NIN Webster Hall Downward Spiral Concert NYC 8/23/09

Nine Inch Nails performed the most amazing concert last night [8/23/09] at Webster Hall in New York City.

NIN played The Downward Spiral album live in its entirety, from start to finish, for the first and only time ever!


On our way to Webster Hall, we read the NIN twitter:

Heading to the venue for show #2. Cool set list tonight.

The words "cool set list" reminded me of a similar comment NIN visual artist Rob Sheridan made before 1 of the 2 times they previously played the first part of The Downward Spiral live in 2007. I told my brother I thought they might start the Webster Hall show with at least 7 out of 8 of the first songs from The Downward Spiral. It was even better... They played the whole thing! All 14 songs front to back!


NIN stayed true to the album versions of the songs. Mr Self Destruct started with the record's THX 1138-style buildup intro and ended with the Adrian Belew guitar loops, which they usually don't play live.


After Piggy and Heresy, March of the Pigs ended without the "All the Pigs, All Lined Up" ending section that the band almost always plays in concert. Closer started up, and people took notice, hoping the band would continue down the spiral.


Ruiner was a welcome surprise as I think it's the first time drummer Ilan Rubin had played it onstage.


The Becoming was great, too, and so was I Do Not Want This, with Trent Reznor on a Dave Smith Poly Evolver Keyboard.


Eight songs in at this point last night, they had already played one more song than they had ever played in a row off The Downward Spiral. They hadn't played Big Man with a Gun in 15 years. Would they keep going? Yes, they did. It was awesome! That song rocks so hard live. It was insane! I remember thinking I was going to die the first time I saw Big Man with a Gun performed live in 1994 at the Riviera in Chicago. Last night was no different. The pit might not have been as brutal, but Webster Hall was so damn hot that I thought I might pass out near the front of the packed pit. Super intense. It was so great.


Now that the band had gone this far down the spiral, it seemed likely they might actually finish it. Next up was A Warm Place, a song that NIN has NEVER played live. Ever. Trent Reznor walked offstage. Ilan Rubin got up from behind the drums and walked over to the keyboard to play the main melody of the beautiful instrumental. Justin Meldal-Johnsen dropped his bass and went to a Moog Little Phatty synth, and Robin Finck stepped over to the slide guitar. A Warm Place is a sacred song to me that I feel such a strong connection to that it was almost overwhelming to experience it live. Simply amazing.


Trent returned to the stage holding the neck of a saxophone, and he played that breathing mouthpiece/reed sound that is the intro to Eraser. Back in the day, former NIN bass player Danny Lohner told me that's how it was done on the album, but last night was the first time Trent played it live like that. So good.


At the end of the Eraser, the entire audience at Webster Hall screamed with the band repeatedly, "KILL ME!"

Then the stage turned green for Reptile. "She spreads herself wide open to let the insects in..." It was amazing to hear these songs together in the same running order as the album. It put the lyrics in a different context and gave the show new meaning compared to other concerts.


I felt like we were experiencing something truly special. It was as if we were IN The Downward Spiral and on our way to its darkest moment, the title track's suicide fantasy. I wish I still had a more vivid memory of it right now. It seems like a blur only a few hours later. I was so exhausted I could hardly stand from the heat and crush of the front of the pit. After the quiet section, the band erupted and everything went red. The guitars were so loud. So heavy. And then everything went quiet again.


"I... hurt myself today, to see if I still feel." I've seen NIN perform Hurt live many, many times, and somehow it seemed completely different this time. With the perspective of having just listened to Trent Reznor scream the words of the songs from The Downward Spiral that came before it, Hurt's feelings of remorse and regret were all too clear. The best part was the hint of hope in the ending:

If I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way...

Utterly incredible.


But the show didn't end there. After the guitar feedback from Hurt, they went right into 1,000,000 off The Slip. Then Terrible Lie, then Gary Numan's Metal. Then they played Lights in the Sky, the rarely played ballad from The Slip. Justin was on upright bass. The crowd quieted down to match the tone of the song. "The lights in the sky, are waving goodbye, and I am staying right beside you."

I thought this might have been the end of the concert, but there was more. A lot more. Burn was next, followed by Gave Up. It was nuts! Those two songs are usually played together way earlier in the set. I think NIN was determined to suck every last bit of energy out of everyone at Webster Hall. It was intense!


The last four songs were Suck, Physical, The Hand That Feeds and Head Like a Hole.


No encore. None needed. Killer show.

The Webster Hall Downward Spiral concert was the second of the last 11 Wave Goodbye shows for Nine Inch Nails. This is it. Our last chance to see this band for a very long time, if ever. There are only 9 NIN shows left: 2 more in NYC at Terminal 5, 1 festival show near Toronto, 2 in Chicago and 4 in LA. Catch 'em if you can. This is Trent Reznor's Wave Goodbye.

nine inch nails webster hall new york 8/23/09 setlist:

mr self destruct
piggy
heresy
march of the pigs
closer
ruiner
the becoming
i do not want this
big man with a gun
a warm place
eraser
reptile
the downward spiral
hurt
1,000,000
terrible lie
metal
lights in the sky
burn
gave up
suck
physical
the hand that feeds
head like a hole


Here's some extra NIN trivia: On 2/15/07 at La Riviera in Madrid, NIN played the first 7 songs off TDS in a row after Pinion. They played 10 Downward Sprial songs that night, and Robin Finck [current and former NIN guitarist] was in the audience watching 2005-2007 NIN guitarist Aaron North onstage. About 3 weeks later, on 3/10/07 at Brixton Academy in London, they played 6 of the first 7 songs off TDS [skipping Ruiner] after Pinion, and a total of 9 TDS songs.

Photos + videos above by: tj milian - mark milian - kh863 - burndown - maestro416 - tania76 - Katherine Joplin - renton66

Please post more links to good quality audio, video and pics in the comments, and I'll update below:

Keep an eye on this youtube for videos of the entire show:
NIN Webster Hall Wave Goodbye Video Playlist by plaguedog32

stingray_of_doom flickr

brooklyn vegan pics

unlistenable youtube video of robin finck crowdsurfing in the pit during march of the pigs