Live Review: Ministry- with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly

5/8/2023

Writing and Photography by Bobby Talamine
Edited by Fiza Javid

The Clyde- Fort Wayne, Indiana
Saturday 5/6/23

Right off the bat-
All three bands- Ministry, Gary Numan, Front Line Assembly-
All performed with a sense of urgency.
All performed like their lives depend on it.

Different scopes of urgency depending on song and feel between the three of them- sure- but still- the sense of impending dread on the current state of things in the world we live in was ever evident throughout.

Maybe top some extent this got lost on the crowd (name the venue on this tour)- but I'd have to feel that there are fans in the crowd (name the venue) that feel the same way I do about this.

All three are intelligent bands, intelligent musicians throughout.
Yes, they all bring the heavy, and yet make things a party.
But if you read deeper into things- you get a sense of just how precious things are in the present day- what we have, what we witness, what we hold dear.
First and foremost- live performance of course.
You just never know what's in store down the road.

As for Ministry- Al Jourgensen in particular- we're way beyond the past of self abuse.
Love how things are more focused on the current state of things, dire as they kinda are.
I bring this up because he's come out the other end, somewhat unscathed, and can still voice loudly and intelligently the wrongs of the world, not just local, but also national.
So go ahead, attempt your contempt prior to investigating. Nothing you say or do is gonna change anything- for a guy like Al to still be around in the here and now- anything you say is light in comparison to him grappling and co existing with his own demons and making some modicum of peace and acceptance.

That to me is a sign of not just the walking wounded, but a walking and surviving hero, who still creates, who still has lots to say artistically.
And to do this with an eye towards rooting out the fake, and the bullshit artists who may think they're assisting in the greater good, but only in it for themselves- mostly through greed- attack at full speed- root them out- make fun of them, poke them with a sharp stick, and kick them to the curb.

So not before a single note has been played, we have tapes- isolated tapes such as the knucklehead televangelist Kenneth Copeland- deep in fake prayer, calling out to Covid 19, and that "You should be destroyed forever". Calling out for a supernatural heatwave of sorts- banishing Covid 19 to forever hell. Just goes to show, scientifically speaking, that banishing Covid 19 through a monumental heatwave- well - good luck with that.
And he's not alone in the Al Jourgensen ripe with fodder camp.

If there was a debate of some sort with all them- politicians, televangelists- Wayne LaPierre and the like, and Al was onstage with them at the podium, and things got heated with the back and forth- good luck handling all that with Al.
But this is the whole point performance wise, from opener "Alert Level", into "Good Trouble", and next into "Disinformation", and so on.

It is a heated argument goddamnit.
Heated to the point of worldy exhaustion.

All of this industrial at a crack the whip pace is intense for a reason- bring the mighty and heavy beats, accentuate the preacher madness of all things written lyric wise- hopefully some minds will follow.

So by all extent and purposes, you blow minds and eardrums, all in one fell swoop.
Same goes as well with Gary Numan and Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, which we'll get to in a minute.

I know I can't convince all of this with a simple writeup on an industrial music show- but I feel I'm far beyond the technical aspect of things instrument wise, or color schematic and bells and whistles of whichever show I'm reviewing, and all the other this and that.
My opinion- Guys Like Al and Ministry- this is heavy hitter stuff, far beyond the pomp of costume changes, followed by "dialing it in".
Ain't happening here folks- for all three bands.

Everything continues at a breakneck pace, up to the end, with a cover from Fad Gadget of all things- a cool and diabolical song from them titled Ricky's Hand"- again showing the wickedness of Al- embracing another cautionary tale, amped up to eleven for these modern times.

Just goes to show that anything can be twisted and turned, making it your own, with the right amount of sauce and pissed off attitude.
Clearly Al is still in that camp- the camp where he belongs.
And another guy who's been embracing all things "aggressive" for awhile now- Gary Numan.

Not much stage banter from Gary- one by one his band take their respective spots, followed by Gary, who's in full throttle force, with a setlist of 14 songs, all done at a blistering pace, opening with "Intruder", into "Halo", into "Pure".
The feel throughout is full on majestic, but yet apocalyptic- nothing is spared in the ruins of survival, Mad Max type state of the world living if we don't start changing things- both inward mentally, and outward visibly.

The whole set was a perennial backbeat of breakneck foot stomping with a few twists and turns upped to another level of physical contorting worthy of some yoga or chiropractor adjustments.

Like Ministry, Like Front Line Assembly- Gary's set was over in a flash- but still- all so memorable.

And the same can be said for openers Front Line Assembly, who've upped their game over the years with proceeding far beyond the scope of "EBM"- and seeing and witnessing and reaching its limits- by taking risks in comprehensive songwriting- songwriting with a groove,
Opening with the blistering and so addictive "I.E.D"- a song that should be an iconic anthem of simply getting off your feet, the whiplash/ breakneck tempos being so awesome, so unforgiving.

Their set was like this throughout- both Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, punishing anew with heavy hitters such as "Killing Grounds", and into "Plasticity", before taking a stab at their cover version of Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus".
Wasting no time, these guys.

This is hard and intelligent electronic music- meant to bludgeon, sure. But still- they provide the necessary enveloping and wicked melodic backbeat that acts like juju to your brain- wanting more.

My opinion, 7 songs didn't suffice. True, there's time constraints when your the opener- however...
So all three bands- overall feel is delightful and well spent exhaustion.
Such a tour- this.

Bobby Talamine - JBTV Music Television Chicago

Ministry, Gary Numan, Front Line Assembly, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Chicago, Live Music, Bobby Talamine, Fiza Javid, Jerry Bryant, JBTV Music Television, The Clyde

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Live Review: Ministry- with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly

Ministry, Gary Numan, Front Line Assembly, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Chicago, Live Music, Bobby Talamine, Fiza Javid, Jerry Bryant, JBTV Music Television, The Clyde

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