SHOW REVIEW: Ministry's C U LaTour w/ Messugah & Hemlock
LOCATION: House Of Blues - San Diego, CA
4/07/08

Ministry rolled into town early this month on their final world tour. As industrial music’s loudest, heaviest and most out spoken band ever it was sure to be a great show.

Before the concert I had a chance to sit down with Sin Quirin and Burton C. Bell and ask how it feels to be part of history as one of music’s legends wraps up their career. As I walk in to the House of Blues I’m greeted by Ministry’s tour manger and taken back stage to the dressing room by Sin and where Burton is already hanging out.

Already they are joking with each other. Jokingly making derogatory remarks about their sexual preference. Things guys usually talk shit about to each other, then telling stories about how someone snorted a line of powdered sugar thinking it was coke.

The show was just simply awesome. The first hour was a mixture of the last three Ministry albums. A full on head charge of anti-Bush songs that made you pump your fist in the air and scream out "F**k you Mr. President!!!" They opened their set with "Lets Go", "The Dick Song" and one of my favorites of the new material, "Watch Yourself". The rest of the set was rounded out with the best of Houses of the Mole and Rio Grande Blood with the last song being "Khyber Pass", the perfect way to end the first half of the concert.

The last hour of the set was by far the best. The last two times I’ve seen Ministry they didn’t play the on song I was dying to see. Finally, the final Ministry show in San Diego I got to see "So What" live. "So What" is an epic Ministry song. Clocking in at almost ten minutes, the song was the highlight of the night for me. Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory then came out and took over on vocals for two classic Ministry tracks, "N.W.O." and "Just One Fix". Burton did an excellent job of taking over the singing while Al enjoyed the stage and just played his custom Schecter coffin guitars.

The show came to an end with three cover songs that can be found on Ministry’s Cover Up album. The first of the covers was The Door’s "Roadhouse Blues". A speedy, hard hitting song that Jim Morrison couldn’t pull off, even with the help of Columbia’s finest. ZZ Top was paid honors with Al’s version of "Just Got Paid". The night finally came to an end with a beautiful cover of the Rolling Stones’ "Under My Thumb". The synths and keys were complimented well with the heavy guitar riffs, pounding drums and Al’s screaming voice. During the middle of the song black and white balloons with Ministry’s “M” logo, fell from the ceiling as if to say goodbye to Ministry with a touch of class. The only negative thing I can say about this show is that nothing was played from Filth Pig or Dark Side of the Spoon. I’m sure others complained about the lack of such classics like "Stigmata", "Burning Inside" or "Land of Rape and Honey". Nevertheless it was still a great show and proved that Ministry is the hardest band you will ever listen too.

It’s going to be hard to say farewell to a band that change and contributed so much to the music world. A band that has influence countless other bands and musicians and made industrial music marketable without compromising integrity and creativity.