NME.COM | Carling Weekend - Main Stage Reports

Nine Inch Nails
09:19:13 pm

Bringing out the big guns now with big beefy full blooded electro metallers Nine Inch Nails.

It's also starting to be the time in the evening when the lightshows start getting snazzier. They make noises like a tape being chewed while simultaneously being hit by a hammer. Considering NME.COM also just got hit square on the back of my head by a pizza, we are slightly concerned for our mental condition.

Mainman Trent Reznor, however, is obviously as energetic and crazy as ever - although is possibly too old to be jumping about as much as he does.

There seems to be no stopping the old guy, looking sharp and clean cut, jumping from guitar to mic to noodling with laptops and keyboards with glee.

Best Song: 'Head Like a Hole'

Best Moment: The band appearing to be playing behind a cage by the cunning use of lights.

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anais_morr [Visitor] //August 27 2007 at 08:45

Old guy?! WTF! That "old" guy blows younger dudes like fucking Falll Out Boy out of the water. What till you hit your 40's bitch! Like to see if you could jump around like that!

roastedpope [Visitor] //August 27 2007 at 16:48

Great performance loved it. Pity there was no saul williams to do a few numbers with him, but guess that's only a delite for the proper tours.

wtf [Visitor] //August 27 2007 at 17:57

my god is this the review? this was probably the most satisfying gig of the whole festival, razorlite were mediocre at best not really a headline act, red hot chilli peppers sounded good but were to slow and it was a boring set also with sound difficulties. Ninch inch nails set was amazing, the atmosphere was electric, the whole crowd joining in with interesting improvised interludes. I'm not even a massive nin fan but that gig was immense. Panic had a good set, so did mad caddies and sonic boom 6 most of the other gigs there wasnt much of a crowd atmosphere oh apart from seasick steve.

matt seddon [Visitor] //August 27 2007 at 18:04

best band oif the festival . No doubt about it. Barely knew any of their songs and was blown away by the intesity of it. Full Bar.

wilton [Visitor] //August 28 2007 at 09:42

NIN made it look like the other bands should collect up their toys and go home.

al costain [Visitor] //August 28 2007 at 12:07

best band at leeds

What a poorly written review! [Visitor] //August 28 2007 at 14:08

Nine Inch Nails were brilliant talking to people after it seemed everyone was amazed by them. Even people who didn't know who NIN are or didn't like them thought the show was brilliant and that they were great onstage. 'Hurt' was the best moment when everyone was singing along. Nine Inch Nails made all the other bands look like amateurs.

Gavin [Visitor] //August 28 2007 at 23:26

At Birmingham tonight (29th Aug), Trent stopped playing for a while and asked for quiet, so he could speak truthfully, and said he had been humbled by the festivals, and was really glad to be away from there, to play to us at the smaller venues. Got the impression he really didn't have a good time - maybe he felt like he wasn't well recieved.

New NIN fan [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 13:16

Before Leeds I did not have much of a clue about NIN. Their set on Friday was fantastic. I did not know what to expect, but their driving music and very impressive light show left all the other bands I saw behind. I wish I had time and tickets to see them at a smaller venue.

Peter [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 13:22

I think Trent Reznor did think the Reading set was rather well received, everybody in the crowd joined in for 'Hurt' amongst their other songs. It was one of the most beautiful moments at any gig and I think he cried a bit. They totally blew me away, I was having a rubbish time with quite a few lack luster performances but had such an amazing time when they played. Especially when they did their cover of 'Lost Souls' I was jumping about like a mad man. This review did annoy me very much, age brings wisdom and extra confidence to a performance and NIN aren't that old to sound terrible yet.

