FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY IN CONCERT:
For nearly three decades, electro-industrial mainstay Front Line Assembly has kept bodies rocking with driving beats, icy synths, and eerie samples. The band's dystopian sound draws from both industrial metal and electronic body music, and the result is a deliciously dark strain of electronica that's both cerebral and dance-worthy. At their live shows the band delivers hard-hitting numbers like "Gun" and "Mental Distortion" with more intensity than ever thanks to the addition of live drums, treating ticket buyers to an adrenaline-filled concert experience that always gets hearts pounding and feet moving.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Front Line Assembly (FLA) was formed in 1986 by Bill Leeb, a Vancouver-based musician who had previously played in pioneering electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. After releasing several demo collections, FLA issued their 1987 debut album The Initial Command, an experimental slice of synth-heavy songs that today stands as a classic of the genre. The album kicked off a period of intense productivity that included albums like 1988's State of Mind and 1990's Caustic Grip, and the band's prolificacy began to pay off in the early '90s as their increasingly dance-oriented sound earned them a huge underground following. In 1995 they released the album Hard Wired, a sample-heavy collection of driving songs that earned praise from critics and drew them out for a world tour. Despite numerous lineup changes over the years, Leeb has remained a constant, maintaining a steady release schedule with a rotating roster of players throughout the '00s and '10s. An enduring underground favorite, FLA continues to floor fans on tour with epic sets of their classic electro-industrial jams.
Saw these guys last night in Houston. I'm not super familiar with their music but my husband loves them so we decided to go. Oh! My! God! I'm so glad we did! They were amazing! The crowd couldn't get enough and I was thoroughly impressed with them. I came in being sorta indifferent. I left being a fan! Thanks FLA for an unforgettable evening! We'll catch you next time you're in town!
FLA has been my favorite band since high school, I’m 29 now and never got the chance to see them live. Very happy I did! Their live sound is so tantalizing, it’s like listening to them for the first time. I was lucky to see Bill, Rhys and Tim Skold; their originals. They had such a powerful presence when they came on stage. Basically made you feel like you were going to war. Felt so pumped up and alive for days. Will remember it for the rest of my life…
Overall a really great show. Front Line Assembly put on a very energatic and exciting show. It was a good mixture of new material and many of their previous songs. I definitely look forward to seeing them again.
Frontline Assembly was incredible! Their sound was perfect and their stage show was very professional. The show included tons of lighting effects that were perfectly coordinated to the music and an array of backing film. They are performing as a four piece band on this tour with each guy taking turns at keyboard/synthesizers/percussion, at times with all four guys performing tribal-sounding percussion over electronic sounds and loops. Each song blended into the next with no pauses or dead space between song Bill Leeb is a true professional and a great front man. He is completely missing the arrogance or attention-mongering of many lead vocalists and actually seems to be a bit of a trance-like state as he performs. I've seen Delerium, as well, and he is equally at home in front of the stage as a vocalist or in the back as the keyboardist/synth/loop coordinator. Leeb is a very talented and professional performer. There were FIVE opening acts on this tour and all five were pretty awful. The current state and future of industrial looks pretty bleak if these bands are the up-and-comers of the scene. They all sound virtually the same and are completely uninteresting. Overall: Five Stars for FLA, one for the rest of the bands.
Poorly managed evening. What I really cannot stand is rushing to get to the venue before the posted "show starts" time on the ticket, arriving there right on time, and having to wait in line for at least 45 more minutes along with everyone else. Lots of grumbling in line. Since there's no seating in Jaxx everyone was standing around as each band did their gig. The bands in themselves were good so I can't fault them (especially Cyanotic and Conjure One) but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the main act to start 3 and a half hours after the posted "show starts" time. I got tired of standing around with no way of knowing when the next band would be on or even if FLA was going to be at the show, so I left in frustration at midnight. FLA is a favorite band of mine and it was a shame having to leave the venue before knowing when they were going to start and more importantly when the show was going to end. I wasn't looking forward to driving home at possibly 2 am after standing on my feet since 8:30 after a full day of work that day. Disappointing evening. I've seen shows at Jaxx before and previously it was a much better experience.
