Currently touring the US are Front Line Assembly, Gary Neuman, and Ministry. This past Thursday saw them descend on Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia and what an experience it was.

A cavernous black box of a space, Franklin Music Hall is located minutes off of Route 95 or 676 and has something very rare in a city venue, a parking lot. For $20 you are a few short steps from the box office with very little effort. Once through the friendly efficient security, a couple of merch booths are built into the lobby which is separated from the hall by a curtain.  The hall has extremely tall ceilings and a balcony running around the back and stage left side. Bars up and down provide a number of craft beers and some simple cocktails. A large stage flanked by a massive PA system and an immense screen behind completed the setup. The crowd slowly filtered in dressed mostly in black and wearing enough leather to give PETA members a collective heart attack. Chatting amongst themselves, everyone waited for the lights to dim and the music to begin.

Up first, Front Line Assembly took the stage right on time to ominous low tones that were joined by pounding drums and almost tortured guitar as they got into their groove. Making full use of the screen behind them, they played with a Euro Industrial sound and it became apparent that a good set of earplugs would be necessary to survive the night with intact hearing. The set went quickly as Front Line Assembly won the crowd over with songs like ‘Plasticity’, ‘Millennium’ and a great cover of the Falco song ‘Rock Me Amadeus’.  Over too quickly the stage was cleared and the lights dimmed once again.

Rhys Fulber on a Front Line Assembly Classic Album, Remixing Fear Factory, and Work-Life Balance

 

If all you know of Gary Numan is ‘Cars’, you have missed something special.  While ‘Cars’ is representative of his style, he is so much more and especially live. Categorized as Synth-Pop, New Wave, Industrial, and even post-Punk, nothing seems to fit exactly but he is an amalgamation of all of the above.  Better known in the UK we would do well to pay more attention here in the US. Taking the stage, his face streaked with vertical red war paint, Gary Numan moved deftly between guitar and keyboards while keeping up vocals. With the languid movements of a ballet dancer, he floats around the stage keeping the audience entranced. ‘Cars’ was wisely placed in the middle of the set rather than as closer to make room for the great compositions ‘My Name Is Ruin’ and ‘A Prayer Of The Unborn’ to finish his evening.  If you still have a chance to catch this tour, Gary Numan alone is worth the price of admission but Ministry was still to come.

The stage is set for Ministry with a lighted cross pulpit up front. If you know the band you know that their concert is a bit of a revival meeting as Al Jourgensen preaches to the crowd. Pounding beats punctuate their set and the more astute realize that drummer Roy Mayorga is muscular and thin for a reason. He drives the band forward with almost inhuman energy setting a blistering pace. The set started off with fan favorite ‘Alert Level’ and quickly transitioned to some newer pieces, which was acknowledged by Jourgensen who thanked the crowd for accepting the lack of some older classics. One new song, ‘Goddamn White Trash’, was a clear hit and will be released in August as part of the upcoming album currently entitled “Hopium for the Masses”.  Notably missing were two fan favorites from the 1989 album A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (Sire) , ‘Thieves’ and ‘Breathe’. With such a packed set and some great new songs, something will be sacrificed and unfortunately, those two didn’t make the cut. Ending on a high note, the show closed out with ‘Stigmata’. Being called back for an encore, Ministry performed a cover of the Fad Gadet song ‘Rickey’s Hand’.

While only a couple of dates remain with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly, Ministry will be playing the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas before taking the summer off and resuming with Rob Zombie, Filter, and Alice Cooper at the end of August and September. This is a do not 

miss.  

 

 

Ministry set list:

Alert Level

Good Trouble

Disinformation

Believe Me

Broken System

Goddamn White Trash

N.W.O.

Just One Fix

The Missing

Diety

Burning Inside

Stigmata

Ricky’s Hand

 

 

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ministry music and merch here:

 

WRITTEN BY MATTHEW KOCHEK

 

PHOTOS BY KIM HANSEN @PHARMADIVER