Nine Inch Nails
Oakland Arena, Oakland
August 6, 2025
Photos by Andi Elloway and John Crawford
Whenever Nine Inch Nails goes on tour, it’s a cause for celebration, especially when it’s not in direct support of a new release. Like the Wave Goodbye tour in 2009 or their last worldwide tour in 2022, the lack of pressure to focus on certain material has always meant that the band can play it fast and loose and change setlists night after night while performing songs that haven’t been played in years. On Wednesday night at the Oakland Arena, I was wondering what Trent Reznor and his band had in store for us in the audience.
Once opening act Boys Noize finished his set and the curtain dropped on a small stage in the middle of the audience, the crowd got to witness Trent sitting at a piano, playing “Right Where It Belongs” from With Teeth before playing a stripped down and slightly rearranged version of “Ruiner” from The Downward Spiral, one of my favorite songs by the band. As the song went on and increased in intensity, Trent was joined by Atticus Ross, the only other official member of Nine Inch Nails, and longtime live member Alessandro Cortini. For the last song on the B stage, “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now),” a remixed version of the live staple “Piggy,” guitarist Robin Finck emerged onstage, Trent stepping away from the piano to sneer at the crowd, “What am I supposed to do? I lost my shit because of you!” Once the song came to an end, the giant tapestry on the main stage showed a projection of drummer Josh Freese, who recently stepped back into the role with the band that he occupied from 2005 – 2008, as he drummed along to the percussive backing track that was used throughout the song as the rest of the band vanished from the small stage to make their way to the main stage as the lights went out.
When the lights came back on it was accompanied by the drum intro of “Wish,” another live staple of the band’s. “This is the first day of my last days,” Trent sang into the microphone before the crowd was assaulted by a barrage of distorted guitar and synths. What followed was Nine Inch Nails playing banger after banger after banger with barely any downtime between songs, with half of the songs being played during this part of the set being from The Downward Spiral. With the tour being called Peel It Back, a reference to the song “March Of The Pigs,” it makes sense, with “Pigs,” “Reptile,” and “Heresy” being played back to back to back.
The large tapestry hanging in front of the stage and to either side of it showed projections of the band throughout this portion of the set, with their videographer joining the band on stage and shooting close up footage of Josh’s thunderous drumming, Robin’s guitar shredding, Alessandro’s quietly calm bass playing, Atticus’s electronic wizardry, and Trent’s wails into the microphone. For “Copy Of A” the videographer disappeared entirely, the projection changing to delayed footage of Trent singing the song, multiple copies of him appearing around the screens before a silhouette took their place. After the mosh pit-inducing “Gave Up,” the band took their leave from the stage.
Opener DJ Boys Noize was already poised on the B stage, Trent’s piano now replaced by three consoles full of various electronic instruments and gear. Soon he was joined by Trent and Atticus, and the three played through a short set of remixed versions of Nine Inch Nails songs. Some, like “Vessel” and “Sin,” retained elements of the originals, while “Came Back Haunted” was performed with an entirely new arrangement. The highlight of the set was the live debut of “As Alive As You Need Me To Be,” taken from the upcoming score for the film Tron: Ares. Some water dripping down onto Trent caused a few technical difficulties and for him to miss his lines in a few parts, but it was still an exhilarating experience to see a new song be played live for the first time. As Boys Noize extended the outro for “Came Back Haunted,” the last song played during this part of the show, Trent and Atticus headed back to the main stage to join the rest of the band for the final stretch of the show.
The pulsing opening to “Somewhat Damaged” began ringing through the arena, the crowd enthusiastically responding to one of the best songs in the band’s live repertoire. Soon they were on their feet jumping and screaming along to Trent’s please, “Broken, bruised, forgotten, sore, too fucked up to care anymore.” There in the arena, it became a rallying cry. Much like the second part of the set, this final part was all bangers and their most popular songs yet again, but without the tapestry in front of the stage anymore (a literal peeling back), the music was left to do the heavy lifting, and boy did it.
With Josh Freese back in the band, the big question was whether or not the band would play “The Perfect Drug.” It’s a song that wasn’t played live for over two decades after its release in 1997, but finally the band began playing it live in 2018. The song has since become regularly played by the band, with many attributing the band’s ex-drummer Ilan Rubin as to why, taking into account the breakbeat drum solo that appears towards the end of the song. All questions of whether or not Josh was up to the task of playing it were answered as Robin began playing the intro of the song, and before long it was time for Josh to prove to everyone that yes, he could not only play it, but arguably do it better than Ilan. Once the drum solo section ended the crowd erupted into applause, and it was truly a highlight of the show.
Unfortunately the show ended how most Nine Inch Nails shows have ended over the last sixteen years: with the run of “The Hand That Feeds,” “Head Like A Hole,” and “Hurt.” It isn’t that those songs are bad (they’re all great in their own way), but after having seen the band regularly over the years, I do wish that they would shake things up and end their shows differently. Pair that with the bulk of the songs played on the main stage feeling like a greatest hits or festival setlist, and I couldn’t help but feel a tad disappointed by the song selection. If this was your first time seeing the band, I am sure that it was a fantastic experience, and even though I had a great time and will always come away from a Nine Inch Nails show feeling reinvigorated, I couldn’t help but wish that the band had peeled it back a little more.