Chris [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 16:05

I had no clue who these guys were before last weekend but after i got home i ordered their entire back catalogue from amazon PHENOMENAL BAND

Tom [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 17:14

without a doubt the best band of the weekend. i was looking forward to it for ages and they didnt dissapoint. there is no other band like them in the world and trents presence on stage was phenomenal

Scumbo [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 19:22

i didn't use one negative adjective did i? "energetic", "the big guns" "looking sharp" "no stopping {them}" . i thought it was rad as it goes... and it's a report not a review! yikes!

PIxie [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 20:25

Definitely the best band of the festival, but one of the poorest reviews! The light show was amazing, especially during 'Only' when it looked like NIN where coming out of the screen. Incited soo much feeling and blew everyone else I saw that weekend away.

Scumbo [Visitor] //August 29 2007 at 22:50

yeouch!

ChrisB [Visitor] //August 30 2007 at 12:39

All I can say is that they made the entrance fee worth it. I went on the Sunday and only for them and the Pumpkins. The Pumpkins disappointed a little bit but NIN were amazing- the best festival performance I have ever seen. I just hope playing the wrong festival hasn't put Trent off, because their gigs are phenomenal, but at a festival they take on a whole new dimension. I've seen them 4 times over the years and that performance at Reading was a completely different type of experience to any of their gigs. Get yourself to Donnington Trent where the crowd and the reviewers will appreciate your genius! And then I won't have to sit through Fall Out Boy and the other tosh just to see them!

ChinoMoreno [Visitor] //August 31 2007 at 12:09

That was easily the best performance I have ever seen at a festival, totally mind-blowing, not only were the songs performed unbelievably, but the whole stage show was just genius. So many people who I spoke to who'd never even heard of NiN (aside from Johnny Cash covering Hurt) were blown away by the show. I will definitly be at their next show in the UK, whenever that may be.

Tang... [Visitor] //August 31 2007 at 19:39

Not much of a review here at all. Second to last band playing on the last night of Reading & all it got was that crap. I saw most of the headliners & NIN outshone everyone of them, even The Pumpkins, sadly to say but Trent blew me away. They were perfect & I could not find one fault in their entire performance, oh apart from when Aaron North got tripped up by the camera man. =\ This band was amazing in every way & totally made my weekend at Reading & i'm sure a lot of other bands out there would agree. They had me in total awe & it will never be forgotten, even now when I watch the playback I get goosebumps. As for old...lol...I was standing in front of a lady that must of been in her late 50's & she sang & danced along to every NIN song. Long live oldies...!!! xDDD

hunta [Visitor] //September 2 2007 at 22:27

i was honestly gettin depressed @ reading cuz i thort i'd paid a loada money to see amateurs (excluding a few) play to a mass of topshop indie-kids but NIN were freakin awsome!!! i wuda gone reading just to see them, especially 'hurt' which was absolutely mesmerising!! as for trent being the 'old guy', he is a professional who showed the children hows its SUPPOSED to be done!

Radom_dude [Visitor] //September 5 2007 at 20:43

Just when I thought my entrance fee had been mispent on a sub-standard chilli peppers performance and Razorlight I was given a gift, or rather 2, by the names of Municipal Waste (who even managed to surpass the performance I saw at Wacken, which is no mean feat) and NIN, whos show was second to none (and Ive seen Alice Cooper, Metallica and Maiden twice each) both were phenominal and well worth the fee on their own! More bands like this in the future please :p

Carrzy [Visitor] //September 24 2007 at 12:35

Nine Inch Nails played the best show of the entire weekend. I have yet to see another band at a festival put on such an amazing performance. It's safe to say that this "review" is absolutely rubbish. I was particularly let down by Leeds Festival this year because after witnessing Trent Reznor perform such a fantastic performance, no other bands could compete. I didn't go and see Fall Out Boy, but I could bet that the lead singer didn't pull out his laptop with an 'Art is Resistance' flag on it because Fall Out Boy lack the creative genius to come up with something so genius.

Carrzy [Visitor] //September 24 2007 at 12:36

Furthermore, FUCK fucking Fall Out Boy.

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