Nine Inch Nails Produce Best Tour Of The Year (So Far)
Nine Inch Nails just put on the best tour of the year. Yes, the tour started in 2025. Yes, a ton of people have already seen it. But this time was Grand Rapids’ turn to experience it, and while we know it’s only February, this is the best show we’ve seen this year, and it might hold that position for the duration of 2026.
I have to profess this while I’ve got you on the line: Don’t sleep on Van Andel Arena. For the Detroiters, yes, it’s a 2-hour drive, but I can honestly say I’ve never had an issue getting in the door, security check is a breeze, their concessions are quick, and the room has a capacity of 12,000. Transportation Gods, bring me a high-speed rail train directly from Detroit to Grand Rapids. Pipe dream? Yes. But I won’t stop thinking about all the shows out there this summer.
This show was absolutely worth the drive. ‘Peel It Back’ is equal parts of a theatre kid with lots of lights and strobes, and transforming the floor of the arena into what could have been the Blood Rave in ‘Blade.’ The deep red lighting that kicked off Boys Noize’s set was one of many moments. I will say, I didn’t expect to hear “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazzarus, also known as that one track in ‘Silence of the Lambs.’
By the time Nine Inch Nails was going to emerge, everyone was glued to the center stage in the middle of the arena. Now, this is why I say that dubbing this one of the best-produced shows is not hyperbole. We started with Trent Reznor sitting at a keyboard by himself, amongst his future stage counterparts’ instruments. He sang “(You Made It Feel Like) Home,” which was a track from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ soundtrack from the film ‘Bones and All.’ After that, the rest of the set on this stage included a partially acoustic version of “Ruiner,” as other members, including Atticus Ross, joined the stage, and ended the first act with “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Us Now).”
The band was then escorted through a barricaded area to join Josh Freese on the main stage to start going into “the hard stuff.” This was probably my favorite part of the set, mostly because I love the harder rockin’ tracks in Nine Inch Nails’ catalog. This is when the audience got pummeled with “Wish,” “March of the Pigs,” “Reptile,” and “Gave Up.”
My second favorite? Almost on par with the first? Of course, had to be when Boys Noize came back out with Reznor and Ross to perform a heavier NIN electronic set back on the middle stage. Listening to them mix the sounds in slowly, I could progressively hear certain tracks’ layers building into the song that we know and love. It felt like a gateway into their studio, and seeing how the song is made in real time, which was fascinating. They worked through “Vessel,” “Closer,” “Parasite,” and their newest for the ‘Tron: Ares’ movie, “As Alive as You Need Me to Be.” (Fun fact: You can get that song in the game Fortnite, and yes, it is my drop music.)
The show closes out with 7 more tracks back up on the main stage. There’s not much talking except “thank yous” here or there after tracks. The only other time the audience was addressed was when Trent thanked everyone for coming to see them, named off the band members on stage, and expressed that he just liked making music with his friends. Is there anything more that really needs to be said than that? Not really. There’s not a hint of arrogance in his voice. It doesn’t sound like a rehearsed, showman-type delivery.
After performing “Mr. Self-Destruct,” “Less Than,” “The Perfect Drug,” (in which Josh Freese bodies the drum solo like he was just warming up), they played the David Bowie track “I’m Afraid of Americans,” which Trent collaborated on. In a world where we demand our artists to say so much, this subtle nod said more than “we’re just gonna play this track,” without taking people out of the performance entirely by discussing it at length.
The end rounds out with, you guessed it, “The Hand That Feeds,” “Head Like A Hole,” and “Hurt” for the closer. During “Hurt,” we come back to Trent’s delivery. That “no hint of arrogance in his voice.” Remember: “Hurt” came out in 1994. This song is 20 years old and then some. Yet, the same delivery brings us back into an innocence, even in its dark world. Reznor sings this with the same delivery as if he just wrote it. His life is way different now, but these words still sound real as they are coming from him. There’s a transportive quality, a vault you tap into through that former pain.
One of the things that you get addicted to seeing when you watch live music? The authenticity. You BELIEVE those words. There are few people in this world who sing with that much passion, who deliver their gnarled up pain to you on a platter. I’m happy to report… Trent’s still got it.
If you missed out on the Detroit and Grand Rapids dates, there’s not a ton of dates left, but if you’ve got the means, look here, travel, and see this show. It’s worth it.
