Trent Reznor is out on a publicity tour for his new release Bad Witch and he's not holding back. After calling out the "Taylor Swifts of the world" for not taking a stand on Trump, he is now being quite frank about artists ripping off his stage show.
For years, Nine Inch Nails had very intricate lighting shows, with massive screens and LEDs. They were always ahead of the curve, and it's clear some other artists have taken notice. Speaking to BBC Music, Reznor was pretty frank about it:
“I’d been obsessed with, since the beginning, attempting with whatever resources I had access to, of transforming the live venue into as much of an immersive experience as possible. And then usually relied on, when we finally had access to it, screens and experimental production techniques. I remember us watching a string of bands on Coachella from the comfort of our couch, you know, and every band has a video playing behind them, and every band is sunk up with a convenient, polite lighting package, you know?
“And I saw Kanye West blatantly rip off, and The Weeknd rip off, our tours, with production-wise, which I’ll say without any hesitation. And they know. And I thought what would be exciting to me is just to see — when I think back to The Cure, when I saw them the first time or Jesus And Mary Chain when we opened for them, all I remember of that was smoke, maybe a color, a little bit of someone’s hair and real, real loud guitars.
“That’s exciting, and I don’t see that happening much. So we went the opposite of the arms race we had been in, of immersive, technological based production and went for a ‘It’s music being played somewhat sloppily with an element of danger and uncertainty and unpredictability.’ And we mean it, and we’re sweaty, and it hurts on stage at times. It worked. So that became a template for what we’re doing now.”
Pitchfork notes that production designer Martin Phillips had worked with both Reznor and Kanye West and that The Weeknd's production design team Sooner Routhier and Robert Long flat out admit to being influenced by Reznor, telling Billboard "We've always called [The Weeknd's] aesthetic the Nine Inch Nails of R&B."
Ultimately, Reznor is playing the game, knowing exactly what to do to get headlines to promote his new album and tour. Dates below:
06/22 London Meltdown Festival *SOLD OUT
06/24 London Royal Albert Hall *SOLD OUT
06/25 Paris Olympia *SOLD OUT
06/27 Amsterdam AFAS *SOLD OUT
06/29 St Gallen Open Air Fest
06/30 Prague Aerodrome Festival
07/02 Berlin Zitadelle *SOLD OUT
07/04 Roskilde DK Roskilde Festival
07/06 Belfort Eurokennes Festival
07/08 Werchter Rock Werchter Festival
07/09 Montreux Montreux Jazz Festival
07/12 Lisbon NOS Alive Festival
07/14 Madrid Mad Cool Festival
08/11 Incheon Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival
08/14 Bangkok Moonstar Studio
08/17 Tokyo Sonic Mania Festival
08/19 Osaka Summer Sonic Festival
09/22 San Antonio, TX River City Rockfest
09/30 Louisville, KY Louder Than Life Festival
11/17-18 Mexico City, MX Corona Capital Festival
09/13 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
09/14 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
09/18 Morrison, CO Red Rocks
09/19 Morrison, CO Red Rocks
09/24 Memphis, TN Orpheum Theater SOLD OUT
09/26 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
09/27 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
09/29 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
10/09 Washington, DC The Anthem
10/10 Washington, DC The Anthem
10/13 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall SOLD OUT
10/14 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall SOLD OUT
10/16 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre
10/17 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre
10/19 Boston, MA Boch Center SOLD OUT
10/20 Boston, MA Boch Center SOLD OUT
10/22 Detroit, MI Fox Theater (Factory Floor)
10/23 Detroit, MI Fox Theater Factory Floor)
10/25 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom (Factory Floor)
SOLD OUT
10/26 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom SOLD OUT
10/27 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom SOLD OUT
11/23 New Orleans, LA Saenger Theatre SOLD OUT
11/24 New Orleans, LA Saenger Theatre SOLD OUT
11/25 New Orleans, LA Saenger Theatre
11/27 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
11/28 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
12/03 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium SOLD OUT
12/04 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
12/07 Los Angeles, CA Palladium SOLD OUT
12/08 Los Angeles, CA Palladium SOLD OUT
12/11 Los Angeles, CA Palladium SOLD OUT
12/12 Los Angeles, CA Palladium SOLD OUT
12/14 Los Angeles, CA Palladium
12/15 Los Angeles, CA Palladium SOLD OUT
