Hopiumforthemasses Tour 2024
THE THEATER at the VIRGIN HOTEL in LAS VEGAS
As a HUGE fan of Industrial metal this was a highly anticipated tour for me, all three acts on this bill are some of my all time favs, with Gary Numan in my top 5 all time. This show was held at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, one of the best venues in Vegas!
The show began with FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY led by industrial pioneer BILL LEEB, who began his career as a member of Skinny Puppy before branching off to do his own thing. To see FLA in a large venue was a dream as the only other time I saw them was last year in a tiny dive bar also in Vegas. Front Line Assembly's set was short, just 8 songs, but each and everyone was a classic. The thunderous sound of drums kicked off the 1st song "I.E.D.", followed by one of my favs "Vigilante", and I loved keyboardist Jeremy Inkel’s playing on this song. This was also our first glance at the newest guitarist in the band, and Jared Slingerland sounded amazing. The band closed out their set with 2 more classics - "Mindphaser" and "Millennium", for the finish of a killer set by a very underrated live band.
I have waited around 9 years since I last covered him to see GARY NUMAN perform live, also in a much bigger venue than the last time he played Vegas. This was not the Gary of old heavy on the synths, this was the metal version of Gary, which gave me chills at how great he sounded and could easily headline a tour. The band opened with “Everything Comes Down to This”, followed by one of my all time faves “Halo”, that featured killer guitar playing by Steve Harris along with a pounding bass from Tim Slade. Drumming was Jimmy Lucido and keys were played by David Brooks, who did a stellar job. Gary's set was12 songs and ran about an hour, the band was incredibly tight, and it showed with the intensity they put into songs such as "Metal", and "My Name is Ruin".
The highlight of the show for me was the emotional “Prayer for the Unborn”, that gave me goosebumps hearing it live for the first time. From the early days to the current this setlist was perfect, and Gary's sound is ever evolving. Now you can catch his daughter Raven who put out a couple songs on her own, carrying on that Numan dark, moody tradition. Gary Numan live so far is the highlight of my year.
Now the return of MINISTRY to Las Vegas! Talk about industrial metal pioneers and you have to put Ministry in the top 5 all time. Uncle Al Jourgensen, even at this stage of his career, can deliver a show like no other. Ministry took to the stage and kicked off their show with the single off their new16th album Hopiumforthemasses, “B.D.E.” followed by another new song called “Just Stop Oil”.
Ministry started off their show with 5 new songs, all sounding like instant Ministry classics, but after that it was all the hits that we know and love to hear. Al was dressed in black with a round brimmed hat, backed by Cesar Soto on guitar, Monte Pittman also on guitar, Paul D’Amour on bass, John Brchdel on keys and a surprise to me in seeing Roy Mayorga on drums, who took over touring drum duties for Vegas' Hellyeah after the passing of native Vinnie Paul.
The band was in full gear by the time they hit classics "N.W.O", "Just One Fix", "Deity", "Stigmata" and "Thieves", but the song that really stood out with a classic old time racing video on the huge screen behind the stage was “Jesus Built My Hotrod”. It started as a wall of sound smashing you in the face, and live just blew me away at the intensity at which the band delivered it. Ministry did a quick break before returning to play 2 more classics on the encore, "Burning Inside"and the yell-along "So What". After another quick break the band did a surprise return with Gary Numan, and played "Rickys Hand", a Fad Gadget cover, closing out an incredible night. An incredible tour, three legends and what seemed like endless set of classic industrial metal songs.
MINISTRY SETLIST:
Encore:
Encore 2:
Ricky's Hand (with Gary Numan)
Ministry Photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
GARY NUMAN SETLIST:
Gary Numan Photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
FRONTLINE ASSEMBLY SETLIST:
Front Line Assembly Photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
I have waited for this tour for nearly a year and to get to see photos and a review to keep the memories fresh is like going to the concert all over again...great job Scary Monsters