“been a NIN fan for ten years, didn’t think i’d get to see them once let alone twice! hearing hurt live was such a special + cathartic experience for me. no matter what i’m going through i always find my way back to NIN; Trent’s lyrics get me like no other and i am so grateful to be able to say that i’ve seen them with my own eyes :)”

"This wasn’t my first Nine Inch Nails show. The first time I saw them was in London on The Fragile tour, and this time I made the trip from Sydney, Australia — something you don’t take lightly when you know they don’t come out here often.

What made it even better was running into people I’d met earlier in 2025 when I put together a Nine Inch Nails exhibition. Reconnecting with them outside the show gave the whole night a sense of continuity — like this extended, slightly obsessive community that just keeps orbiting the band.

I’ve been listening to Nine Inch Nails since around 1993–94. The first thing that really hit me was the video for March of the Pigs, which sent me straight out to buy the album. But technically, my first exposure was Pinion off the Broken EP, passed on through my brother’s friend when I was about 14. That was the moment — the line in the sand. It changed everything.

Picking a favourite live moment is almost unfair. The remix of Piggy was beautiful, We’re In This Together stripped back felt genuinely haunting, and The Perfect Drug has always been a personal standout. Honestly, there were too many to choose from.

Music has always been a constant for me, especially during harder periods, and Nine Inch Nails has been a big part of that. Not the only thing, but definitely a foundation — particularly in the earlier years when working through depression. Their music has soundtracked a lot of my life.

I didn’t grab any merch this time — the exchange rate makes that decision for you — but I left with something better. I stood there and experienced the entire show without picking up my camera once. No documenting, no filtering, just being in it. Which, these days, feels almost radical."

"This was my first NIN show as a 21 yo. I had been listening to them for at least 5 years or so. I was so excited to bring out my NIN shirt and show off my NIN tattoo that I got before learning I’d be able to experience this. We saw some Christian protesters before heading in and not caring what my family thought, I started singing the lyrics to Heresy out loud. Of course they hated that but we all moved on and were immediately distracted by the banner. We took pictures while walking in and made it to our seats after grabbing a poster and shirt. As we sat and waited, me and my boyfriend planned our tik tok and tried to guess all the songs he’d play. Then it went dark, and the crowd of thousands erupted, including us. I sat there listening to the beginning song start, it wasn’t one that I knew by heart, it was an alternative version of Somewhat Damaged, it was slow and soft piano and slightly aching and older voice that was tired of begging for people to see his message. The rest of the songs I screamed out of me like it was summoned and I beat my legs so hard they started to bruise. It was like a part of me that remembered all the Pagan rituals was alive again and no longer asking for permission. Our sets were far from good but we were considered when the layout was made so we saw a great deal of the show. He of course ended with Hurt. I held onto my boyfriend crying while the hurt I sang out mixed with Trent’s. Those who ask what my favorite concert was get the same answer. Nine Inch Nails."

"Hamilton was amazing. The pit was on fire and the best I have seen ever. Hurt is always my favorite song. Dancing in the pit with my brother (the ticket was a birthday present) was the best time ever. I moved from LA to Toronto to look after my mum who has cancer and it was also a gift for myself. I have loved NIN since their first album and first music video (Closer). When you’re at a NIN show it’s the music and nothing else matters. Pure magic."

"My first NIN show was in 2006 at the Verizon Amphitheater. Bauhaus and Peaches were the opening acts and I was absolutely blown away with the whole show. I’ve tried to see NIN anytime I could ever since, the last time being 9/19 for the last night of the Peel it Back tour. I’ve been a fan of their music since The Downward Spiral but seeing them live is a must whenever possible. I can’t wait to see them again in March, the Boys Noize remix of Closer was incredible live!"

“I remember being a teenager trying to fit in. Trying to act more 'hood' than I really was, because that’s what was cool at the time. It was survival. Performance. Camouflage.

But even before that, as a little kid, I remember seeing the video for Closer and thinking it was the coolest fucking thing ever and having no one to appreciate it with. It just lived in my head for years. It wasn’t until my junior or senior year of high school that I picked up a copy of The Downward Spiral thinking, 'Fuck yeah, that’s the album with the ‘I wanna fuck you like an animal’ song.' I had no idea. After that, I was obsessed. It felt like I had unlocked an entirely new paradigm of sound, something that didn’t just change what I listened to, but how I understood music and art altogether. I remember nights when I would smoke a little joint, get in bed with my CD player, turn off the lights, and lie there in the dark letting the album play front to back. Trent’s music took me places I still struggle to explain. From the soft, almost protective textures of A Warm Place to the off-kilter, horny, mechanical whirs of Reptile, I knew I had found something that filled a void I did not even realize I had created after years of trying to be someone I was not. It was liberating. And the best part was that there was always something new hiding in the tracks. A buried vocal. A distorted whisper twisted into the noise of songs like Heresy. You could listen a hundred times and still discover something. In fact, I am still discovering new things in these songs to this day. The Downward Spiral led me to The Fragile. The Fragile led me to Broken, then to Pretty Hate Machine. Then remixes. Then more. It felt like unlocking an entire hidden archive that had been waiting for me. Then new tracks started dropping while I was old enough to follow it in real time. With Teeth in my early 20s. The Slip. Hesitation Marks. Year Zero. I was not just discovering the past. I was growing alongside the music. Following an artist who meant something to me as it was happening. And I was alone in that. None of my friends got it. Some straight up told me what I was listening to sucked. But fuck those people. They did not get it and they probably never would. That’s the thing about art that hits you in the chest. You do not need consensus. You need connection. So when the Live: With Teeth tour hit Oakland Arena in 2006, I went alone. I could not find anyone who wanted to go. So I went anyway. It was awkward. It was weird. I might have told a few strangers I had 'lost my friends' just to cope with the fact that I showed up solo and felt like a loser. In hindsight, kind of silly. And now that I think about it, I would go alone again in a heartbeat. I would not have known it at the time, but that night was not about being cool. It was about being honest. About doing something for myself and not giving a shit what anyone thought. That became a theme as I got older, and I am grateful, in part, to Trent’s music for that.

Fast forward to today, I have been to at least four more shows. This time with my wife. With real friends. Turns out your people filter improves dramatically as you age. We went to Peel It Back last year, the day before my birthday. Basically a birthday gift from Trent himself, lol. And we are going again in March. Now watching this new generation discover his music the same way I did lifts me up. It makes me a proud 'unc' or 'old head.' Watching Trent win Grammy after Grammy and headline what might have been the hottest live show of 2025, finally getting the recognition he has deserved for decades, feels validating to me personally. Not because I was right. But because I stayed true to something that mattered to me and I did not let anyone take it away from me.

To the kids out there feeling alone, like you do not fit, like you are carrying something heavy by yourself: It gets better. There is a badass in you somewhere. You just have to be brave enough to embrace them. Nothing can stop you when you don’t care anymore."