Celebrating 30 Year of their legendarily brutal 1989’s A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste LP Ministry brought some industrial sized strength back to Dallas etc .
March 28th 2022
Ministry
Starting off the show in full support of the Ukraine with a full illuminated devotion behind them while the National Anthem of Ukraine played over the PA system.
In the spirit of celebrating AMISTTTT that was supposed to go down 3 years ago but of course several C words got in tbe way, they even brought back the “cage” that separated them from the audience.
I remember being absolutely terrified of this band in high school & my bff has bought a shirt with the equally intimidating album cover of the brain x-ray. Seems a bit silly to think of that now, but I’m a firm believe that Rock N Roll should feel dangerous and unnerving & nobody embodied that more in 1992 that Ministry led by unpredictable ringleader Al Jourgensen. I saw them at the final Slayer shows in 2019 & they were great in their brief, hits filled set but here they were out to maim. And main they did with hit after hit, that felt like punch after punch as you could suggest that this could also be a 30th Anniverrsarry of the follow up, their 1992 “breakthrough” Psalm 69.
I never realized how many hits that era produced but here they came:
Kicking of with AMISTTTT pulsing Breathe then three back to back to back swings of my fave tracks from 1988’s The Land of Rape & Honey. Then followed by 3 somewhat “covers”.
Jourgensen was famously prolific in the late 1980’s & early 1990’s & was great to see him touch upon a few of these other projects. One you know, the fraternity of his famous weirdo friends did a great cover of Black Sabbath’s Supernaut in 1990 as 1,000 Homo DJ’s but what you may not know is the unlikely pairing of Jourgensen with Minor Threat/Fugazi punk Godfather Ian Mackaye with mid 80’s project Pailhead & here for him to bust out not one but 2 tracks from 1988’s Trait EP in Don’t Stand In Line & Man Should Surrender could seem like a head scratcher to some, it gave the show an exciting “anything was possible” vibe that culminated with the above mentioned combined celebration by kicking it into high gear not seen since the ending of Requiem For A Dream with FIVE classics to beat you into submission with:
Burning Inside
N.W.O
Just One Fix
Thieves
& the 8 minute + nightmare of So What. I was so exhausted & so freaking happy. Good times.
The Melvins
Opening the show were two of my absolute all time faves making this tour not only a must-see but worthy of catching multiple stops. Let me be clear: The Melvins literally wiped their asses of the collective masses in a way only they can.
Setlist:
It’s Shoved
Anaconda
Queen
Charlie(Redd Kross cover)
Billy Fish
Civilized Worm
Play Video
Never Say You’re Sorry
Evil New War God
Hooch(with Roy Mayorga)
Honey Bucket (with Roy Mayorga)
The Bit
Corrosion of Conformity
And again I would have come to see any one of these three great classic bands from my youth all still kicking much ass today. Love seeing C.O.C. in the daylight firing on all cylinders.
Lead dude Pepper Keenan had me laughing all night with this quip:
This venue is unique & that it has an outdoor pond right next to the stage but officially outside of the venue where a few had gathered to watch as the show was completely sold out. Pepper looks out at them & says “What are you guys doing out there, catching shrimp?” in his unmistakable NOLA by way of Mississippi & North Carolina drawl.
Setlist:
Bottom Feeder (El que come abajo)
Paranoid Opioid
Shake Like You
Diablo Blvd.
The Door
Vote With a Bullet
Wiseblood
Albatross
Who’s Got the Fire
Clean My Wounds
Awesome show!
