EViL DoER North America Tour
So we went to the Ministry concert at the Fenix Underground Wed night. My ears are still ringing, my neck muscles can hardly hold my head up, and my "bionic" leg is sore. (In other-words the concert was a lot of fun). Luckily I thought ahead and took Thursday off of work, so I could just sit around the house and be lazy.
Saying it kicked lots of ass would be an extreme understatement. Hanzel und Gretyl opened the show, and put on an awesome performance. I had only heard a song or two from them before, and had assumed the deep bass/muffled vocals would be coming from some 8ft tall German dude. Turns out it was actually a little hot industrial chick, which was quite amusing (and disturbingly attractive). The other main frontman actually had a higher pitched voice than most guys I know - weird how well that works for them. The drummer seemed to be the most enthusiastic, and was the closest to the 8ft german tank body-type I was expecting. Near the end of the show, he ran and dove off stage while Ministry was playing, and joined the rest of us in the mosh pit (earning himself like 10,000 "cool" points).
Next up was My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. Let's just say that I'm glad I wasn't there to see them perform. I caught a show they did in Phoenix back when I was in college, and I was expecting a little more. As much as I like the music, they shouldn't be touring anymore. They sadly looked washed-up, and I think a tribute or cover band could have easily done a better set. They would have at least remembered the words to the songs they were supposed to be singing. It got better near the end of their performance, but something still had the stink of suckage on it. I'll just go back to listening to the old classic albums I love and forget that show happened. Besides, Ministry was next.
Al Jourgensen was as powerful and motivated as ever. It started with some poor sap coming on stage with a G-Dub mask on, and was appropriately beat-down by Al during the start of the show. It took me a while to make my way up to the front of the crowd. For those of you that haven't been to the Fenix before, this is a club, so there's not a lot of room by the stage. Still there was quite a comfortable mosh pit, which I managed to keep in/around for the whole show. It was a rather friendly pit for the most part, and I was surprised to see how many "frail" looking girls were in the mix with the rest of us. I only hit the floor once, and after landing head-first, I decided I should make a point not to get too far above everyone else's shoulder height. After Ministry finsihed, Al announced they had someone that wanted to talk to us, and if we were "good" and listened to him, they might come back and play a few Lard songs.
The mysterious "speaker" came on stage, and I had no idea who it was, until he started speaking. It was the infamous Jello Biafra, who has a very recognizable voice, and is the lead singer for Lard, and was also involved with the Dead Kennedys. :D He's very vocal about "political" issues, and as we all expected, had some choice words about the current administration. The biggest message was 'vote - now and forever', basically urging everyone to become more active and take control away from the clowns in business suits. Ministry then joined him on stage, and we witnessed a live Lard set. I never imagined I'd get a chance to mosh to Lard, and it's certainly an experience I won't forget.
I had a great time, and at the end of the show I got a "set list" from one of the Ministry roadies working the stage. (For those of you who don't know, a "set list" is the paper the band uses to know which songs to play - a cherished piece of memorabilia for any concert attendee). They (Ministry) are going to be back in November. I will certainly be there then as well, and I encourage everyone to check it out. Oh, and the pre-pre-pre show was handled by a homeless man as we all stood in line to get in. After singing along with him, I'm sure there are many still humming his catchy little tune in their heads:
fif teen cent will help me out
fif teen cent .. will help me
fif teen cent will get me by
fif teen cent
here we go here we go
fif teen cent will help me out
fif teen cent ...
Sammach!
Saying it kicked lots of ass would be an extreme understatement. Hanzel und Gretyl opened the show, and put on an awesome performance. I had only heard a song or two from them before, and had assumed the deep bass/muffled vocals would be coming from some 8ft tall German dude. Turns out it was actually a little hot industrial chick, which was quite amusing (and disturbingly attractive). The other main frontman actually had a higher pitched voice than most guys I know - weird how well that works for them. The drummer seemed to be the most enthusiastic, and was the closest to the 8ft german tank body-type I was expecting. Near the end of the show, he ran and dove off stage while Ministry was playing, and joined the rest of us in the mosh pit (earning himself like 10,000 "cool" points).
Next up was My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. Let's just say that I'm glad I wasn't there to see them perform. I caught a show they did in Phoenix back when I was in college, and I was expecting a little more. As much as I like the music, they shouldn't be touring anymore. They sadly looked washed-up, and I think a tribute or cover band could have easily done a better set. They would have at least remembered the words to the songs they were supposed to be singing. It got better near the end of their performance, but something still had the stink of suckage on it. I'll just go back to listening to the old classic albums I love and forget that show happened. Besides, Ministry was next.
Al Jourgensen was as powerful and motivated as ever. It started with some poor sap coming on stage with a G-Dub mask on, and was appropriately beat-down by Al during the start of the show. It took me a while to make my way up to the front of the crowd. For those of you that haven't been to the Fenix before, this is a club, so there's not a lot of room by the stage. Still there was quite a comfortable mosh pit, which I managed to keep in/around for the whole show. It was a rather friendly pit for the most part, and I was surprised to see how many "frail" looking girls were in the mix with the rest of us. I only hit the floor once, and after landing head-first, I decided I should make a point not to get too far above everyone else's shoulder height. After Ministry finsihed, Al announced they had someone that wanted to talk to us, and if we were "good" and listened to him, they might come back and play a few Lard songs.
The mysterious "speaker" came on stage, and I had no idea who it was, until he started speaking. It was the infamous Jello Biafra, who has a very recognizable voice, and is the lead singer for Lard, and was also involved with the Dead Kennedys. :D He's very vocal about "political" issues, and as we all expected, had some choice words about the current administration. The biggest message was 'vote - now and forever', basically urging everyone to become more active and take control away from the clowns in business suits. Ministry then joined him on stage, and we witnessed a live Lard set. I never imagined I'd get a chance to mosh to Lard, and it's certainly an experience I won't forget.
I had a great time, and at the end of the show I got a "set list" from one of the Ministry roadies working the stage. (For those of you who don't know, a "set list" is the paper the band uses to know which songs to play - a cherished piece of memorabilia for any concert attendee). They (Ministry) are going to be back in November. I will certainly be there then as well, and I encourage everyone to check it out. Oh, and the pre-pre-pre show was handled by a homeless man as we all stood in line to get in. After singing along with him, I'm sure there are many still humming his catchy little tune in their heads:
fif teen cent will help me out
fif teen cent .. will help me
fif teen cent will get me by
fif teen cent
here we go here we go
fif teen cent will help me out
fif teen cent ...
Sammach!