Show Review: Nine Inch Nails, Boys Noize at Barclays Center.
September 2nd, 2025
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“I'm afraid of Americans” -David Bowie
September 8th, 2025
For a while we didn't know what to say about this show, but now we do. Nine Inch Nails played Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for two nights last week, the 2nd and the 3rd. A powerhouse since the late 80’s, we could not resist the opportunity to see Trent Reznor & Co. do their thing, so we found our way into the rafters Tuesday night for a transportive experience into a world of an industrial rock trailblazer. With warmup support from Boys Noize, here’s what we witnessed:
Boys Noize was set up on the back end of the floor surrounded on all four sides by red pillars of light that reached up over 200 feet to the ceiling. Visible in the fog, the columns appeared almost as a futuristic prison cell of light. The music was wordless, rumbling, and thumping with brute force. Our friend leaned over and said “this feels like a Berlin club” and they were probably right, the Iraqi-German DJ has deep ties to the Berlin techno underground. A cool aspect of the performance is that it transitioned instantly into the start of Nine Inch Nails’ set, with no down time in between.
Boys Noize ended his set deafeningly to a curtain drop of a small square center stage. On the stage was Trent Reznor, alone, in front of a piano. After the initial cheer, Barclays Center was hushed as a single chord quietly rang out as he started to sing Right Where It Belongs. It was so quiet, the thousands in attendance were still. After an hour of rumbling audio assault by Boys Noize, the silence between the notes of this slow piano introduction were deafening. We felt ourselves getting sucked in from the very top rafters, like Trent was a black hole whose gravity was towing everyone's rapt attention towards him. It was an incredible moment and one we had least expected.
The song slowly built in momentum until his bandmates joined him on stage and it broke loose. After two more songs the group relocated to a larger main stage where the heavy hitting really began. The production was astounding, layers of translucent curtains hung from ceiling to stage floor, projecting supersized real time visuals of the performers onto them. During Copy of A, multiple giant Trents duplicated themselves seemingly in the air during the chorus.
After some time the show moved back to the starting B stage, this time with Boys Noize joining to collaborate on clubbier, heavier versions of standout classics like Closer. Brooklyn Vegan went so far to attest that these versions were better than the originals.
The show moved once again back to the main stage for a seven song set, with newly returning drummer Josh Freese unloading on the kit. The last four songs were the David Bowie collaboration I’m Afraid of Americans, The Hand The Feeds, Head Like A Hole, and Hurt. By the time the performers walked off and black curtains with the NIN logo fell down onto the main stage, we were spent. They had laid it all out there for hours and we feel lucky to have been a part of it. The Peel It Back tour has a few more stops in the south and the west coast this month, we give it a strong Rrrat City recommendation. Rrrock On, Rrrat Pack, see you around.
| Keywords: | New York City | Nine Inch Nails | Boys Noize | Barclays Center |
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