Ministry @ The Filmore, NOLA

Words by Cheli Strumila

Ministry, Gary Numan & Front Line Assembly at The Fillmore – New Orleans,

New Orleans, LA—I Never dreamed at 57 years old I'd be jamming to the underground rave music of my 20s at 7p at night & loving every moment of this priceless memory!! Awww, to be transported back to the days of great synth music that pulsated every cell of your body with every beat and every flash of light was almost like an out of body experience all over again!!

It is no secret that those of us living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast love our quick getaway trips to our ever fun & flavorful neighbor to the west, New Orleans!! Whether for a Saints game, concert, mardi gras, music fests or some French Quarter fun, we all get so excited whether we hop over for a couple days, 1 day or a couple hours!!  There is no doubt that no matter how long our trip, we Always come back with some great memories of fun to make us want to return again and again!!

On a recent trip to NOLA to cover Ministry, Gary Numan & Front Line Assembly at The Fillmore – New Orleans for our Coast Observer Live blog, we were beyond impressed with what I’d like to call the Harrah’s New Orleans experience!!  From the beautiful hotel. hotel room & enchanting casino floor to one of the coolest live music venues, The Fillmore, that we’ve ever enjoyed a concert at, Harrah’s New Orleans provided so much to our trip that we never needed to leave their property as everything we needed to create the perfect trip of memories was right there nestled on 2 blocks of the French Quarter!!

If you've never been to The Fillmore New Orleans at Harrahs Casino all I have to say is Wow just Wow!! One of the coolest venues I've ever jammed to a concert at!!  From the staircase to heaven, cool decor & ambience, BGs Lounge, the coolest ladies restrooms, the spacious GA area & cool seated VIP area..The Fillmore was so much more than just a live music venue..It was A Truly Live Music Experience!!  And for my first Fillmore Experience to be some of my absolute favs from my early 20s, Ministry, Gary Numan, & Front Line Assembly, there was no way this night could’ve been anything but Magical!!

Having had my “Ministry Experience” cut short last year when the storms of Rockville interrupted their badass performance in Daytona, hearing they would be live in concert with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly just right next door in NOLA, I knew this was a concert I didn’t want to miss!! Man Oh Man, all I have to say if you missed this concert, you missed One Hell of a Concert!! I’d put it up there in one of my Top 3 Concerts of All Time!!!

Everything about this night was just perfect!!  The venue, the crowd, the vibe…THE PERFORMANCES!!! Ministry, Gary Numan, and Front Line Assembly rocked our faces off with synth, beats, riffs, strobing lights all while transporting us back to a time of, in my opinion, the greatest creative generation of music Ever!!

Having spent my 20s in Dallas at the Legendary Starck Club, Sparks, and the underground of Deep Ellum back in the day with Club Clearview, having Ministry, Gary Numan, and Front Line Assembly together on one stage for one night was more of a dream come true for this writer!! Whoever put this lineup together needs to be absolutely commended!!  You created Magic my friend, pure Magic!!!

What is it that made this concert stand out from all the rest, I can’t seem to put my finger on just one thing!!  From walking in to Front Line Assembly setting the stage for the night with their European underground synth sound, to the King of Synth, Gary Numan, showing the crowd why he wears that crown proudly performing not only his hit Cars, but also treating us to the evolution of his synth sound that gives off a NIN vibe that we all fell in love with!! And of course, Ministry’s provocative lyrics and hard synth beats that this writer has loved since their release of Every Day is Halloween, Stigmata & NWO back in the 80s!!  To see these legends, Al Jourgensen & Gary Numan, that are now well into their 60s, not miss a beat and rock our faces off like we were back in the 80s again was nothing short of, should I dare say it…Magical!!! 

If any of you bands out there want to learn what it is to put on one hell of a show,  Ministry, Gary Numan, and Front Line Assembly are the perfect example of why their fans keep returning to their shows again and again and again no matter how far they have to travel for over 4 decades!!  They put their all into every show and leave it all out there for their fans!!  I’ve been attending their shows since I was 25 years old in Dallas.  All of their fans, like this writer, will be attending their shows till the last drum & synth, or our hearts, beat!! It’s what makes us feel alive and young again!!!