Recap and Photo Gallery: Nine Inch Nails with Jesus and Mary Chain at Aragon Ballroom

Brassneck | October 30, 2018

Since Nine Inch Nails embarked on the Cold and Black and Infinite tour back in September, they’ve kept fans on their toes by switching up the setlist every night and dropping in random covers and deep cuts where they see fit. It wasn’t any different on the last of three nights at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom.

For roughly two hours the band turned the night into a celebration of all things NIN. While their new release, Bad Witch, received some attention, Trent Reznor and company preferred playing their older stuff. With 30 years’ worth of material to choose from, the setlist included highlights from their 1989 debut, Pretty Hate Machine; the explosive Broken EP, and cuts from their double-album, The Fragile.

Reznor made sure to include live staples “Closer,” “March of the Pigs,” and “Wish.” But they also played rarities “The Perfect Drug,” which they debuted live earlier in the tour, “Sin,” which they haven’t played since 2009, and “Sanctified” and “Starfuckers, Inc.,” which they performed for the first time in 10 years on Friday night.

Taking things down a notch, Reznor took time out to honor one of his heroes. “You should listen to David Bowie every day,” he said to the roar of the crowd, then broke into Bowie’s “I Can’t Give Away Everything” from his final album, Blackstar. They followed up with a mashup of “Subterraneans” and the Bowie-inspired “God Breakdown the Door,” featuring Reznor on sax.

After raging through “Head Like a Hole,” NIN returned for a three-song encore, which included “Shit Mirror” and “Even Deeper.” Seeing as everyone in the theater had been screaming, raging, and moshing the entire night, it’s appropriate Reznor ended the set with the haunting “Hurt.” It was a glorious night proving even after 30 years NIN is still full of surprises.

-Recap by Ashley Perez ; Photos by Ed Spinelli