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Self Destruct

Tour by Nine Inch Nails
Reznor performing during the Self-Destruct tour, circa 1994–1995.
Associated album	The Downward Spiral
Start date	March 9, 1994
End date	September 8, 1996
Legs	8
Nine Inch Nails concert chronology
Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series (1988) Self-Destruct Tour (1994) Fragility Tour (1999)

The Self Destruct Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails' album The Downward Spiral, which took place in early 1994, running until mid-1996, and was broken into eight legs.

Overview

The tour was filmed for the Closure tour documentary, a double-VHS set that documented live performances of the tour as well as the band from 1989–1991, and an extra VHS tape featuring the band's music videos, which was released in late 1997. A 2 DVD package featuring additional bonus content was planned for 2005. However, licensing issues forced an indefinite delay of an official release of the set. An alleged "prototype version" of the DVDs eventually leaked to torrent websites in 2006. This release has been attributed to Reznor himself.

This was Nine Inch Nails' first tour since the early 1990s shows for Pretty Hate Machine. During this time, Nine Inch Nails' music became angrier and more aggressive with releases like Broken and The Downward Spiral, which led to the concerts being often very violent and personal, with band members often injuring themselves. The stage set-up consisted of grungy curtains which would pulled down and up for visuals which might be played during songs (such as 'Hurt'), or pulled up for live performances of more aggressive songs. The back of the stage was littered with darker and standing lights, with very little actual lights.^[1]

Trent Reznor overhauled the band line-up and image for the tour; guitarist Robin Finck joined to play guitar while Danny Lohner joined on to play bass guitar. However, Chris Vrenna and James Woolley were brought back from the Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series. Image-wise, instead of the sloppy, low-budget style for previous tours, the band often dressed in black leather smothered in cornstarch, with band members often changing their hairstyles to radical hair styles for every concert. Robin Finck used makeup to hide his eyebrows, and Reznor would often don his 'fishnet gloves' (as they would come to be known) for the show. The band's showy yet intense tour style gave the band comparisons to David Bowie, whom Reznor was a big fan of. Later in the tour, Bowie and Reznor's protégé, Marilyn Manson, would often join the frontman on stage to sing their songs—as evident in the Closure tour documentary.^[1]

The tour included a set at Woodstock '94 broadcast on pay-per-view and seen in as many as 24 million homes. The band being covered in mud was a result of pre-concert backstage play, contrary to the belief that it was an attention-grabbing ploy, thus making it difficult for Reznor to navigate the stage: Reznor pushed Lohner into the mud pit as the concert began and saw mud from his hair going into his eyes while performing. Nine Inch Nails was widely proclaimed to have "stolen the show" from its popular contemporaries, mostly classic rock bands, and its fan base expanded.^[1][2][3] The band received considerable mainstream success thereafter, performing with significantly higher production values and the addition of various theatrical visual elements.^[4] Its performance of "Happiness in Slavery" from the Woodstock concert earned the group a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1995.^[1]Entertainment Weekly commented about the band's Woodstock '94 performance: "Reznor unstrings rock to its horrifying, melodramatic core--an experience as draining as it is exhilarating".^[5] Despite this acclaim, Reznor attributed his dislike of the concert to its technical difficulties.^[1]

The main leg of the tour featured Marilyn Manson as the supporting act, who featured bassist Jeordie White (then playing under the pseudonym "Twiggy Ramirez"); White later played bass with Nine Inch Nails from 2005 to 2007.^[1][6] After another tour leg supporting the remix album Further Down the Spiral, Nine Inch Nails contributed to the Alternative Nation Festival in Australia and subsequently embarked on the Dissonance Tour, which included 26 separate performances with co-headliner David Bowie. Nine Inch Nails was the opening act for the tour, and its set transitioned into Bowie's set with joint performances of both bands' songs.^[1] However, the crowds reportedly did not respond positively to the pairing due to their creative differences.^[7]

