Trent Reznor, leader of rock band Nine Inch Nails, was about to play "In This Twilight" for his audience at a recent Las Vegas concert. But first, he pulled out his phone to FaceTime.
Reznor told the crowd that fan and friend Andrew Youssef, a concert photographer with OC Weekly, has stage four colon cancer, and that he wanted to dedicate the song to him. Youssef picked up, and the audience began to chant, "Andrew! Andrew!" as Reznor turned his phone's screen toward the crowd.
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"I just wanted to tell you that I miss you man," Reznor said. "I wish you were here."
Named after the Nine Inch Nails song, "In This Twilight" is the title of one of Youseff's blog posts for his column, "Last Shot," where he chronicles his experience with cancer.
Youssef called another one of his posts "Hopes of Seeing Nine Inch Nails One Last Time Pushes Me Forward." Reznor invited Youssef to join him on part of the band's tour after he heard about the photographer's ordeal and love for Nine Inch Nails. The two have been friends ever since then.
After writing about Nine Inch Nails in July, Youssef saw the band at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Nov. 8. He was too exhausted to make it to Las Vegas, but Youssef did get to hear the roar of the crowd.
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Image: Flickr, Flavia