On Saturday night I went to the Ministry concert at Union Hall here in Edmonton. After hemming and hawing whether to go or not, as I had never seen Ministry in concert before and really wanted t go, I managed to score a ticket for the show 45 minutes before show time for 20 dollars under face value. So at that price I figured I can't miss seeing Ministry this time.
I got to the show just before the first band of the night started. The first band being The God Bombs out of New York city. The venue was pretty much empty when this three piece band hit the stage. But that sure didn't stop them from performing like they were playing to a packed venue. Their music is a mix of metal, punk, with some electronic beats and a tribal kind of beat. The lead singer was a mad man, at one point he was on the dance floor writhing around on his back singing or more like screaming. I didn't much care for them, but have to say they put on a performance.
The God Bombs.
Next up was Chelsea Wolfe from California. I had never heard of her before, but by the time she came on, the place had filled up a lot. Seemed like a lot of people were there for her as much as Ministry. I'd describe her music as kind of Goth, folky music. I didn't much care for her either. But she got a great response from the near full bar.
Chelsea Wolfe.
Now for the main act out of Chicago the industrial metal pioneers Ministry led by Al Jourgensen on vocals. I believe he is the only original member left. I had never seen Ministry before and have always loved their album from 1992 Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs. By the time Ministry came on the place was packed. Ministry is currently on the road promoting their latest album AmeriKKKant, which is somewhat of a throwback to their old industrial sound. I actually think the album is quite good.
The band opened with a couple from the new album "Twilight Zone" and "Victims of a Clown". And what a wall of sound that came from the stage. I had read a few reviews of their shows and heard a few complaints about Al's vocals, but I thought he sounded really good. They did a called "Punch In The Face" from the album From Beer to Eternity, while doing this song they had images on the screen behind the band of Trump being punched in the face repeatedly. There were a lot of images of Trump on the screen and not in a good way. The band also brought out Burton C. Bell of the band Fear Factory to do vocals on a couple of songs. That was cool and he sounded great too, he actually performs on a couple songs from the new Ministry album.
About a third of the way through the show I ran in to my buddy Metal, who happened to have an extra set of ear plugs that he gave me as I had forgot to bring mine. That made a huge difference in the music for me, I was able to really enjoy the rest of the show. Thanks Metal! The last third of the show is when Ministry finally did a couple of songs from Psalm 69, them two songs being "Just One Fix" and "N.W.O."back to back, that was when the crowd was really losing their minds.
My only complaints about the show, was the venue, not a fan of Union Hall, too few songs from Psalm 69 and Ministry only played for 70 minutes. Still a good time was had. Good times!!!
Ministry at Union Hall.
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