August 6th 1994, Nine Inch Nails at Molson Park in Barrie

 

I've made a few posts about Nine Inch Nails recently, but at the risk of repeating myself I think that it would be an oversight not to mention their show at Molson Park in Barrie on August 6th 1994. Sharing the bill with Soundgarden, this was the Toronto stop on the first leg of the tour to support "The Downward Spiral", and it was spectacular. Where earlier performances I had seen showed an incredible potential in the band, this show saw all of that potential realized in an outstanding set that was mind-blowing from start to finish. 

I don't think I can really do this show justice in terms of a description, I don't really have the vocabulary to fully put into words the immensity of what was happening on stage, but I can tell you that this tour was a significant turning point in Trent Reznor's career in terms of his reputation and recognition as a performer, as an artist, and as a visionary. Over the course of an hour and a half he channeled equal parts rage and alienation, anger and isolation, desperation and maybe even a little bit of hope too, all of it delivered from the edge of a deep, dark, nearly bottomless abyss. In the years to come, Reznor would be able to tame that side of himself and channel those feelings into his work more effectively, more succinctly, and more artistically but there's no question that this era in his career he was delivering raw, intense, and emotional performances that stand as some of the best he would ever do.

A week after the show in Barrie, Nine Inch Nails would perform pretty much the same set at the Woodstock '94 event and that performance gained them a lot of well-deserved recognition and praise. You can find video from the Woodstock show quite readily on YouTube and I really encourage you to check it out if you haven't already seen it. With the exception of all the mud, Nine Inch Nails' set at Woodstock pretty much perfectly captures all of the same energy and intensity of the show they played in Barrie, and I'm sure you'll agree that it's an especially spectacular moment in the history of an especially spectacular artist...