On Friday the 13th, Nine Inch Nails brought good luck and bad vibes to Boston on the second North American leg of their acclaimed Peel It Back Tour.
As on the first leg of the trek, the action played out across four acts and two stages, with Trent Reznor opening the proceedings alone at a piano on the satellite stage, this night playing a stripped-down version of Pretty Hate Machine’s “Something I Can Never Have” fittingly interpolated with a snippet of Depeche Mode’s “Stripped.”
Later, the full band exploded onto the main stage with a raging performance of the Broken EP’s “Wish” followed by “March of the Pigs.” “Copy of A” found Reznor surrounded by an army of ghostly doppelgangers projected onto gauzy screens in a stunning production effect.
Act 3 featured NIN in live collaboration with opener Boys Noize, playing dance-floor-stomping remixes of “She’s Gone Away,” “Closer” and How to Destroy Angels’ “Parasite,” as well as their Grammy-winning Tron: Ares collab “As Alive as You Need Me to Be.” TD Garden was transformed into a full-on goth rave.
The final act of the 21-song set featured Natural Born Killers soundtrack deep cut “Burn” and culminated in a hair-raising rendition of The Downward Spiral’s “Hurt,” with every single audience member singing along.
Revolver creative director Jimmy Hubbard was on hand to catch the full show from the floor — check out some of his standout shots below.
