Nine Inch Nails show thrilling, intense
By Niz Proskocil for Omaha World-Herald on February 18, 2006
LINCOLN - On a frigid Friday night, rock band Nine Inch Nails generated plenty of heat inside the Pershing Center arena.
In front of 6,500-plus fans, the electronic-rock group staged a thrilling, intense and immensely entertaining live show that was an audio-visual extravaganza.
Reznor and his four-man band opened its nearly two-hour set with "Love Is Not Enough" from Nine Inch Nails' latest release, 2005's "With Teeth."
Fans on the floor wasted no time crowd-surfing and pumping their fists as the band unleashed thunderous, military-like drums, blaring guitars and sinister synthesizer lines.
The crowd's energy barely let up throughout the night, prompting Reznor to comment, "I am honored to have the best fans in the world. This is the best (expletive) crowd we've had in a long time."
Reznor and bandmates have been on the road for nearly a year in support of the new album, which debuted at No. 1 and includes the hit singles "Only," "Every Day Is Exactly the Same" and "Hand That Feeds."
The band played each of those new songs, as well as classic tunes like 1989's "Head Like a Hole" and the melancholy ballad "Hurt" from the 1994 album, "The Downward Spiral."
Reznor worked up a sweat as he belted out an electrifying, heart-pounding, ear drum-shattering rendition of "Terrible Lie," which ended with him slamming his guitar on the stage.
The crowd erupted into cheers and scrambled to catch a water bottle Reznor threw into the sea of fans after a raucous rendition of "March of the Pigs."
The mood wasn't all boisterous, though.
The band slowed things down with "Something I Can Never Have" before working the crowd into a frenzy again with "Closer" and "Wish."