CHICAGO — When members of Nine Inch Nails landed in Chicago on Wednesday in advance of their Riot Fest performance, they had one question for locals: which record store should we check out?
Twitter, of course, had plenty of answers. But mostly one: Wicker Park's Reckless Records, 1379 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago – we have arrived.
— nine inch nails (@nineinchnails) September 13, 2017
We play on Friday at @RiotFest . Does anyone know a good record store we should check out tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/YIgkxxkYnr
Turns out, they already knew about Reckless. As of 8 a.m. Thursday, people began lining up at the record store to get a chance to see an intimate Q&A with the band.
"We are having a private event, a Q& A will be live streamed at Reckless Records in Wicker Park at 6 p.m. tonight," a Reckless employee said Thursday. "The first 150 people who show up in line today at Reckless will get wristbands to attend the Q&A."
By 11 a.m. Thursday, well over 150 people were in line for the event, including Albany Park resident Susanne Saba — who was the first to arrive.
The line ran down Milwaukee Avenue and curved on to Wood Street. Many were wearing Nine Inch Nails shirts, several had camping chairs and some were doing work on laptops after ditching their jobs to snag a wristband.
Saba saw the band's question about which store to check out, and said she had "a sneaky suspicion " it would be the Reckless Records in Wicker Park. So, when the announcement was made at 8 a.m. Thursday, she was ready.
She was a few blocks away getting coffee and rushed over to line up for her favorite band. If she is brave enough to ask a question at the Q&A, she'll ask frontman Trent Reznor: "What was it like to collaborate and work with (director) David Lynch?"
Nine Inch Nails performed on Lynch's revival of "Twin Peaks" and Reznor also worked on the "Lost Highway" soundtrack. For the record, Saba's favorite Nine Inch Nails songs are "Ringfinger" and "Something I can Never Have."
Stephen Quinet, a 36-year-old Milwaukee resident, took the day off work to head to Chicago for Riot Fest.
"I saw their cryptic message on Twitter and came over," said Quinet, who was near the end of the line at 11:25 a.m. and was unsure if he would be among the 150 lucky enough to get a wristband. If he doesn't, he won't feel like it was a waste of time. "My day is pretty open," he said.
If you didn't get up early to get in line, not to worry. You'll be able to watch a live stream of the Q&A online here, and it'll also be streamed on a big screen at Emporium Arcade Bar, across the street from Reckless at 1366 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Something I've been quietly working on for the past week or so. Hope it's fun for everybody @nineinchnails #nineinchnails pic.twitter.com/mwnfkldblp
— matt jencik (@mattjencik) September 14, 2017
You can also catch Nine Inch Nails at Riot Fest in Douglas Park Friday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are still available here.