The tour concluded with "Nights of Nothing", a three-night showcase of performances from Nothing Records bands Marilyn Manson, Prick, Meat Beat Manifesto, and Pop Will Eat Itself, which ended with an 80-minute set from Nine Inch Nails. Kerrang! described the Nine Inch Nails set during the Nights of Nothing showcase as "tight, brash and dramatic", but was disappointed at the lack of new material. On the second of the three nights, Richard Patrick was briefly reunited with the band and contributed guitar to a performance of "Head Like a Hole".^[8] After the Self Destruct tour, Chris Vrenna, member of the live band since 1988 and frequent contributor to Nine Inch Nails studio recordings, left the act permanently to pursue a career in producing and to form Tweaker.^[9][10]

Band line-up

• 
  Trent Reznor – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, bass


• 
  Robin Finck – guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals


• 
  Danny Lohner – bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals


• 
  Chris Vrenna – drums


• 
  James Woolley – keyboards, synthesizers programming, backup vocals (March 9, 1994 – December 11, 1994)


• 
  Charlie Clouser – keyboards, synthesizers, programming, backup vocals (December 28, 1994 – September 8, 1996)

Warm-up leg

Typical setlist

1. "Pinion"


2. "Terrible Lie"


3. "Sin"


4. "March of the Pigs"


5. "Piggy"


6. "Reptile"


7. "Wish"


8. "Ruiner"


9. "Suck"


10. "Happiness in Slavery"


11. "The Only Time"


12. "Get Down, Make Love"


13. "Down in It"


14. "Head Like a Hole"

"Heresy" made its live debut at Las Vegas, on March 14.

Tour dates

North American & Europe leg

Reeling from the success of Pretty Hate Machine and Broken as well as the band's departure from TVT Records, the nearly immediate success of The Downward Spiral led to Nine Inch Nails playing larger venues. This debuted the band's new grungy and messy image in which band members would often come out in ragged clothes slathered in corn starch. They would often destroy their instruments at the end of concerts, attack each other, and stage-dive into the crowd. This led to Nine Inch Nails's notoriety as a live act. The shows often consisted of songs from Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, The Downward Spiral, as well as songs such as "Get Down Make Love" and "Dead Souls", which were formerly staples of their live show.^[1]

Typical setlist

1. "Pinion"


2. "Terrible Lie"


3. "Sin"


4. "March of the Pigs"


5. "Something I Can Never Have"


6. "Closer"


7. "Reptile"


8. "Wish"


9. "Suck"


10. "The Only Time"


11. "Get Down, Make Love"


12. "Down in It"


13. "Big Man with a Gun"


14. "Head Like a Hole"


15. "Dead Souls"


16. "Help Me I Am in Hell"


17. "Happiness in Slavery"

"Burn" made its live debut on the second to last show of the tour.

Support act

• Die Krupps


• Fem2Fem


• Marilyn Manson


• PIG


• Treponem Pal


• Type O Negative

Tour dates

North American leg #2

An incident occurred at the tour's Delta Center stop on October 18, 1994 in Salt Lake City. Manson was prohibited from performing after the venue owner took offense to Manson's merchandise which included a band t-shirt with the satirical message, "Warning: Heavy Metal Music contains satanic messages that will KILL GOD in your impressionable teenage minds. As a result, you will be convinced to KILL YOUR MOM AND DAD, and eventually, in all act of hopeless, suicidal, 'rock and roll' behaviour, you will KILL YOURSELF. Please, burn your records while there is still hope." During Nine Inch Nail's set, Reznor invited Manson on stage who ripped apart a Book of Mormon then threw it into the audience asking, "Do you let Him [God] run your lives?"^[11][12]

Typical setlist

1. "Pinion"


2. "Mr. Self Destruct"


3. "Sin"


4. "March of the Pigs"


5. "Piggy"


6. "Reptile"


7. "Gave Up
   


8. "Happiness in Slavery"


9. "Eraser"


10. "Hurt"


11. "The Downward Spiral"


12. "Wish"


13. "Suck"


14. "The Only Time" or "Ruiner"


15. "Down in It"


16. "Head Like a Hole"


17. "Dead Souls"


18. "Closer"


19. "I Do Not Want This"


20. "Something I Can Never Have"

"Physical", "Get Down, Make Love" and "Terrible Lie" made a number of occasional appearances.

