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nin berlin2018Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany
2nd July 2018
Nine Inch Nails & Vatikan Shadow

NINE INCH NAILS’ only gig this summer in Germany was something special, without doubt. The historical and atmospheric citadel in Berlin Spandau, which fits officially up to 10,000 people, was sold-out months before the show on 2nd July 2018.

The waiting period was long, very long. The entry time began at 5:30 pm, while the support-DJ VATIKAN SHADOW came on stage at 8 pm for half an hour, before the main act entered the stage around 9 pm. At least the weather was good, the Radler refreshing and the dust turned everyone’s black clothes into an unspecific grey-beige.

VATIKAN SHADOW made some nice beats, but somehow this DJ-thing didn’t work for me yet. Maybe it is an American thing as I mostly see DJs supporting American artists. But it never worked so well to engage the crowd at the shows I’ve been to with DJs. The guy on stage also didn’t say anything (at least nothing we could hear), partied on his own, showed his middle finger a few times and seemed to enjoy the beer. After 4 hours of waiting (we arrived at the citadel around 5 pm and of course there were already many people waiting in front of the entrance) NINE INCH NAILS finally entered the stage at 9 pm.

Music & Performance
The atmosphere changed immediately when Trent Reznor and his band colleagues came on stage. Trent Reznor got everyone with his distinctive voice and the band created the unique NINE INCH NAILS sound just from the beginning. The band presented some songs from the latest release ‘Bad Witch’. One of the new songs, called ‘Shit Mirror’, was one of the show’s highlights - powerful, eccentric and provoking music and lyrics characterize its sound and show that the band is still able to create amazing modern sounds without giving up all what makes NINE INCH NAILS songs so special. Another great song that enriched the setlist was ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’, a song by DAVID BOWIE. Trent Reznor dedicated it to late DAVID BOWIE, an inspirational figure, also for this band. The NINE INCH NAILS version of this song was as electrifying as the original one and a worthy dedication to the icon of many decades and generations.

Popular Songs like ‘Head like a Hole’ were not missed as well and there was not a single moment when the crowd was not celebrating the show. The energy was breath-taking. The most emotional song of the evening and in band’s history was also the very last song of the evening. ‘Hurt’ is a very special song in band’s history and one of the most personal songs for Trent Reznor and the way he is performing it, is incredibly touching and just gives you chills. So after about one and a half hours the show ended. While it finally started getting a little bit darker around 10 pm you could finally see the great light show on stage. Also all the coloured fog created a specific stage view and atmosphere for the Industrial Rock legends NINE INCH NAILS.

Setlist
01. Branches/Bones
02. Wish
03. Less Than
04. March Of The Pigs
05. The Frail
06. The Lovers
07. Reptile (with Closer tease)
08. Shit Mirror
09. Ahead Of Ourselves
10. God Break Down The Door
11. Copy Of A
12. Gave Up
13. I’m Afraid Of Americans (David Bowie cover)
14. I Do Not Want This
15. Digital (Hoy Division cover)
16. The Hand That Feeds
17. Head Like A Hole
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18. Even Deeper
19. Hurt

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Light: 8
Sound: 7
Total: 8 / 10

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