The Ministry: Live

The Ministry is on their final tour – for real. This isn’t a hip-hop retirement; it’s final, finito, over! These guys are touring one more time and they are going out hard. On April 18, 2008, I got my dose in Houston, Texas for the first and last time of what The Ministry and their legacy has to offer live and raw. And I liked it.

Set behind a steel fence the band played in front of a huge screen, displaying images from priests to George W. Bush and Reagon. Epileptic strobe lights flashed and flickered while spotlights beamed. I knew many people who had been waiting for this tour, and the energy throughout the arena was intense. The show was non-stop head banging. Although The Ministry left out many of their older songs, they kept some of the best ones and thrashed in with the new. Their two hour long set exhausted the crowd, as they began to ‘fall asleep’ towards the end. With all that hardcore music playing, you have to be dedicated to have that kind of stamina.

‘N.W.O.’ was a set list highlight, as well as the cover of ZZ Top’s, ‘Just Got Paid Today.’ Billy Gibbons, ‘A Texas King,’ according to The Ministry, made a rare appearance on stage, as the crowd had to catch up to the fact that a Texas legend came out to say hello. Gazing towards the stage from the balcony, which was closed off to general admission, Billy and his beard, along with a few friends, rocked out with the rest of us for The Ministry.

By the end of the night, I met a few burly, long haired dudes and lost a bit of my voice and hearing. It was worth every gain and loss. Viva The Ministry!

Cover of ZZ Top: Someone tell me who this dude is singing the vocals?

Just Got Paid from Liz Simone on Vimeo.