Nine Inch Nails lit up Hollywood on Monday (10/6) with an electric performance at the premiere of Tron: Ares outside the legendary Chinese Theatre along the walk of fame.
The pop-up gig at the film's LA premiere was both celebration and a calling card of the music Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross wrote for the sequel to Tron: Legacy, the third film of the Tron trilogy that began in 1982.
Although extremely rare, this is not the first time a band had performed in front of the 98-year-old movie palace for a film premiere. Def Leppard, for example, played a six-song set there for the Rock of Ages debut in 2012.
NIN, joined with German electronic producer Boys Noize, opened with “As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” a dark, pulsing track built on layered synths and distorted vocal loops.
The tune got its live debut in August at the first show drummer Josh Freese sat behind the drums with the band since 2008.
The video that was made for it and published a month ago already has 1.5 million views.
The striking piece was directed by Maxime Quoilin who also helmed Gunna’s “Dollaz On My Head,” Meek Mill’s “Believe,” and Pharrell Williams with Swae Lee and Rauw Alejandro’s “Airplane Tickets.”
Next came the live debut of "Forked Reality," the intense and cinematic instrumental reeking of futuristic energy.
There's so many good reason Reznor and Ross get hired to do so many scores for films: their originality is unmatched and they have an uncanny sense of mood - particularly when that vibe is anxious.
What followed was the remix of "The Warning" and then the live debut of "Shadow Over Me" to close out the short set.
The TCL Chinese Theatre for years was called the Grauman's Chinese and also the Mann's Chinese. Opened in 1927 on Hollywood Blvd in between Orange and Highland, it remains one of Hollywood’s most recognizable landmarks where droves of tourists come to see the handprints of stars in the courtyard of the theater.
In 2013 the Chinese electronics company TCL (makers of the super inexpensive TVs you find at Target and Best Buy) bought the theater and spent five months renovating the joint.
When they were done, inside was an enormous IMAX screen that measured 94 feet wide and 46 feet high, which at the time was the largest in North America. It now also boasts a 12.1 immersive-sound system, ideal for a movie filmed in IMAX with a score from Reznor & Ross.
The pair have scored several major films together, including The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Gone Girl (2014), Soul (2020), and Challengers (2024), earning two Oscars.
Tron: Ares marks their first score officially credited under the Nine Inch Nails name.
While they are taking the rest of this year off, NIN will be back on the road in February for the next chapter of the Peel It Back Tour, with Boyz Noize both opening and joining them during their set.
Tickets available on the NIN website.
Peel It Back 2026 North American Tour
02/05 Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
02/07 VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
02/10 Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
02/11 Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
02/13 TD Garden, Boston, MA
02/14 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
02/16 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
02/18 TD Coliseum, Hamilton, ON
02/20 Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH
02/22 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
02/23 Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
02/25 Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
02/27 BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
03/01 Moody Center, Austin, TX
03/03 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
03/06 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, AZ
03/07 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
03/09 Pechanga Arena, San Diego, CA
03/10 Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
03/13 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
03/15 Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
03/16 Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
