Ministry kicked off their 2024 North American tour with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly at the historic Warfield Theater in San Francisco on Tuesday evening (February 27th), just three days before the release of their 16th studio album, HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES. As it had been a few months since Ministry were on the road, they were definitely refreshed and re-energized, delivering a set of both new and classic songs to a near sold-out venue.
Ministry wasted no time playing the new stuff, as they kicked off their set with five songs from HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES, beginning with the singles “B.D.E.” (Big Dick Energy) and “Just Stop Oil.” Frontman and ring leader Al Jourgensen was his usual frantic self, belting out the lyrics while engaging with the fans up against the barricade. After a blistering version of “Goddam White Trash,” he and the band were joined by Jello Biafra for “Aryan Embarrassment” (a song featuring the San Francisco punk rock icon on the new album), before tearing through “New Religion.”
From there, the set was filled with classics, whipping the packed crowd into a frenzy. After the one, two, three punch of “N.W.O.,” “Just One Fix,” and “Stigmata,” Ministry wrapped up their initial set with “Thieves” and “Jesus Built My Hotrod,” the latter of which they had not played live since 2019.
Shortly thereafter, Ministry returned to the stage for an encore, with Uncle Al quipping, “Sorry, we just took a brief fentanyl break” (an apparent reference to the crisis currently plaguing San Francisco). The industrial titans closed out the evening with their cover of Magazine’s “The Light Pours Out of Me,” which they had not played live since 2003, as well as a rendition of Fad Gadget’s “Ricky’s Hand.”
Direct support for Ministry on this tour comes from synth-wave icon Gary Numan, who put on a blistering set of his own, highlighted by “Metal,” “Pray for the Pain You Serve,” and “My Name is Ruin,” as well as his signature song, “Cars.”
Opening the show are Front Line Assembly, industrial legends in their own right, who brought the crowd in early, and ready for the headliners with a seven-song set that closed with the favorites “Killing Grounds,” “Mindphaser,” and “Millennium.”
Ministry and company have another 28 dates on this tour, and they all are definitely primed and ready for what’s in store. After this outing, Ministry will provide direct support on Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper’s co-headlining summer US tour. Tickets to Ministry’s upcoming shows are available here.
See our photo gallery of the San Francisco show, as well as fan-filmed video and Ministry’s setlist, below.
Photo Gallery – Ministry Play San Francisco with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly (click to expand and scroll through):
Video Footage:
Ministry Setlist:
B.D.E. (live debut)
Just Stop Oil (live debut)
Goddamn White Trash
Aryan Embarrassment (with Jello Biafra) (live debut)
New Religion (live debut)
Alert Level
Broken System
N.W.O.
Just One Fix
Stigmata
Thieves
Jesus Built My Hotrod (first time since 2019)
Encore:
The Light Pours Out of Me (Magazine cover) (first known performance since 2003)
Ricky’s Hand (Fad Gadget cover)