Ministry

House of Blues, Anaheim

Ministry was the headliner at the end of another 4-band extravaganza at the House of Blues. Three would have been plenty if you ask me. These guys are way older than a lot of the bands they have influenced over the years, but short of the singer it doesn't really show. He's a little chunky and tired looking if you ask me, but the rest of the band seemed ok and all of them were having a good time. The crowd, which had grown to decent proportions by the time Ministry appeared on stage, didn't really mosh or get into it, short of a few who were headbanging. One guy with a mohawk came out of the pit with a egg-sized bump on his noggin' appeared to be the only casualty of the night. Two guitarists, a drummer, a singer, a bass player, and whatever you call the guy making the background noises all rounded out the band. They had a pretty kewl backdrop projector thingy going which kind of added to the show. Musically, they were a lot better than I was expecting, having not been entirely thrilled with their CD's. Things always seem to be better live though, and Ministry was no exception. In any event, if you like them, they're worth seeing live.

You can find Ministry's homepage here.