This past Wednesday (Aug. 6th), Nine Inch Nails kicked off their “Peel It Back” North American tour in Oakland, CA. The show was one for the books. Not only did the band perform their new song “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” off of the soundtrack for the upcoming film “Tron: Ares” live for the first time, but it was also drummer Josh Freese’s first show back with Nine Inch Nails since 2008.
“This f*cker rehearsed with us for one day,” Reznor remarked about Freese. “It took the rest of us months to learn this sh*t.”
Freese’s return to the band comes just months after he was let go from Foo Fighters. Ironically, Dave Grohl and co. have seemingly snatched up Nine Inch Nails’ longtime drummer Ilan Rubin as a replacement for Freese.
One of the most unexpected moments of the night, however, came while the band played their 1989 song “Sin” – a track with religious undertones. In a twist of fate, frontman Trent Reznor received a baptism of sorts in the form of a leaky fog machine.
The machine, which was attached to the lighting rig above the stage, dumped water on both Reznor and his keyboard as he performed in front of the 13,500 fans.
“I’m trying to play it cool up here,” Reznor said of the incident. “It’s the first time that’s happened in my life, so thank you for sharing that with me.”
