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WINNIPEG - Jesus did not build my hot rod Monday night. Despite the fact industrial-metal guru Al Jorgensen did double-duty with his side project The Revolting Cocks before his headlining role with Ministry at The Venue Monday night, he still left me suffering from equal shares of deafness and disappointment -- neglecting to play the hit single from their 1992 album Psalm 69.
Come on, Al, it was on the set list.
With Jorgensen on guitar, The Revolting Cocks got the relatively calm crowd into a bit of a sing-along with a rousing metal cover of Rod Stewart's '80s hit Do Ya Think I'm Sexy, after which Jorgensen proclaimed it to be "The lamest f___ing song ever written." Not so lame that the band didn't include it on their 1993 album Linger Ficken' Good and release it as a single the same year.
With a short call-and-response chant of the band's saucy name, the Revolting lead singer returned to the stage in his little black dress for an ear-scorching rendition of Purple Haze. Kiss the sky? Nope. The band gave the lyrics a profane bent along the lines of "excuse me while I kiss this guy," if you get the drift.
After taking a short break, Jorgensen returned with Ministry to get the political punditry going just after 10 p.m. The band opened up their set with Fear (Is Big Business), following up with songs from their latest George W. Bush-bashing album Rio Grande Blood, including singles Lies, Lies, Lies and The Great Satan.
The set was an unrelenting barrage of machine-gun bass drums and searing guitars, while images of Bush spliced with Second World War propaganda ads and scenes from the infamous Nuremberg Trials were projected onto the giant screen behind the band.
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About half way through their set, Jorgensen announced Edmonton had lost the first game in the Stanley Cup hockey finals, much to the dismay of the crowd. But he got them all riled up again by reaching into the Ministry archives for a little Bush Sr. bashing with the songs N.W.O. and Thieves before rounding out the night with the title song from album Psalm 69 -- although sadly, not the noise-rock tune Jesus Built My Hot Rod.
Overall, the concert was a good time for some 550 gearheads in attendance, fists and devil horns raised in support of the industrial music hall-of-famers. The show definitely didn't suck eggs, but the way to succeed in my mind is by playing your all-time best song.