Traumahound
Member
I was pretty stoked for the concert seeing as Ministry is the only group that's toured through my city whose CDs I own. Opening for Ministry were Hanzel Und Gretyl and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. The show started an hour late, which is probably par for the course for smaller venues.
Hanzel Und Gretyl were up first and were the only group that I hadn't heard of. They're fronted by a tiny girl with the voice of a pitbull or possibly a bear. I don't like metal with growled lyrics, so I didn't really enjoy this. I couldn't understand much, but fire seemed to be a common theme. Musically they were pretty good, but every song seemed to boil down to "let's see how hard and fast we can play and then try to break that record." It was difficult to distinguish one song from another. The highlight was an interlude where Hanzel took over the vocals for a rousing chorus of "Ich Bin Uber Alles." He actually had a half decent voice (considering the genre) and if he did more of the singing, I could see myself liking them more.
Before I go on, I just have to ask: Am I the only one who finds the headbanger hand signal (make a fist and extend the first and fifth finger) to be over the top corny? Hanzel Und Gretyl were all over giving and receiving this hand signal from the crowd. As far as I'm concerned, a Thumb's Up sign would be less cheezy. Perhaps not, but it's still ridiculous.
After a brief intermission to recover some hearing, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult took the stage looking like they just woke up. There were certainly a nice change of pace following Hanzel Und Gretyl. They also seemed to have a lot more poise and looked a lot more comfortable up on stage. The blonde hottie doing the female vocals wearing a pink bustier was a nice touch. They played the three songs I know (Days of Swine and Roses, Sex on Wheels, and After The Flesh), so I came away happy. I really enjoyed their set and would definitely go to a show they were headlining if one came around.
Finally, it was time for the main event. The band took the stage, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi blasted from the speakers and a guy wearing a suit and George W. Bush mask walked out onto the stage. He walked around, saluted and did a great job mimicing that stupid thumb's up that Bush gives. Once the guitars kicked in, Al came out on stage, flipped off GWB and proceeded to kick butt for the rest of the evening. You know, for a guy in his mid-forties, the energy he puts into a performance is amazing. The set was divided pretty evenly between tracks from the new album and older stuff from The Land of Rape and Honey, The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, and Psalm 69. I was surprised to hear them play WTV live since it doesn't lend itself well to a live setting (the bangers were not into it), but it was very impressive to hear him sing that fast. Overall, it was a great show and if you have a chance to see them you should definitely do so.
Best guess at a set list from memory:
No W
Waiting
Worthless
Wrong
Warp City
WTV
World
NWO
Just One Fix
A Song I didn't recognize???
Thieves
Breathe
Diety
Psalm 69
Supernaut (encore)
Hanzel Und Gretyl were up first and were the only group that I hadn't heard of. They're fronted by a tiny girl with the voice of a pitbull or possibly a bear. I don't like metal with growled lyrics, so I didn't really enjoy this. I couldn't understand much, but fire seemed to be a common theme. Musically they were pretty good, but every song seemed to boil down to "let's see how hard and fast we can play and then try to break that record." It was difficult to distinguish one song from another. The highlight was an interlude where Hanzel took over the vocals for a rousing chorus of "Ich Bin Uber Alles." He actually had a half decent voice (considering the genre) and if he did more of the singing, I could see myself liking them more.
Before I go on, I just have to ask: Am I the only one who finds the headbanger hand signal (make a fist and extend the first and fifth finger) to be over the top corny? Hanzel Und Gretyl were all over giving and receiving this hand signal from the crowd. As far as I'm concerned, a Thumb's Up sign would be less cheezy. Perhaps not, but it's still ridiculous.
After a brief intermission to recover some hearing, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult took the stage looking like they just woke up. There were certainly a nice change of pace following Hanzel Und Gretyl. They also seemed to have a lot more poise and looked a lot more comfortable up on stage. The blonde hottie doing the female vocals wearing a pink bustier was a nice touch. They played the three songs I know (Days of Swine and Roses, Sex on Wheels, and After The Flesh), so I came away happy. I really enjoyed their set and would definitely go to a show they were headlining if one came around.
Finally, it was time for the main event. The band took the stage, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi blasted from the speakers and a guy wearing a suit and George W. Bush mask walked out onto the stage. He walked around, saluted and did a great job mimicing that stupid thumb's up that Bush gives. Once the guitars kicked in, Al came out on stage, flipped off GWB and proceeded to kick butt for the rest of the evening. You know, for a guy in his mid-forties, the energy he puts into a performance is amazing. The set was divided pretty evenly between tracks from the new album and older stuff from The Land of Rape and Honey, The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, and Psalm 69. I was surprised to hear them play WTV live since it doesn't lend itself well to a live setting (the bangers were not into it), but it was very impressive to hear him sing that fast. Overall, it was a great show and if you have a chance to see them you should definitely do so.
Best guess at a set list from memory:
No W
Waiting
Worthless
Wrong
Warp City
WTV
World
NWO
Just One Fix
A Song I didn't recognize???
Thieves
Breathe
Diety
Psalm 69
Supernaut (encore)
