Nine Inch Nails is coming to El Paso in November, but it isn’t the first time. The band performed at a downtown venue known as E9, now reincarnated as The Garden, for the first time back in 1991. Mastermind and sole leader Trent Reznor— who had created the band in 1988— were playing a handful of shows right before they were scheduled to perform in Phoenix, AZ at the first annual Lollapalooza Festival. Songs such as “Terrible Lie” and “Head Like a Hole” off their first album “Pretty Hate Machine” were fresh new pieces of industrial glory that were just buzzing towards the anthems they are today.
Two albums, one EP and three years later NIN were on tour once again performing songs off their latest album “The Downward Spiral.” Songs such as “March of the Pigs”, “Hurt” and “Closer” were being played regularly on radio and MTV bumping the band into superstar status. The band was quickly growing in popularity and in October of 1994, the “Further Down the Spiral Tour” made a stop in El Paso, this time at the County Coliseum. Accompanied by opening acts the Jim Rose Circus Side Show and goth-rocker Marilyn Manson, the tour was unique and entertaining to say the least. NIN enthusiast and concert go-er Bobby Hernandez remembers the show vividly, “My best memory was watching Manson whip out his cock…the Jim Rose Circus Side Show… and finally NIN. It was awesome. They closed with “Something I Can Never Have” and I got kicked in the head after I fell crowd surfing!”
It would be 12 years later that NIN would make a return to our beloved border city. With two more albums, “The Fragile” (1999) and “With Teeth” (2005), along with many more hits added to the repertoire of already monster songs—such as “Starfuckers” and “The Hand That Feeds”— the band was loaded with plenty of industrial ammunition. In March of 2006 NIN rocked the El Paso County Coliseum once again, this time with a bigger budget production; the live performance was supported by an elaborate and sophisticated video and light production, bigger than anything they had done before. Songs such as “Right Where it Belongs” and “Beside You in Time” were performed with delicate precision. “The light show was awesome and the pit was brutal,” recalls concert go-er Hector Bolivar (NIN’s performance didn’t disappoint and left attendee’s wanting more!)
NIN released three more albums “Year Zero” (2007), “Ghosts I-IV” (2008), and “The Slip” (also 2008), yet they didn’t return to El Paso during that time. In 2009 Reznor had announced on his official website that NIN was taking an indefinite hiatus and that, “Nine Inch Nails is done touring for the foreseeable future.” The announcement shocked and disappointed many fans.
Reznor didn’t stop making music though, he stayed relevant. He joined forces with his buddy—producer/engineer/musician— Atticus Ross (worked on the last 4 of NIN’s albums up to that point), as well as Reznor’s wife Mariqueen Maandig, created the band How to Destroy Angels. They released a self-titled EP in 2010. He also teamed up with Ross to create the soundtrack for movies “The Social Network” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” winning an Acadamy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network in 2010. This success motivated and inspired Reznor to bring back NIN.
In 2012, Reznor secretly worked on new songs with Ross for a new NIN album. In May of 2013 Reznor officially announced NIN would release their new album “Hesitation Marks” in September and a large-scale tour with big-budget production would follow. The announcement excited fans all over the world, and soon after cities and dates were confirmed. El Paso was on the list! This time NIN comes to El Paso with a massive catalog of songs with new hits such as “Copy of A” and “Came Back Haunted” to entertain and excite. “They’re a pioneering band, and a band that never stays stagnant,” stated NIN enthusiast Hector Bolivar. “Trent has the talent and the ingenuity that allows him to always threaten the boundary that music has to offer.” Nine Inch Nails will be playing in El Paso November 11, 2013.
Buy tickets here: http://www.livenation.com/events/258921/nov-11-2013/nine-inch-nails?c=LNSM_National_FB_nin_ad_backendpost_ElPaso_10282013