SACRAMENTO, CA | Not content to solely support Ministry on their 5-week run of North America, Gary Numan has filled the gaps in his touring schedule with a handful of headlining shows including a sold-out show at Ace of Spades in Sacramento.
Apparently also up to the task, Front Line Assembly which kicked off the night in front of an already packed house with a 45-minute set that got Sacramento perfectly primed ahead of a quick 20-minute changeover that had Gary and his band taking the stage just past 9PM, pausing to soak in the hubbub as the room roared.
For those that caught the previous night’s tour opener in San Francisco, the set kicked of similarly with “Everything Comes Down to This” off Splinter before eventually moving into the fertile ground of Numan’s catalog; only a handful of songs in and it was already clear that this would not be a repeat of his standard supporting set.
The Sacramento crowd, now packing every inch of the general admission floor, ate up every thump from Richard Beasley’s kick and blinding flash of the strobes that lit up the haze-filled room. Clearly on the same vibe, Gary and his band reciprocated in kind with Numan’s gyrations demonstrating shocking spryness for someone who has been at this since 1977. Steve Harris (guitar) and Tim Slade (bass), both bald and dressed for a dystopian world, were each the foil for the other’s onstage antics.
With nothing more than a few “thank yous” Gary focused on the music, blasting through a 90-minute set that left ears ringing.
FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY
GARY NUMAN SETLIST
Everything Comes Down to This
Halo
The Chosen
Metal
Films
Pure
Love Hurt Bleed
Is This World Not Enough
Down in the Park
The Gift
Cars
Haunted
Pray for the Pain You Serve
My Name Is Ruin
A Prayer for the Unborn
Here in the Black
Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
