Barely 48 hours later, the band broke down that stadium-sized show and packed it into the tiny confines of L.A.'s Troubadour club (capacity: around 400), providing the very fortunate few able to squeeze into the intimate venue with a rare up-close and personal NIN experience.

The show was a drastic departure from the festival set NIN has been delivering this year, with a stripped-down stage leaving all of the onstage fireworks to be provided by Reznor and his current cast of ace musicians � Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini, Josh Eustis and Ilan Rubin � clicking with the easy swing that comes from relentlessly playing together.

The band stormed through an fiery set that covered a wide swath of NIN's deep catalog, playing just as many tracks from their 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine as from the brand new Hesitation Marks, the group's eighth studio full-length that hit stores the day of the show (September 3).

It was 1999 double-album and fan favorite The Fragile that saw the most shine with five songs, including show opener "Somewhat Damaged" and an encore performance of jazzy instrumental "La Mer," unearthed for the first time onstage since 2009's "Wave Goodbye" tour.

Reznor chatted easily with the crowd, showing much gratitude for the diehard fans screaming their devotion at every break in the maelstrom of sound coming from the stage, even chiding himself for needing the lyrics to his David Bowie collaboration, "I'm Afraid of Americans" taped to the stage floor for reference.

Given Nine Inch Nails' stature, the show attracted a who's who of L.A. celebrities, with Davy Havok (AFI), Skrillex, Tony Hawk, Shavo Odadjian (System of a Down) and Tony Kanal (No Doubt) among the famous faces spotted in the crowd.

The band saved The Downward Spiral hit "Hurt" for the last song of the night, which the fans turned into a hushed, almost reverential sing-along before Reznor and crew finally relinquished the stage after turning in nearly a two-hour show.