TEAMWORK: The final show last week of...

TEAMWORK: The final show last week of the David Bowie/Nine Inch Nails collaborative tour was marred by the same problem that followed the trek around the country--people heading for the exits as soon as NIN finished and Bowie took over for his headlining set. This time, though, at least some of the departing fans were merely heading for Hollywood to attend the lavish wrap party thrown in Bowie’s honor, a night of Sin-a-Matic-style sleaze featuring bondage demonstrations and music by L.A. bands Extra Fancy and Glue.

Among those packed into an abandoned warehouse/office complex were Brad Pitt with Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, “Frasier’s” Kelsey Grammer, John Lydon, Iggy Pop, Billy Idol and--in the spirit of the event--Virgin Music Group Worldwide executive vice president Nancy Berry wearing a skimpy leather dominatrix outfit.

As for those early exits at many of the shows, some in the concert industry are wondering whether there’s a future for such daring collaborations.

“It’s nice to have acts bring different audiences to a show, but they have to be relatively compatible, and most people wouldn’t consider Bowie and Nine Inch Nails compatible,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert business trade magazine Pollstar. “The only reason this tour happened is [NIN leader] Trent Reznor is a big Bowie fan and wanted to do it.”