Known throughout the rest of the country as the Industrial Nation Tour, and sponsored by the legendary Cold Waves Festival in Chicago, the event brings some old school Industrial favorites back to San Diego.
“Hello. My name is Paul Barker. This is my music.”
So began the evening. An evening of all-star Industrial music and a few surprises along the way.
Opening the night was Paul Barker’s Lead Into Gold playing selections from the new upcoming release. Barker stalked the stage, not looking altogether comfortable in front of the crowd.
“I feel like a caged animal up here.”
Between self-deprecating comments and occasional technical glitches, Barker delivered a blistering one-man show that truly reinforced his status as an accomplished Industrial elder. This was in noteworthy contrast to his last San Diego performance: this time he handled the vocals exclusively and didn’t play bass at all. One thing is for sure: all indicators point to the new Lead Into Gold release to be a banger!
Next on the lineup came Clock DVA, a band I’d heard of since my college radio days but never thought I’d get the chance to see live. Standing side by side before their laptops, the duo went into an understated yet intriguing set of cerebral minimalist electronics, spoken word vocals harkening to a poetry slam, and visuals ranging from William S. Burroughs to Michael Powell movies.
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This being the midway point of the night, it was time for the Halftime Show.
Out on stage came a tarpaulin and a St. Andrew’s cross, the necessary equipment for Domina Death and friends to demonstrate a little wholesome BDSM. Not unusual for a Modern.Wav event. While not for the squeamish, those into flogging and restraints would enjoy the eyeful of pierced flesh, whips, chains and other prurient delights. And not one drop of blood was shed throughout, the mark of a professional.
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Next, we have Front Line Assembly. What hasn’t been said about FLA at this point? They are legends and rightly so. This being my first time seeing them live, I was pleased to find out that the night’s set was dedicated to their earlier Wax Trax!-era material. It was a fairly short set, which is one of the things that bugs me about these festival-type shows. But the fans were able to get their fix of classic FLA material.
Last but not least, we have the mighty Nitzer Ebb.
Elephant-in-the-room time… this would be my third time seeing NE live, but the first time since the death of vocalist Douglas McCarthy. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who didn’t know what to expect. Fans have been accepting of Bon Harris carrying on the NE name as this is not the first time Harris has handled vocal duties.
Well, all I can say is that the band has suffered through loss and heartbreak only to come back stronger than ever! This is honestly the best I’ve seen NE live. They hit the ground running and opened strong with their trademark Control, I’m here and never let up. With very few breaks between songs, they cut through an exhaustive set of fan favorites as Harris bounded and shimmied across the stage with limitless energy. It was truly compelling, old fans were more than pleased and new fans would have been amazed at the freshness that this 40-plus year old band brought this night.
Appropriately, the encore was a heartfelt tribute to the late Doug McCarthy which included a new song that is part of material the band was working on at the time of Doug’s passing.
All in all, a grand time was had by all. Personally, with the presentation I saw, I can easily see any of the night’s artists carrying on for years to come.
