Ministry, Friday April 5 th The Rialto Theater in Tucson AZ
Friday April 5 th The Rialto Theater in Tucson AZ was Host to the holy industrial trinity Ministry, Gary Numan, and Frint Line Assembly. When this Tour went on sale Tucson was one of the first dates to sell out!
Opening up the night was Front Line Assembly. This band has had a substantial career in the industrial scene since forming in late 1986. The fact that they’re still touring in 2024 with the two original members says a lot about their career. Front Line Assembly was utterly amazing on this Tucson stop.
Matthew Setzer (Skinny Puppy, London After Midnight) was filling in on guitar which was a huge treat.
The sold-out crowd was already packed in the venue and Front Line Assembly has never been one to disappoint live and this night was no different. Regardless of how many times they come through Arizona this band is loved here in the goth/industrial scene.
Gary Numan’s career is one that needs to be celebrated, since starting in 1977. From being a pioneer in the electronic scene to being at the top of music charts, to receiving the Ivor Novello Award! Gary Numan is electric, he’s strange, and you can’t take your eyes off him. I give him all the credit in the world for being his age and literally dancing, sprinting, and contorting his body in so many directions that a full-time contortionist would be proud. Gary Numan has a wide range of personalities and gets the dance floor going. You can’t help but dance the night away to his music and the crowd in Tucson was no different.
Ministry has been on an absolute war path the past couple of years with three releases Amerikkkant (2018), Moral Hygiene (2021) and their newest release HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES (2024). Their touring schedule has been nonstop with headline tours and being a supporting act on the latest Rob Zombie tour. A friend let me borrow Filth Pig on CD in 1997 and ever since then I’ve been a huge fan of theirs, so I honestly have to say the amount of Ministry we the fans have been getting lately has been an absolute pleasure.
It was finally time for the almighty Ministry to take the stage. The Rialto was packed from wall to wall and even the balcony section was completely full. Ministry opened up with 3 songs on newest release ‘HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES’ and 2 songs off of ‘Moral Hygiene’ Alert level’ and ‘Broken system’. Uncle Al even made a joke “we just played 5 new ministry songs and not one of you threw a beer bottle at us”.
Ministry’s current lineup is stacked and in my opinion one of my favorites over the years. Cesar and Monte on guitar have been a dynamic duo. With Paul D’Amour on bass, Roy Mayorga on drums, and John Bechdel on keys. After going through some new songs Ministry smashed us all in the face with N.W.O, ‘Just one fix’, Deity, ‘Jesus built my hot rod’ and ‘Stigmata’. There was one thing that stood out most was Uncle Al’s new cross of a biomechanical body made up of what looked like car parts. This cross was absolutely phenomenal looking. As the night was closing out, we came to the first encore where Uncle Al said, “it’s time for us to take a break and try this Tucson weed and see what it’s all about”.
When Ministry took the stage again, they ended the night with two strong songs ‘Burning Inside’ and ‘Sowhat”. As Ministry ended their set, we got another special surprise as everyone on this tour walked out on stage and Gary Numan holding a cake for the drummer Roy and the entire sold-out crowd sung happy birthday to him. While most people headed for the exit, Ministry walked out on stage and surprised the people who stayed with a special cover of Ricky’s Hands by ‘Fat gadget’ with Gary Numan on vocals.
SETLIST:
B.D.E, Just stop oil, Goddamn White Trash, Alert Level, broken System, N.W.O, Just one fix, The Missing,
Deity, Stigmata, Thieves, Jesus built my hot rod, Burning Inside, So what, and Rickys hand (Fat Gadget
cover)
Photos and Review by Michael Olivas ~𝕭𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝕲𝖔𝖓𝖅𝖔 𝕻𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖔𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖕𝖍𝖞