GremSpot: 2009

I first heard of the band in 1990 when I was still in JC. I bought Pretty Hate Machine on cassette and its industrial rock sound gave me a reason to rock out during those years as a late teen. Never in my wildest dream would I have dreamt that I would actually be able to see Trent Reznor actually perform live, but I did, when he was here in Singapore. Playing at Fort Canning Park, the gig was suppose to be part of his last tour before he goes on hiatus as NIN. Due to personal things happening in my life, I didn't thought of going, but at the last minute, I decided that I must go, else it will be a missed opportunity of a lifetime. And boy was I glad I went. Watching NIN play Head Like A Hole and Terrible Lie made me incredibly nostalgic. Ah, those industrial metal years... and what a high it was to hear thousands of people singing the words to Closer - "I want to fuck you like an animal!"

I've also manage to capture some vids from the concert. The bad thing was that since I was so close to the stage and due to the crappy mic on my compact camera, the sound in these clips are really bad. Visuals are great though. Sadly, the only song where the sound is just (but only just) acceptable is the song Hurt.

Overall, the band was tight. Trent did not interact much with the crowd, but he doesn't need to. He makes it up by playing a set that is possibly contains some of his best works. It's worth noting that the Trent Reznor may not be the lean, mean, rocker during his younger days. He may look "bigger", but his attitude and power on stage is still something to behold.

At one point in the concert, Trent dived into the audience. But it seems that the crowd couldn't give him a proper bodysurfing experience. Epic fail for the folks right at the front. :P