Nails perform Spiral at farewell show

Reuters

DOWNWARD SPIRAL: Fans were treated to a rare performance at a recent Nine Inch Nails show.

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Nine Inch Nails fans in New York got more than they bargained when the rock band played its 1994 classic The Downward Spiral in its entirety for the first time ever.

The Trent Reznor-led act, on a Wave Goodbye tour of small venues, had the 1000-strong crowd at Webster Hall drenched in sweat within minutes of launching into the punishing rock of Mr Self Destruct.

It was soon clear that the band was plowing through Downward in sequence. Reznor later told the audience, "I've always wanted to play that whole record, and this seemed like the time to do it."

The Downward sequence of course featured Nine Inch Nails' iconic single Closer, which wasn't played the night before during the band's stop at the 550-capacity Bowery Ballroom, and finished with the hushed Hurt, which became known to an entirely different audience thanks to Johnny Cash's memorable 2002 cover version.

Once Downward was completed, NIN played 10 more songs without an encore, including Suck, The Hand That Feeds and its breakthrough 1989 hit, Head Like a Hole.

The NIN farewell tour continues Tuesday and Wednesday at New York's Terminal 5, and wraps September 6 at Los Angeles' Echoplex.

The band had originally planned to bow out of live performances after a summer tour with Jane's Addiction, but Reznor said that since "we had to rush through sets due to a limited allotted set length and many shows were in daylight, it just didn't feel right to end NIN that way".

Reznor has not given specific details about what he plans to do following the tour's conclusion.

- Reuters