Nine Inch Nail are playing a handful of shows this summer ahead of their “Cold and Black and Infinite” tour this fall. In their first show of the season last Wednesday, the group showcased a dynamic setlist at The Joint in Las Vegas.
NIN took the opportunity in Las Vegas to play tracks they haven’t played in years. According to Consequences of Sound, the set began with Gary Numan’s, “Metal,” which they haven’t covered in nine years. The group also played the classic track, “I Do Not Want This,” from their Downward Spiral album.
The 19-song tracklist included a cover of David Bowie’s, “I’m Afraid of Americans,” which the band hasn’t played live since 2013. Stereogum reports, after Bowie’s death, Trent Reznor, who was friends with the icon, wrote a poignant eulogy and later released a remix of “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” off Bowie’s Blackstar.
Additionally, NIN played their lead single, “God Break Down the Door,” from Bad Witch, due to drop June 22. Spin reports, in an interview on Zane Lowe’s Beats I show, Reznor said the new album was to be the final part of a trilogy that includes the 2016 EP Not the Actual Events and 2017’s Add Violence.
During the interview, Reznor went on to talk about the album’s concept saying, “I don’t really want to overwhelm you with cleverness and deep diving…we wanted to take it in a way that surprised us–that doesn’t have…a nice clean and ultimately safe explanation. At our core, we are rotten, and that’s kind of the theme. It’s less about there’s there’s a reason why things are the way they are. It’s just we are all who we are.”
Check out footage of the Las Vegas show and the setlist below.
Setlist:
Metal (Gary Numan cover) (first performance since 2009)
Me, I’m Not
The Beginning of the End
Survivalism
March of the Pigs
The Lovers
Find My Way
Burn
God Break Down the Door (live debut)
Letting You
Gave Up
Even Deeper
I Do Not Want This (first performance since 2009)
I’m Afraid of Americans (David Bowie cover)
Less Than
Came Back Haunted
Only
Wish
Head Like a Hole
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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