dramatically-lit set beginning with Somewhat Damaged, and the “Pig Songs”: March of the Pigs and Piggy (co-created by David Bowie), flowing together. The energy was tangible. The 23 song set included a 6 sing “encore”, that was basically an Earth-shattering reunion and celebratory party of all things NIN. Songs in the main set also included Heresy, Less Than, The Lovers, Reptile, Sanctified, Copy of A, Shit Mirror, God Break Down the Door, The Perfect Drug, Closer (of course), The Big Come Down, Burn (my personal favorite), The Hand that Feeds, and The Frail.
Right around this time, I noticed a second drummer on stage (I was out in the lawn at this point). The video screens kept showing two different drummers, and then you could also see additional people making their way out to join the performance. Was that Chris Vrenna (the original touring drummer for NIN) on the second drum set??
Indeed, it was. Some fans had an inkling this
might happen, given just the day before was NIN Fan Day at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But then it just kept getting even better. Soon, Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser (other former members of the touring band, and more!) would join in on the fun, for one of the coolest versions of Eraser I’ve ever heard, followed by Wish, Sin and Gave Up.
And then the whole house truly came down. Many fans know there was a rift between former bandmate Richard Patrick and Trent Reznor, motivating Patrick to leave NIN and form the band, Filter. After Gave Up ended, Patrick’s familiar face appeared on stage, and the crowd absolutely went wild. Richard looked at Trent, jokingly quipped “Hey Man, Nice Shot”, and the music started. The song that was one of Filter’s biggest hits, that was fueled by a rivalry between friends and bandmates, had just been instead used as a tool to come back together in the names of friendship, growing up, and performing music. It was a night no Nine Inch Nails fan will ever, ever forget. It seemed fitting that last Saturday’s performance, which Reznor called “the end of an (Cold and Black and Infinite, 2018) era”, shared a bill with so many co-influences, as well as several NIN members who had helped shape the band into what it is, today.
Ending the era of Cold, Black and Infinite seemed appropriate, as Mr. Reznor looked genuinely happy and at peace. I know we all left that night feeling that way, too.
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