Ministry are archetypal legends of industrial rock, Al Jougensen, responsible for not only Ministry but other genre defining moments of genius such as Revolting Cocks and 1000 Homo DJs, fronts the band in black frock coat, top hat & shades while swinging back and forth on his goat’s skull crucifix mic stand – occasionally leaning over the chain link fence that separates the band from the crowd on this tour. Joining him front of stage are moody guitar god cliche Sin Quirin (who also played in RevCo) and Prong‘s very own Tommy Victor – strutting and running about in a kilt for the night – and “new boy” Tony Campos from Static X taking over bass duties after Paul Raven’s untimely death last year.
This is Ministry’s final tour and the set features songs from each of Ministry’s albums rather than concentrating on the hits, the second encore features cover versions ending the night rather disappointingly on Wonderful World. The general feeling being that a “Greatest Hits” show would have been enjoyed more on this farewell tour but then almost everyone here tonight has a “They were great the last time I saw them!” story to tell. From what I saw, the band and music are still as good as ever but apart from the dedicated pit mob the crowd has too many folk the wrong side of their youth to feedback the energy required to lift the band’s performance to the heights of yesteryear.
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