Ministry

 It had been a long time since I'd been to a loud concert, so when I found Ministry was playing in Vancouver and that tickets were not as outlandish as I had feared, I found a good friend to go with and was thoroughly rocked. Opening act This Sixxis was not bad and certainly scored extra points for being the first metal band I have seen that prominently featured a violin.

 Ministry has been around in various incarnations since 1981 and I got into them in the mid 90's. Having seen them twice before (once in Winnipeg, once in Vancouver) I knew what to expect and my expectations were thoroughly met by an excellent set. If it's your particular cup of tea to hear a 57 year old scream about the NSA, Fox News, and climate change deniers while being blasted by a wall of guitars then this is certainly the band for you.

The crowd at the show was pretty great and varied as well. Beyond the usual meatheads there to charge into each other, there was a guy in a wheelchair in the main area about 6 feet from the stage and a family with their 8-ish year old daughter sporting a fine pair of industrial strength earplugs. Since Ministry has been around so long, they have a pretty big and varied fan base with people well in their 60s alongside the usual wispy early twenties goth crowd. Heartily recommended!