Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany15th May 2014
Nine Inch Nails & Cold Cave
The beautiful old fortification called Zitadelle, built at the Renaissance, was crowded with lots of fans from all over Germany (it was the only NIN show in the country besides festival appearances at Rock im Park and Rock am Ring) and even Europe, looking forward for the first concert NIN gave in Germany this year. I talked to guests from many different German cities and even from Hungary and Italy. The weather was dry, but cold, perfect for a concert. The audience was mostly older, but there were also young girls and boys and I saw even some children with her parents or grandparents. The atmosphere was peaceful, but full of expectation.
Cold Cave
The opener for the evening were COLD CAVE, an up-and-coming Synth Pop band from USA. In fact, the band is the monicar of musical mastermind, musician and poet Wesley Eisold that was originally started just as a home project but soon evolved, taking several collaborators into the boat. COLD CAVE’s debut album ‘Love Comes Close’ saw the light of day in 2009, being oriented more towards 80s New Wave. The second album ‘Cherish the Light Years’ was out in 2011 had a more mainstream approach. His third album, out in 2014, is named ‘Sunflower’. On the concert in Berlin, COLD CAVE appeared an disappeared nearly unperceived. Their music, a mixture between Rock and EBM 80s and Darkwave, didn’t catch neither the attention of the audience, nor managed to stop people from drinking, eating and talking. They played from 19:30 until 20:15 and disappeared without many words. https://www.facebook.com/COLDCAVE / http://www.coldcave.net/
Nine Inch Nails
What shall be said about this living legend? Founded in 1988 in Ohio, USA, by Trent Reznor, the band, which shall be better called a music project since Trent is the only fixed part of NIN, earned their first success with their first album ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ from 1989. NIN have published nine studio albums and donated the world hits like ‘Closer’, ‘Hurt’, ‘March of Pigs’ or ‘Head like a Hole’. Their music – a mixture between EBM, Gothic Rock, Alternative and New Wave – has enchanted the hearts of millions of fans all over the world. In the beginning 2009, Trent Reznor stated going to make NINE INCH NAILS disappear for a while or even forever. For four years he did work with his side-projects, projects for the films and kept quiet about the destiny of NIN. But in February 2013, the musician broke the silence: “For the last year I've been secretly working non-stop with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder on a new, full-length Nine Inch Nails record, which I am happy to say is finished and frankly fucking great.” The critics did agree on that. All major musical magazines included ‘Hesitation Marks’, the band’s latest release, in their best albums of the year-lists. The album became Gold in Canada and most successful record of the band in the United Kingdom. The current NIN live line-up is Trent Reznor (vocals), Robin Finck (guitar), Alessandro Cortini (synthesizer, guitar, bass) and Ilan Rubin (drums). https://www.facebook.com/ninofficial / http://www.nin.com
Music & Performance
NINE INCH NAILS (NIN) appeared only fifteen minutes after COLD CAVE left the stage, a very likeable behaviour - so many bigger bands let their audience wait for them for hours. But NIN are self-confident and talented enough to don’t have to use such tricks to increase the expectation. NIN appeared on stage playing ‘Me, I’m not’, and people start to run towards the stage, cause some people didn’t had expected that NIN would appear so soon after COLD CAVE’s leaving. At the third song, people were really excited; on the fourth song they were already ecstatic. ‘March of the pigs’ is a powerful rock ballad with a nice little soft intermezzo. The next song, ‘Piggy’, is a real Rock song from the 90s, with its famous and furious drums. The mood of the fans was excellent, the location beautiful, the band members gave their best and to complete the beautiful setting, some planes passed close over the stage, giving the whole picture an surrealistic touch.
With the song thirteen, ‘The Warning’, things become more electronic on the stage, increasing this tendency with ‘Copy of A’, the second single from the newest album, extremely danceable, with a really awesome rhythm. But the culmination of the “electrification“ of the songs was the next one, ‘The Great Destroyer’, a real industrial song, fittingly accompanied by white strobe lights. After finishing the concert with ‘Head like a Hole’, with a totally enthusiastic public, NIN only made a very short break before playing the encore, beginning with their all-time-hit ‘Closer’, which made people jump and cry out even on the last lines. After performing the song, Trent introduced his band, before they left the stage after playing two other of their greatest hits: ‘The Day the World Went Away’ and their unforgettable ‘Hurt’.
This concert was an event absolutely worth to be seen and a great evening with a lovely atmosphere, nice audience and a great music project.
Setlist
01. Me, I’m not
02. Sanctified
03. The Beginning of the End
04. March of the Pigs
05. Piggy
06. All Time Low
07. Disappointed
08. The Becoming
09. Came Back Haunted
10. Find My Way
11. Various Methods of Escape
12. Survivalism
13. The Warning
14. Copy of A
15. The Great Destroyer
16. Hand Covers Bruise
17. Beside You in Time
18. Wish
19. The Hand That Feeds
20. Head Like a Hole
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21. Closer
22. The Day the World Went Away
23. Hurt
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9.3 / 10
All Pictures by Kati Guckel
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