2009 summer music preview

Hottest double bill: Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction

It’s a sign of the times: With ticket prices rising and fans’ entertainment budgets shrinking, more and more bands are hedging their bets by joining forces on the summer tour circuit. This double-bill, dubbed the NIN|JA Tour (get it?), pairs Trent Reznor’s gonzo live act (state-of-the-art visuals, a staggeringly talented backing band, songs from every era of NIN’s 20-year history) with the newly reunited original Jane’s Addiction, who proved earlier this year at some not-so-secret shows in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas that they can still kick out the tribal rock jams with the best of them. Opening act Street Sweeper Social Club is no slouch, either; featuring rapper Boots Riley from indie-hip-hoppers the Coup and guitarist Tom Morello, it’s the most bracingly hard-edged music Morello has done since his Rage Against the Machine days.

View more photos from the NIN|JA Tour.

Other hot double bills: Nickelback/Hinder, Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd, Def Leppard/Poison, Aerosmith/ZZ Top, Slayer/Marilyn Manson.