Industrial metal legends MINISTRY graced the vintage Rialto Theater in Tucson, Arizona, on April 5, 2024, as the finale for their North American tour with GARY NUMAN and FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY. The Tucson show was the first date on the tour to completely sell out, showing that the diverse and dedicated fan base was still going as strong as MINISTRY.
The industrial metal scene–and MINISTRY especially–has always been an enigma, made up of some of the most unsuspecting groups coming together to enjoy the genre's ear-blasting, mind-blowing, and gut-wrenching sounds in harmony. The punks, the goths, the metalheads, the boomers (who can actually hang), the bikers...even the dads. The power of MINISTRY truly brought them all together for an action-packed night.
FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY was a perfect opener for the night. Despite their sound being much slower than what MINISTRY would bring later on, it was still very heavy and very '80s dark electronic. As they began their set, the already nearly filled room was head-bobbing and swaying along. FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY played banger after banger, only slowing down to share their appreciation for being on the tour and playing their last night to such a great crowd.
Anticipation built as GARY NUMAN took the stage, and it was immediately clear why. He is nothing short of a true performer, dancing across the stage, messing with his guitarist and bassist, and very much feeling the good vibes of the night. NUMAN's style is much more goth metal and rock than electronic, but the audience didn't seem to mind–everyone was getting down, and the high energy and good vibes never stopped. Of course, the crowd went wild when he played "Cars" toward the end of his set.
As always, MINISTRY came out swinging, but this time frontman AL JOURGENSEN was rocking a new look. With his face barren from his countless iconic piercings, he channeled classic rock icon ALICE COOPER with black circles around his eyes, shoulder-length straight hair, and a vintage-style, all-black outfit.
But classic Al was still there with bright, neon lights adorning the stage, hard, upbeat, and trippy visuals filling the screens, and his huge, iconic cross microphone stand front and center.
The band's new album, "Hopiumforthemasses," came out last month, and they've been celebrating by kicking off their set each night with brand-new songs, back-to-back. From titles like "Just Stop Oil" and "Broken System," it's clear that MINISTRY has no intention of stopping their shtick of calling out what's wrong in our world and sticking it to the man, in some of the most direct ways possible. And it's clear that their fans are still on board, too.
"We just blasted you with six new songs without any time to process it, and not one beer bottle was thrown at us. I applaud it. And now, you'll be rewarded with doggy treats!" JOURGENSEN said, taking a break to address the crowd before transitioning into some MINISTRY classics. The entire room went feral when N.W.O. began, and the band went back to playing hit after hit, finishing with the fan-favorite "Jesus Built My Hotrod" (ok, the bikers make sense).
Toward the end of the set, JOURGENSEN took some more time to work the crowd and give them a break from some hardcore headbanging. Upon reflecting that this night was the very first to sell out, he shared his surprise. He said he "had no idea you people were rabid f**king bats," which tracks for Tucson.
Despite the high-energy songs and performances from each band, the overall vibe of the night was incredibly chill. It was cold for an April night, but that didn't stop patrons from enjoying the outside patio and bar area accessible from the main room of the Rialto. While the inside was burning up with bodies packed like sardines and the insane sounds of the night, it was nice to be able to step outside and enjoy the fresh air while not missing a beat of the show. And despite the diverse crowd MINISTRY seems to unite, every punk, goth, metalhead, boomer, biker, and dad was looking out for one another, in the true spirit of the scene.
MINISTRY Setlist:
B.D.E.
Just Stop Oil
Goddamn White Trash
New Religion
Alert Level
Broken System
N.W.O.
Just One Fix
The Missing
Deity
Stigmata
Thieves
Jesus Built My Hotrod
Encore
Burning Inside
So What
Encore 2
Ricky’s Hand (Fad Gadget cover with Gary Numan)
GARY NUMAN Setlist:
Everything Comes Down to This
Halo
The Chosen
Metal
Pure
Love Hurt Bleed
Is This World Not Enough
Cars
Haunted
Pray for the Pain You Serve
My Name Is Ruin
A Prayer for the Unborn
FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY Setlist:
I.E.D.
Vigilante
Neologic Spasm
Plasticity
Deadened
Killing Grounds
Mindphaser
Millennium
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