Nine Inch Nails

With Boys Noize

Accor Arena, Paris, 7July

A different city. A different country. A different headline act. The same expectation and excitement.

The first gig on our personal #RaceAcrossEurope tour, saw us take in the magnificent Accor Arena in Paris to see Nine Inch Nails with support, and some added musical accompaniment when required by Boys Noize.

Big stadium, seated, and at the far end from the stage. Made taking photos a challenge so just as well we came for the music though the impressive media show served a useful purpose in identifying who was doing what.

Given that the band had played a dozen previous gigs across Europe beforehand on their Peel It Back Tour, it was no surprise to see the smaller second stage on the arena floor and even a third stage set up for DJ Boys Noize to conduct his own support slot.

While the individual songs played each night to date had been mixed and matched from their extensive back catalogue, the core songs, the ones the fans wanted to witness were all in the setlist. And didn’t the fans just love them as the first chords were struck.

Another first on the night was that Boys Noize literally continued his set until the time when Trent Reznor had taken his seat behind the piano of the, hidden by curtain, second stage. Right on cue, the lights dimmed, the curtain fell, and a single spotlight shone. All heads turned and the opening notes of Right Where it Belongs… began in almost complete silence. The song seamlessly mixed into Somewhat Damaged and then mixed into Ruiner. This maybe not what we expected when the tickets were purchased, but what an opening statement to make. Gradually, Trent Reznor is joined on stage by some of his band mates and Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) is battered out before they depart, for now, back onto the main stage.

What followed was an exercise in showmanship, musicianship and creative wonder, with Nine Inch Nails playing behind a transparent curtain that projected huge shadows and images of the band onto the wall at the back of the hall simple in its design, magnificent in its execution.

During this part of the show the song Copy of A proved to be the highlight of the night for me. The song is great, Reznor belted it out as if his life depended on it and the visuals shown across the darkened wall were hypnotic.

Part three of the show saw Reznor and Aticus Ross join DJ Boys Noize back on the secondary stage to play some more tracks, including Sin and Came Back Haunted before a final hurrah back on the main stage for a run through of tracks including The Perfect Drug, Burn, Head Like A Hole and Hurt. It’s this closing number that brought me ‘into’ Nine Inch Nails via the Johnny Cash cover. That and the work Trent did with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl on Sound City Real to Reel documentary.

Serendipity brought me to this show, in this city, on this evening to open our own European musical adventure this summer.

As a statement gig, it ticked off every box we set. The music was superb. The visuals were on an equal par. Unlike many in the audience this was the first chance I had to see them play live. I hope it won’t be the last.

Support,

As support, JD Boys Noize launched into a techno mix of tracks that set the mood for the rest of the night, especially given his own part to play in the third part of the Nine Inch Nails show. I’m at an age where I’d long past the introduction to techno and house music, however that’s not to say I don’t like it. When the sounds teetered towards what I’d call ‘industrial drone’ music there was something quite hypnotic about it and it’s always a good sign when the toes and heels are tapping away and the head is bopping too.

In truth though, it did seem to be an awful long set when the only connection to a new track was when there was a wave of the arm to suggest a cheer would be accepted.

It kept the crowd happy. It readied us for the main act to follow. Of that we can be sure and for that there can be no complaints at all.