Location: Vienna
Concert date: 29.03.2007
Attendance: 4200
Ticket price: 35EUR
It was a Friday. We left rainy Ljubljana with the Koncerti.net agency for a few hours’ drive to Vienna. In Celje and Maribor we picked up the lucky few decked out in NIN shirts and chains who had grabbed their tickets in time. So the bus was packed. The excitement and anticipation for the big night were practically steaming out of the bus as it happily bounced along the pothole-ridden Austrian motorway.
The closer we got, the better the weather got. And finally we rolled into the sunny, pleasantly warm Austrian capital.
Andrea and I did a quick walk around Stephansplatz, which is a mandatory ritual every time I’m in Vienna anyway.
At seven o’clock the doors opened to what was, for the two of us that day, definitely a temple: Gasometer.
First I picked up our tickets at the window, for a change without any trouble whatsoever, and then Andrea had to promise the security guard she wouldn’t throw things at the stage. She had a little gift bottle of liqueur on her, which apparently looked a bit suspicious.
So, Gasometer. I love this venue. Nice shape, flawless sound, friendly crew. I always feel at home there.
It was a few minutes before 8:00 PM when the support act Ladytron took the stage. The hall was still dismally empty at that point.
Ladytron come from England, and one member of the band hails from Bulgaria.
Their set is polished down to the last detail. Nicely dressed girls and well-behaved boys. A mix of real instruments and electronic synths. On top of that, every song came with a different color of lights. A good half hour of excellent electropop that gets you on your feet. Well, unless you’re Austrian. They got a pretty indifferent reception. But they were great.
Suddenly the roadies swarm the stage. They have barely half an hour to set up for THE band, the one we’re all here for. They work like little ants. One of them even dragged a big cardboard tube with a face drawn on it onto the stage. It was a tool for getting the main mic to the right height for the star of the night. I’d never seen anything like it.
So there was still time for last-minute errands, like a quick dash for an Austrian beer.
The hall is jam-packed. And that’s despite the fact that they played here the day before, too.. Even though I’d already been to Gasometer a few times, I’d never seen this many people there. The whole place was already buzzing with impatience.
Heavy industrial sounds kick in. And boom. Trent Reznor storms onto the stage with Nine Inch Nails.
The excitement is endless. They opened the show with Pilgrimage.
It takes a while before it sinks in that you’re at a concert by a mega band like Nine Inch Nails.
Mr. Self Destruct finally wakes you up. A good chunk of tracks from The Downward Spiral follows – Piggy, Heresy and March Of The Pigs.
I’d somehow expected some fabulous light effects, big screens,.. the stage setup was actually pretty simple, but still very effective. Long light rigs in the back above the stage, plus hanging lights with handles so they could be swung around. The red and white spotlights alternated, and artificial fog covered the stage a lot of the time.
The energy on stage was divine. The band was full of adrenaline, the sound perfect. Proof that Trent does his job at two hundred percent. The heat in the hall climbed to the max.
The first big wave of excitement undoubtedly came with Closer. Slightly risqué lyrics, but a beat just the way it should be. Punchy and dirty. And it kept going like that. Then the must-have song that’s never missing from any show. La Mer is a calm instrumental piece that nicely shows what Trent is capable of. One of the best.
Hurt can’t be overlooked either. Trent plays a good part of it solo on keyboards, in a dark ambience, lit by a single light. Gorgeous. The hall sang along. Soon the rest of NIN joins him and the energy is back again.
Next came the awesome The Hand That Feeds, which launches you into the air, and finally Head Like A Hole. To wrap it up, instruments fly across the stage, guitarist Aaron hangs off the speakers, and just as fast as they came on stage, they’re gone.
A phenomenal hour and a half. An explosive performance, perfect sound. The songs flowed one into the next, with no pauses in between. Trent didn’t say a single word. Everything he wanted to tell us, he expressed through his art – music. We witnessed an incredibly orgasmic show. It’s hard to describe – you simply have to experience it yourself. In short, unforgettable…
Setlist
1. Pilgrimage
2. Mr. Self Destruct
3. Piggy
4. Heresy
5. March of the Pigs
6. Closer
7. The Becoming
8. Last
9. Wish
10. Gave Up
11. Help Me I’m in Hell
12. Eraser
13. Reptile
14. La Mer
15. Into the Void
16. No, You Don’t
17. Get Down, Make Love
18. Down in It
19. Hurt
20. The Hand That Feeds
21. Head Like A Hole
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