Ministry shows have always been hit or miss for me. After witnessing their all-out assault on San Francisco in 1990 for the Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour (complete with a drunken El Duce), they’ve let me on more than one occasion with their lackluster shows of their later years. Understanding that this is claimed to be Ministry's last tour (hence the name of the tour: C U LaTour), I thought it might be good to see them one last time in the hopes for a no-holds-barred, ear-bleeding experience that I recall of Ministry years past.
I got to the Fillmore about halfway through the performance of the opening band, Hemlock. Which is good considering that the singer kept trying to get the crowd into a frenzy with such horrible lines as, "Raise your horns like it's Slayer in 1984!" One of the many problems I had with that line was that watching them was more like watching Korn, not Slayer. Upon hearing this bit of total lameness, I decided to grab a beer and people watch, which proved to be much more interesting than watching Hemlock.
Swedish metallers Meshuggah hit the stage next, and wasted no time getting the crowd all riled up. Judging from the reaction they were getting, as well as meatheads in the "pit," I think it is safe to say that most of the crowd was there specifically to see them. While Meshuggah is not my style of music, I did appreciate the technical voracity and energy in their performance. So did the crowd.
So did Ministry hit it home? Was the brutal attack on the senses there? Well, sort of. I went to the show with the understanding that Ministry is pretty fierce about not playing the oldies so I had no expectation of that. The stage was set with a shout to the past, namely a chain-link fence separating the band from the crowd. Once the band hit the stage, they opened with "Let's Go!" from their 2007 album The Last Sucker as well as “Watch Yourself,” followed by various songs (in no particular order) from their past 3–4 albums: "Worthless," "Rio Grande Blood," "Lies, Lies, Lies" and "I'm Still Waiting.” While listening to these tunes and watching the visuals that go along with them, all I could think of is, "I get it Al, you don't like George Bush," and neither do I, but perhaps some other subject matter might be in order.
Mr. Jourgensen then claimed that they were going to play some oldies. With a little reluctance and some help from Fear Factory's Burt Bell, (where was Jello Biafra this time?) they went into "NWO," "Thieves," and "Just One Fix" before leaving the stage for their encores. Ah, the encores. They finished up the night with nice rendition of songs from the just-released Cover Up, which included The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues," ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid” and closed out the show with a semi-disco version of the Stones' "Under My Thumb," during which they had a balloon drop. Yes, that's right, a balloon drop! I like a good balloon drop just like the next guy, but at a Ministry show? It didn't work, and while Ministry was loud and fast, they seem to have gone through the motions and were a little lackluster in my humble opinion. Actually, come to think of it, a balloon drop is quite appropriate.
More on Ministry here: myspace.com/ministrymusic and www.ministrymusic.org and prongs.org/ministry
Ministry – 2008 Tour Dates
March, 28 – Vancouver, Canada – Commodore Ballroom
March, 29 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
March, 30 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
April, 1 – San Francisco, CA – Filmore
April, 2 – San Francisco, CA – Filmore
April, 5 – Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues
April, 6 – Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues
April, 7 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
April, 8 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
April, 9 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
April, 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Great Salt Air
April, 12 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
April, 15 – Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
April, 17 – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
April, 18 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre
April, 19 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues April 21 – Ft. Lauderdale – Revolution
April, 22 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Landing
April, 23 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
April, 24 – Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall
April, 25 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
April, 26 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
April, 27 – Worcester, MA – Palladium
April, 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Fillmore At The TLA
May, 1 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
May, 2 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
May, 3 – Montreal, Canada – Metropolis
May, 4 – Toronto, Canada – The Guvernment – Kool Haus
May, 6 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
May, 7 – Detroit, MI – Emerald Theatre
May, 8 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
* all dates w/ Meshuggah & Hemlock
