Ministry at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Al Jourgensen & Chris Connolly

In 1961, shortly after the Cuban Revolution, the family of three-year-old Alejandro Ramírez Casas escaped from Havana and settled in Florida. In 1964, his mother remarried and adopted her husband's surname for herself and her son. The couple raised the boy, who came to be known as Al Jourgensen, in Chicago, Illinois, and Breckenridge, Colorado. In 1978, Jourgensen relocated from Denver, Colorado, to attend college in Chicago. There, he worked as a radio DJ and played in several short-lived bands, including the backing band of drag performer Divine. Jourgensen finally found success when he formed Ministry in 1981, through which he helped pioneer the industrial metal movement. Vocalist/guitarist Jourgensen is Ministry's only constant member; the band also presently consists of guitarists Sin Quirin and Cesar Soto, keyboardist John Bechdel, bassist Tony Campus and drummer Derek Abrams. Ministry released it 14th and most recent studio album, AmeriKKKant, on March 9, 2018.

Vans sports brand sponsored a six-day screening tour for Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax Records, a documentary about the Chicago-based independent record store and record company that launched industrial music, and the tour stopped tonight at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Fans were invited to attend the screening, a brief panel discussion that included former Ministry/Revolting Cocks musician Chris Connelly and My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult's Groovie Mann, and live sets by Ministry and Cold Cave. For the occasion, Ministry performed a set of only deep cuts and vintage catalog. Jourgensen occasionally joked about the throwback format of the set. "That was actually kinda fun," he told the audience after playing "Jesus Built My Hotrod," a song Ministry had retired from live performances in 2006. Surprises also included Connelly joining the band on stage for "Burning Inside," similarly resurrected  for this tour, and "So What." Connelly returned for the encores of the Revolting Cocks' "No Devotion" and for a rare acoustic version of "(Everyday is) Halloween," which Jourgensen introduced as "about walking around and not being accepted by society." For the entire set, Ministry's performance was filled with healthy rage and fast, loud, and extremely aggressive music. Industrial music remains an underground genre, but few bands are as well equipped as Ministry to blast it to the masses.

Setlist:

1. The Missing
2. Deity
3. Stigmata
4. Jesus Built My Hotrod
5. Just One Fix
6. N.W.O.
7. Thieves
8. Burning Inside (with Chris Connelly)
9. So What (with Chris Connelly)

Encore 1:

1. No Devotion (Revolting Cocks cover,  with Chris Connelly)
2. Supernaut (Black Sabbath cover, 1000 Homo DJs version)

Encore 2:

1. The Land of Rape and Honey
2. (Everyday Is) Halloween (acoustic, with Chris Connelly)