MANILA, Philippines – Local music fans have been buzzing with anticipation over Nine Inch Nails’ Aug. 5 gig at the Araneta Coliseum. As soon as local promoter Splintr opened tickets sales last May, fans have been lining up to snag the much-coveted front row tickets. A box-office employee was reportedly puzzled over the amount of tickets being bought not weeks, but months in advance. Those in the know predict that interest in the tour, which may be NIN’s last, will only increase as the show looms closer.
Capping-off a wildly successful career, NIN mastermind Trent Reznor is taking a victory lap with the “Wave Goodbye” tour.
“In NIN world, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of our first releases,” Reznor wrote in his blog. “I’ve been thinking for some time now it’s time to make NIN disappear for a while. After some thought, we decided to book a last run of shows across the globe this year.” The announcement left many Pinoy fans searching for that elusive chance to see NIN. Splintr, the country’s first independent online music channel, took on the daunting task of bringing NIN to our shores, generating some big noise in the process.
And what a fabulous ruckus it will be. Assembling a rotating-cast of touring musicians, Reznor is known to orchestrate some of the most memorable live experiences, from the calculated mayhem of the “Self-Destruct” tour to the sensory overload of the “Lights in the Sky” concerts down to the raw power of “Wave Goodbye.” In the studio, Reznor played most of the instruments himself, and gave the clanging dirge of industrial music a human pulse. NIN classics such as Sin and Purest Feeling owe as much to the experiments of industrial bands Skinny Puppy and Coil as to the pop songwriting of Prince.
The Philippine leg of Nine Inch Nails’ Wave Goodbye tour will take place on Aug. 5 at the Araneta Coliseum. To purchase tickets, call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or visit www.ticketnet.com.ph. For more details, visit www.splintr.com.