NINE INCH NAILS
Saturday: After hitting the festival circuit in a big way this summer, Trent Reznor and his continually shape-shifting grrr-rock lineup come to St. Paul to kick off a proper tour behind their new album, "Hesitation Marks." Praise from Lollapalooza, Reading and the other fest gigs was pretty universally high. So are reviews of the new record, which revisits some of the more playfully electronic sounds of NIN past, but is also as dark and hard-rocking in parts as the band's seminal 1994 record, "The Downward Spiral." Reznor is mixing in some surprise oldies amid his staple songs and new tunes. Texas' guitar-storming instrumental quartet Explosions in the Sky comes highly recommended in the opening slot. (8 p.m. Sat. $37.50-$99. Xcel Energy Center, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. www.ticketmaster.com.)
