NINE INCH NAILS' STARK INDUSTRIAL POP

(White River Amphitheatre) "Every day is Halloween with Nine Inch Nails." Throughout the ’90s and early ’00s, this was my standard line on the art of Trent Reznor. I appreciated the drama and power of the music, but lyrically and visually, NIN could come off as a musical sideshow act with a mandatory horror theme that I was perfectly justified in ignoring in favor of artists boasting more than one mood. But then came 2008, when NIN's instrumental soundscape Ghosts I–IV was released and taught me a lesson about dismissing Trent Reznor. Stark, beautiful, complex, and complete, Ghosts I–IV introduced me to the Reznor that friends of mine had loved for years—the master showman with serious artistic ambitions and the talent to make good on them. This past year, Nine Inch Nails released their eighth album, Hesitation Marks, and embarked on another of their highly ambitious, technically complex arena tours—and it was one of the greatest, most surprising live shows I’ve ever seen. Here’s hoping they bring something similar to White River, where they’ll share the stage with the ridiculously wonderful, powerful, and effective rock band Soundgarden. DAVID SCHMADER
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THE SWEET, SWEET JIZZ JAZZ OF MAC DEMARCO'S WALTER TV

(Blue Moon) Walter TV is the side project of self-proclaimed inventor of “jizz jazz,” Mac DeMarco, aka the new Canadian gap-toothed Prince of Indie Rock. DeMarco—whose voice reminds me of a more pilled-out Marc Bolan—has wooed (and will woo) people at people at tons of festivals this summer, including Burgerama III, Pickathon, FYF, Bumbershoot, and Austin City Limits. In Walter TV, DeMarco sings more like a more-stoner-y Jay Reatard. Don’t miss a chance to see him on a small stage. Buzz Hickey opens (which is really a great local band whose real name rhymes with “Lewd Pork.”) KELLY O
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