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5 reasons not to miss Nine Inch Nails at The Joint

With industrial rock prime movers Nine Inch Nails returning to the Hard Rock Hotel this weekend, here are five reasons you can’t miss this show:

They’re no longer road dogs

After not touring since 2014, Nine Inch Nails returned to the stage this summer to hit the festival circuit. They’ve been primarily topping big multi-band bills since then, so seeing the group perform a headlining one-off show, like Friday’s at The Joint, is an increasingly rare opportunity.

After this one, Nine Inch Nails have just two festival appearances left this year, and that’s it show-wise. See ’em now or be prepared to cough up airfare to Sacramento, California, or Houston, the only other cities they’re hitting in 2017.

The guitars are back in full seek-and-destroy mode

The last two times that Nine Inch Nails were in town, November 2013 and July 2014, it was in support of “Hesitation Marks,” a less guitar-driven, more electronic-based record. This time around, they’re hitting the road behind a pair of EP’s, “Add Violence” and “Not the Actual Events,” where amps are cranked to 11 once again.

The aforementioned shows were great, but when Reznor is in full-on, cochleas-be-damned mode, NIN is even better.

Reznor has a chip on his shoulder again — watch out

Trent Reznor is kind of like the Michael Jordan of industrial rock frontmen with a hit song about getting it on like a member of the animal kingdom: Not only is he an all-time great, but he’s at his best when finding a way to fancy himself an underdog, motivated by the perceived dismissals of others.

In an interview with The Village Voice this summer, Reznor commented on the band’s status as Sunday night closers at multiple festivals, characterizing Nine Inch Nails as the act “in the dying genre and the oldest people on the bill.”

Um, yeah. We’d put about as much stock in a comment like that as we would the notion that Jordan preferred passing the ball instead of taking the game’s final shot.

They may memorialize one of the greats

Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie toured together in 1995, cementing a lasting bond between Reznor and the Thin White Duke, who passed away in January 2016.

In a tribute to his fallen friend, Nine Inch Nails have been covering Bowie’s “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” the final song on his final album, “Blackstar,” which continues to shine on as a consequence.

Look, they’re just one of the best live acts on the planet, m’kay?

That’s all.

Preview

Who: Nine Inch Nails

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Where: The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road

Tickets: $79.50-$350 (702-693-5000)

Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @JasonBracelin on Twitter.

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