Ministry and Alien Weaponry Rouse My Roots at The Skyway Theater

November 27, 2018 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States - Ministry live in concert at the Skyway Theater along with Alien Weaponry as the openers. (Photo by Seth Steffenhagen)
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As I waited near the photo pit for the 7:15pm start time of the opening act, the clock eventually rolled passed and then I hear things have been delayed until 7:30pm. As that time frame ticks over the stage manager informs us they’ve actually been scheduled to start at 8:00pm the whole time. Unfortunately, the French artist, Carpenter Brut was unable to acquire a visa, which is the cause for the rearrangement of set times.  The rest of the crew made it over but no lead musician to take the stage. Naturally, there was some disappointment for those in the crowd who intended to see this enigmatic artist perform, myself included. I’ll have to follow up and explore his music by other means instead.

Fortunately the three teenagers from New Zealand didn’t have any issues with their visas and Alien Weaponry have been warming up the crowd on this North American tour for the past few days. The band’s drummer, Henry de Jong, walked out and stood behind his kit. Puffs of smoke billowed around as he started to perform a traditional Māori war dance. Now that they are the sole supporting band, they were able to play for a good hour. The added time to their setlist must have satiated the folks decked out in Alien Weaponry tees. Guitarist/signer, Lewis de Jong could have used one of those as he performed shirtless and exclaimed he should have worn a shirt as it’s cold here. Their brand of trash metal is an interesting one as its helping to revive a dying language. A number of songs are sung in the Māori language, which is an interesting angle to take.

I have to say, there were times tonight were I was brought back to some of my musical roots. In the backyard of my musical impressions there are many trees. One of the branches on the metal genre tree is a Sepultura album, aptly titled Roots. The two Cavalera brothers from Brazil that were part of Sepultura reminds me of these two young New Zealand brothers. The parallels were quickly apparent to me between these two bands such as; two brothers where one is playing drums and the other guitar and thrash metal with a tribal element due to the ancestry of indigenous people.

My harkening back to bygone days didn’t stop there. Glancing back to my backyard of musical impressions, that industrial tree sitting out there has a branch of Ministry. Bassist Tony Campos brings the Sepultura/Cavalera connection back as he played with Soulfly and now Ministry. It was interesting to see all these elements in front of me again in modern times. There was a fair amount of people on hand and with decades of activity in the music scene, there was no doubt there would be a wide range of ages tonight. The setlist was all the latest material for the first half and then they delved deeper into their catalog for some vintage tracks. As it often is with music, experiencing it live at an ample volume and with the added visuals that are on display is the best way to take it in. One can really drift off into your thoughts as this all plays out in front of you. It was a nice trip down memory lane hearing these songs live. This was the first time I’ve managed to seen Ministry in person and I originally expected Uncle Al to have added some more commentary between songs. It became apparent that there is no need as all he has to say can be found in the visuals onstage and embedded into the lyrics and samples mixed into the songs.

Once this tours comes to a close they’ll take a short break and then come the first of the year they’ll begin to craft the next album. While the process may take year or two the work will begun immediately. The fuel is abundant for Uncle Al’s fire of rage that’s burning inside, he’ll have plenty more to say on the next album too.

Setlist:
I Know Words
Twilight Zone
Victims of a Clown
TV5/4Chan
We’re Tired of It
Wargasm
Antifa
Game Over
AmeriKKKa
The Land of Rape and Honey
The Missing
Deity
Stigmata
Just One Fix
N.W.O
Thieves
So What

Remaining tour dates:

NOVEMBER 29 – JOLIET, IL – THE FORGEGET YOUR TICKETS
NOVEMBER 30 – CLEVELAND, OH – AGORA THEATER & BALLROOMGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 1 –  DETROIT, MI – MAJESTIC THEATERGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 2 – TORONTO, CAN – REBELGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 4 – ROCHESTER, NY – ANTHOLOGYGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 5 – SILVER SPRING, MD – THE FILLMOREGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 6 – NEW YORK, NY – IRVING PLAZAGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 7 – NEW YORK, NY – IRVING PLAZAGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 8 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – ELECTRIC FACTORYGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 10 – ASHEVILLE, NC – THE ORANGE PEELGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 11 – MEMPHIS, TN – NEW DAISY THEATERGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 12 – DALLAS, TX –  GAS MONKEY BAR N’ GRILLGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 13 – HOUSTON, TX – HOUSE OF BLUES HOUSTONGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 14 – SAN ANTONIO, TX – AZTEC THEATERGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 16 – PHOENIX, AZ –MARQUEEGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 18 – SAN DIEGO, CA – HOUSE OF BLUES SAN DIEGOGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 20 – LOS ANGELES, CA –FONDA THEATREGET YOUR TICKETS
DECEMBER 21 –  LOS ANGELES, CA – FONDA THEATREGET YOUR TICKETS

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