It’s always impressive to witness a band or an artist perform new material onstage and have the audience respond positively and passionately to the current stuff. More often than not, audiences get restless while established artists run through their more recent (and sometimes unfamiliar) offerings, anticipating the hits or the more recognizable selections. That wasn’t the case for longtime industrial music heavyweights, Ministry on Sunday night at Jannus Live.
The band, playing to an uncomfortably jam-packed, sold-out audience, praised patrons after having run through an onslaught of more current material, halfway through its set: “We just played six new songs most of you fucks don’t know, and not a single beer bottle was thrown up here!” longtime lead singer and band founder Al Jourgensen joked. “That’s called good audience behavior!” he continued, during one of his longer addresses to the crowd.
Some of the material he was referring to came from Hopiumforthemasses, the group’s 16th studio album, released only a few weeks ago, which the band is currently touring to support. As might be expected, the selections from the current release were loud, aggressive slabs of metal-meets-industrial blasts, and the audience seems to lap them up. Fronting a five-piece band, Jourgensen was animated and intense as he made his way from side to side of the stage during the set. As powerful, throbbing strobe lights pulsated into the audience while a large projection screen beamed sometimes-disturbing images ranging from old Western films to car racing footage, Jourgensen was fully in control and marvelously displayed his ability to whip an audience into a frenzy. Standouts from the new album included its single, “Goddamn White Trash,” which fit right in with the band’s catalog of dark, jagged, industrial material.
Donning his familiar garb of a long black jacket and cowboy hat, Jourgensen uttered brief bits of banter to introduce songs and to entice the crowd. Sometimes sporting a guitar or tinkering with keyboards throughout the night, his main goal was to serve as the leader and focal point of the tight band he was fronting, and he did that well for the duration of the 85-minute set.
Joking that the songs everyone was waiting for were about to be unveiled, the band broke into “NWO,” the opening track from the 1992 breakthrough album, Psalm 69, and the place went wild. As the volume level of the crowd increased, in response to the more familiar material, so did Ministry’s volume and level of ferocity. Continuing to pummel the already entranced crowd, the band chugged its way through a barrage of its more recognizable catalog to fiery responses. Ministry classics like “Just One Fix” and “Thieves” sounded as brutal as ever. The unbridled firepower the band conjured reminded everyone in attendance of the relevance of this band and its ability to meld so many genres, while still retaining a loyal fanbase throughout its lengthy tenure. Not an easy feat, considering the band’s tenure dates back to the early ‘80s, the time period during which this concert’s opener was enjoying his commercial peak.
New wave and electronica pioneer Gary Numan got the nod to warm up Ministry’s audiences for this tour, much to the delight of many longtime fans of the genres he helped establish. Making his name known dating back to the 1970s while fronting punk-inspired band Tubeway Army and through his ascent to becoming the poster boy for icy, moody electronic anthems in the 1980s, Numan is renowned as a giant and an inspiration for countless electronic-based acts and has held that distinction for decades.
Coming onstage, unannounced, and accompanied by his band, Numan began his set promptly at 8 p.m. and delivered a 12-song set that relied heavily on his more current releases, including his most recent offering, 2021’s Intruder.
Donning a black tunic and blue jeans, Numan’s selections were more representative of the doomy, apocalyptic material he’s delved into in recent years rather than his more recognizable ‘80s material. Dramatic, sometimes bombastic, but always intriguing, Numan gave those who might not have kept up with his output for the last couple of decades a glimpse into the direction he’s taken since then.
It wasn’t until he touched on a pair of numbers from his 1979 breakout album, The Pleasure Principle, that the audience seemed to perk up a bit and take note. “Metal,” a song that’s been covered by Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails (devout disciples of Numan’s work), and “Cars,” Numan’s most familiar song, hinted at the new wave bounce Numan’s material once represented and broke up the set nicely as welcomed additions.
Although his relevance and his significance in the genres he helped create and master are undeniable, it would have been apropos for Numan to throw in a few more numbers from his earlier catalog to remind or introduce audience members to his new wave cred alongside his more recent foray into darker, more industrial-influenced sounds. But, in total tribute to his career, it was nice and fitting to see Numan entertain a crowd of fans who were there to see a headliner who, no doubt, was heavily influenced and inspired by the genre Numan had already mastered with Ministry was still in its infancy.
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