After headlining Riot Fest last summer, Nine Inch Nails will return to Chicago later this year for a two-night stand at Aragon Ballroom on October 25 and 26. Trent Reznor and company are touring behind their new EP, Bad Witch, which will be released on June 22 and complete the trilogy of short-form albums that began with Not The Actual Events in 2016 and continued with ADD VIOLENCE in 2017. Scottish alt-rockers the Jesus and Mary Chain will open both shows.
If you want to snag tickets, it won't be as easy as going online to purchase a pair. Tickets for all dates on Nine Inch Nails' latest tour will be sold exclusively through a nationwide series of events called "The Physical World presale." In order to obtain admission to either of the group's Chicago dates, you'll need to show up at Aragon Ballroom's box office on May 19 between 10am and 3pm; no one will be allowed to line up before 8am. Attendees will be able to purchase up to four tickets, first come, first served.
According to the Nine Inch Nails website, the process is being implemented to discourage ticket resellers (though there's nothing to stop someone from waiting in line to buy tickets and then flipping them online). An FAQ about the physical presale states, "We've decided to try something different that will also likely suck, but in a different way. We're hoping many of you will be happy with the results, while some may do what they always do and bitch about it."
While the physical presale may be a bit of an inconvenience (especially if you're a NIN fan who was planning on attending Dark Lord Day on May 19), it can't be any worse than the old days of queueing up for hours at Hot Doug's.