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The Amazing Tech, Lasers and Lights Behind a Nine Inch Nails Concert
Posted by Jack Loftus at 5:00 AM on September 14, 2008
Trent Reznor, front man for Nine Inch Nails, is no stranger to cool tech, incredibly in-depth viral and ARG marketing campaigns, and new ways to entertain his fans live in concert. During their current Lights in the Sky tour, they let Wired writer Brian Gardiner and photographer Jon Snyder record and catalog basically everything that goes on behind the scenes to make things tick. That includes a system run entirely by Linux; hundreds of LED lights, lasers; intentional BSoD's, and "Stealth Screens"—huge, interactive marvels of tech and engineering that Reznor and his band mates can pass through and control in real time as the concert unfolds. "I'm not really a purist," Reznor told Wired. "If I'm in the studio working on an album, I try to only please myself. But when it's a tour, it feels a bit more like I have a responsibility to some degree to entertain people." No shit. [Wired]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
juriko
Posted 6:57 AM 14/9/08
@MICHAELSD:
I haven't seen their current tour, but both of the shows I have seen them do have some pretty awesome multimedia including in 200 when they had massive screens set up on hydraulics that would shift around throughout the show and act as both screens and crazy shifting stage lights. Trent really likes his flashy multimedia presentations.
@dorylomorphs:
Jesus christ if you actually took 5 god damn seconds to read more than just the title you would know the answer to this
juriko
dorylomorphs
Posted 6:52 AM 14/9/08
Wait, they are saying that their system runs off of linux but they had a bsod earlier on in the week on giz.
dorylomorphs
MICHAELSD
Posted 6:45 AM 14/9/08
I'm starting to want to get tickets to one of the last few shows on their tour. The concert venue is five or six hours away, though...
Is it worth it?
MICHAELSD
exer881
Posted 6:41 AM 14/9/08
meh.
exer881
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Posted 6:40 AM 14/9/08
Ya think?
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Maracas9
Posted 7:34 AM 14/9/08
Ye, the music still sucks though doesnt it..
Maracas9
hanalex
Posted 7:34 AM 14/9/08
@dorylomorphs:
the "bsod" was put in as part of the show, on purpose.
definitely trent's style
hanalex
fquick
Posted 8:58 AM 14/9/08
@Maracas9: And that's your opinion.
Still need to get my ass out to one of their shows.
fquick
wrestlingnrj
Posted 10:20 AM 14/9/08
Went to their show in Inglewood and it was amazing. The visuals are something you have to see in person to get the full effect of.
wrestlingnrj
collider
Posted 10:12 AM 14/9/08
@collider: *deaf.
collider
collider
Posted 10:12 AM 14/9/08
@MICHAELSD: It's absolutely worth it. I swear I could have been def and still been blown away by the visuals alone.
collider
VakeroRokero
Posted 11:36 AM 14/9/08
The greatest live show I've seen is Daft Punk.
VakeroRokero
orphic1
Posted 11:48 AM 14/9/08
@MICHAELSD:
Hells yeah its worth it. I saw the show labor day weekend. Best freakin concert I have ever been to.
orphic1
Hyloka
Posted 1:56 PM 14/9/08
I went to the show in Oakland. One of the best shows I've ever seen. At times I wanted to close my eyes to take in the music, but didn't dare, for fear of missing the awesome effects. NIN knows how to put on a rock concert!
Hyloka
Iggy
Posted 2:28 PM 14/9/08
Mm GrandMA is antiquated? Ok.
Probably one of the best lighting consoles out there, definitely not antiquated.
Iggy
bencahyadi
Posted 4:21 PM 14/9/08
Surely worth it!
bencahyadi
Hanzo
Posted 5:35 PM 14/9/08
I've gone to 16 nails shows over the years, and I truly believe that anyone on the fence should just take the plunge and go.
Frankly, I'm more than a little upset that I am geographically too far away to even contemplate attending, it will be the first tour I've missed since "The Downward Spiral".
Hanzo
NagChampa
Posted 6:45 PM 14/9/08
Damn.
NagChampa
EVIL_V2
Posted 10:41 PM 14/9/08
this angers me since i am a huge nails fan. but i dont live anywhere remotely close to where any band will ever come. its about a tie to go to the gorge in washington or go down to colorado. man at times montana sucks lol, nails FTW!!!!! even though reznor is a mac fan, eeeeewwwwwww
EVIL_V2
BluegrassGeek
Posted 12:31 AM 15/9/08
@MICHAELSD: If you're a NIN fan, it's absolutely worth it. Get tickets. NOW.
If you're not a huge fan, it's still a great show. Not sure it's worth a 6-hour drive, but 2-3 hours would still be worthwhile if you're at least familiar with the band.
I saw this performance in Lexington, KY, and it was a blast. Reznor really put a lot of work into the show, the band was totally into it, and the visuals are just stunning. I especially liked the "MOD tracker" trick for "Echoplex."
BluegrassGeek
silence04
Posted 1:54 AM 15/9/08
The only live stage show that i've seen top NIN was TOOL's last tour (out-of-this-world laser light show). However, from the pictures i've seen of NIN's new tour, i bet they will take the lead again!
October Baby!!!!!
silence04
Jimbuck Bada' Bing!
Posted 4:44 AM 15/9/08
NIN FTW!
Jimbuck Bada' Bing!
neo316
Posted 4:08 PM 15/9/08
@MICHAELSD:
Only if you ignore this bit.
[yogan.meinungsverstaerker.de]
neo316
M.A.X.
Posted 11:59 PM 15/9/08
I went to their concert here in Seattle a few months ago and was completely blown away. There is a good reason why their shows sell out.
M.A.X.
Killjoy
Posted 5:07 AM 16/9/08
@dorylomorphs: When you're content to believe in headlines without reading articles, bad things happen.
Killjoy