Gig played on 05/07/05

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work." In the world of rock'n'roll, Gustave Flaubert's famous words of advice have long been flouted with impunity. Indeed, rock history dictates that, from David Bowie through Happy Mondays to The Libertines, hard drug use and mental illness can comfortably coexist with creative brilliance.

But with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, the story is different. See, by knocking alcohol and cocaine on the head, the dark lord of industrial gothica has just made a record that easily trumps its lacklustre predecessor "The Fragile". A mix of brooding electronics and surging noise, "With Teeth" is a masterclass in conjuring exciting, cathartic art from those blackest of emotions: hatred, bitterness, frustration, rage.

Evidence of Reznor's creative rebirth arrives quickly tonight. Sure, the two "Fragile" songs that open proceedings ("The Frail", "The Wretched") are sleek and impressive, but with the progression to "With Teeth" stand-out "You Know Who You Are?", everything shifts up a gear. The power of the onslaught derives partly from the new musicians Reznor has recruited: Jerome Dillon is a maniacally hard-hitting drummer; Jeordie White plays the kind of bass you expect from the man who composed Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People"; and ex-Icarus Line guitarist Aaron North proves quite the virtuoso, even if he seems forever on the verge of a tantrum.

Mostly, though, the power derives from Reznor himself. That scouring voice, that curiously ageless appearance, that rippling physique: there's something almost superhuman about the guy, and he walks a fine line between moody charisma and outright scariness as he leads his minions through a mammoth two-hour set. Punishing in the right way, it draws from every phase of Reznor's career, with a monolithic "Terrible Lie" representing debut "Pretty Hate Machine" while the angst-ridden masterpiece "The Downward Spiral" yields a vicious "March Of The Pigs" and the ever-sexy "Closer". Even his "Natural Born Killers" soundtrack gets a look-in, via the pleasingly unpleasant "Burn".

Constructive criticisms? Well, along with a trim of dreary ballads such as "Even Deeper", tonight's set would benefit from North toning down some of his flourishes and things generally being punchier (they play 24 songs). However, a closing quartet of "Hurt", "Wish", "Starfuckers, Inc" and "Head Like A Hole" is enough to trivialise any misgivings. Nine Inch Nails, then: regular, orderly, violent, original. Old Gustave would be loving it.

by Niall O'Keeffe