Sometimes, a rock star just wants to take a fucking break. That’s exactly what Trent Reznor was getting at, other than some DVD-related news, when he posted an announcement on his NIN.com blog:

This was an amazing tour and production – certainly the best thing I’ve ever been involved with and likely the final tour for NIN on this scale. Thank you to those that came out to see it and forgive me for having a Kanye West moment, but this was FOR SURE the best show of the year and any bullshit end-of-the-year poll you may read in the next few weeks that says otherwise simply has it wrong. Those of you who saw it know I’m right. The shows we have announced in 2009 and any more that may be announced will be a completely different approach with some different personnel and will likely be the last for the foreseeable future.

Inevitably, some of Trent’s fans interpreted these words as a retirement announcement and promptly began slitting their wrists in slavish devotion. Within 2340 comments, here is one of the more obvious examples of NIN hysteria from “OpalOverdose,” who didn’t take the news so well:

That really sucks.

Mr.Reznor you are very inspiring and frankly the 2 times I saw you in ohio was the most amazing experience of my short little life.

Please don’t let this get you down you mean so much to us.

Please continue your with your music.

I grew up on it since I was 3 years old, your music is all I know.

NIN is my religion, not just a band.

I dont know what im going to do when you die…………

HAhahahaha! Come the fuck on, people. Since 2005, Trent Reznor has released four albums (two of which were available free of charge) in rapid succession and toured his mighty fine ass off with band in tow. It’s sort of amazing how sobriety has worked such creative outpouring for a bloke whose art was once forged solely from destruction. After all, Reznor once “left a damage bill reportedly in excess of $100,000” during one particularly coked-up show. When I saw Nine Inch Nails in 1995, Trent didn’t do nearly that much damage, but he definitely trashed several keyboards, a guitar, and a few bandmates in the process. Then, just a few weeks ago, I attended my second NIN show and was relieved to find that Trent’s self-destructive streak had tempered itself yet still remained firmly entrenched within his lyrics. Further, Trent and his boys can still drive a venue into madness without completely tearing up the place. FYI, I was gonna write this concert up as a formal review for Pajiba, but my concert companion kept reminding me that, technically speaking, I know exactly jack shit about music.

So, here’s just a few thoughts from my notes. One huge difference between 1995 and 2008 is that, with Trent off drugs, he’s far more likely to finish a song with a “thank you” than a “fuck you.” Semantics aside, NIN is brilliant in concert whether Reznor is wasted or sober. Nine Inch Nails is an incredible live band to behold – not only for the incredible raw power and kinetic energy or their music – but for the amazing visuals provided by interactive screens and what seemed like a thousand different lighting scenarios. This is, after all, NIN’s “Lights In the Sky” tour. One particularly cool bit of wizardry was that, during “Closer” (see above piccie or this video) and “The Greater Good,” Trent sneered directly into a camera that was interspersed with whatever weirdness was happening onscreen. So, the audience got to enjoy a bit of voyeurism, and I got to see Trent’s fillings as well as directly up his nose, which looked pretty damn clean.

NIN played solidly for two hours and opened with incredibly strong renditions of “1,000,000″ and “Discipline” from The Slip. These were followed by “March of the Pigs,” “Piggy,” “Wish,” “Terrible Lie,” “Head Like a Hole,” and a shitload of other numbers. Then, Reznor decided to cover a Johnny Fucking Cash song called “Hurt.” In all seriousness, Trent did sing the song with more than a bit of irony. My only real complaint was that NIN didn’t play “Mister Self-Destruct” or “Reptile,” which are two songs that I absolutely adore and which could have easily been worked in by dropping a few of the instrumental “Ghosts” numbers that left a huge void in the middle of the set. Of course, “Ghosts” is great stuff, but it’s more industrial-muzak-to-chill-out-at-home stuff than concert material. However, it did give Trent an opportunity to disappear behind a screen and change skintight shirts, but I would have preferred that he would have just taken the damn shirts off altogether. Good times, mates.