Support act

• Hole


• Jim Rose Circus


• Marilyn Manson


• The Melvins


• Pop Will Eat Itself

Tour dates

Oceania leg

The leg was a part of the Alternative Nation Festival.

Typical setlist

1. "Pinion"


2. "Mr. Self Destruct"


3. "Sin"


4. "March of the Pigs"


5. "Piggy"


6. "Closer"


7. "Reptile"


8. "Gave Up
   


9. "Wish"


10. "Dead Souls"


11. "Help Me I Am in Hell"


12. "Happiness in Slavery"


13. "Head Like a Hole"

Tour dates

Dissonance leg

The band co-headlined with David Bowie on the North American leg on Bowie's Outside Tour in 1995.

Typical setlist

1. "Terrible Lie"


2. "March of the Pigs"


3. "The Becoming"


4. "Sanctified"


5. "Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)"


6. "Burn"


7. "Closer" or "Closer To God"


8. "Wish"


9. "Gave Up"


10. "Down in It"


11. "Eraser" (Instrumental version)

Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie:

1. "Subterraneans"


2. "Scary Monsters"


3. "Reptile"


4. "Hallo Spaceboy"


5. "Hurt"

Tour dates

North American club leg

Typical setlist

1. "Head Like a Hole"


2. "Terrible Lie"


3. "Mr. Self Destruct"


4. "March of the Pigs"


5. "Something I Can Never Have"


6. "Reptile"


7. "Suck"


8. "Get Down, Make Love"


9. "Piggy"


10. "Closer"


11. "Down in It"


12. "Wish"


13. "Gave Up"


14. "Happiness in Slavery"


15. "Sanctified"


16. "Dead Souls"

Tour dates

Nights of Nothing leg

Nights of Nothing was an industry showcase organized by Reznor of his vanity label, Nothing Records', talent roster. It ran from August 30, 1996 to September 8, 1996 and spanned three shows. The shows featured performances by his band, Meat Beat Manifesto, Marilyn Manson, Filter and other "special guests."^[13][14]

Marilyn Manson incident

Following the conclusion of the arduous recording sessions for Marilyn Manson's sophomore album Antichrist Superstar, acrimony between the band, Reznor, and Nothing Records was at its peak.^[16][17] The band nevertheless grudgingly agreed to fulfill their contractual obligation to promote the record a little over a month prior to its release by performing on the second evening of Nights of Nothing, at the Irving Plaza on September 5 1996.^[15][13] While performing the final song of their five-song set, "1996", Manson picked up a weighted microphone stand and proceeded to smash the drumkit.^[13][18] Drummer Ginger Fish kept playing what remained of his disintegrating equipment until Manson accidentally struck him on the side of the head with the weighted base, sending him face first to the floor unconscious.^[18][19] Manson then walked offstage while the crowd looked on to see whether or not the drummer was alright.^[18][19] Fish managed to crawl a few inches before he collapsed and was carried away by road crew to the hospital.^[18][19] Fish's injury necessitated five stitches and a brief rumor spread the incident was a deliberate assault.^[13] Fish later recounted that had he not turned his head at the last moment the stand would have hit him directly in the face and said of the incident, "we just get a little carried away sometimes."^[19]

Typical setlist

1. "Terrible Lie"


2. "March of the Pigs"


3. "Sanctified"


4. "Wish"


5. "Suck"


6. "Down in It"


7. "Animal" (Prick cover)


8. "Tough" (Prick cover)


9. "R.S.V.P." (Pop Will Eat Itself cover, with Clint Mansell)


10. "Wise Up! Sucker" (Pop Will Eat Itself cover, with Clint Mansell)


11. "Head Like a Hole"


12. "Something I Can Never Have"

"Dead Souls" was played at the Atlanta show.

Tour dates

Canceled dates

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

• 
  Manson, Marilyn; Strauss, Neil (1998). The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-098746-6 – via Internet Archive.