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MINISTRY and COLD CAVE Get Nostalgic While Celebrating WAX TRAX! Records at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall [Photos & Show Review]

For fans of Ministry, this was a dream evening featuring a screening of Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records, sets from Ministry and Cold Cave and so much more at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall.

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While this performance wasn’t technically a “secret show,” it wasn’t an official Ministry concert in the sense that some Ministry fans didn’t have a clue the band was in town.

This evening was a special event fuelled by Vans Presents and Record Store Day. Essentially a free event, fans who RSVP’d via the Industrial Accident webpage were put on a list for entry to the live performance with no strings attached. Die-hard Wax Trax! fans who lined up for one of the four Toronto record stores participating in Record Store Day, and who bought a copy of the Industrial Accident soundtrack on vinyl, were given additional swag and a pair of tickets to enter the venue earlier to watch the Industrial Accident documentary.

This also included the opportunity to participate in a panel Q&A. Director Julia Nash was on site along with interviewer Mark Sillicorn (Julia’s husband and screenwriter on the film) along with Chris Connelly (Ministry and Revolting Cocks), Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult) and Julia’s mother Jeanne Payne (also Jim Nash’s ex-wife).

Tonight was one of SIX extraordinary evenings like this. Entitled the Vans Presents: Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records Experience Events, Chicago, Brooklyn, Toronto, Austin, San Francisco, and Los Angeles all played host to special celebratory screenings of the film and the accompanying panel discussion Q&A with its creators. The evening then was topped off by celebratory performances from Ministry and Cold Cave.

Check out the official trailer for INDUSTRIΛL ΛCCIDENT: The Story of Wax Trax! Records.


Cold Cave was a band I didn’t know much about. Aside from a few remixes they had done for acts I like, I’d not heard any of their music before tonight. They were cool, and definitely fit into the vein of material that could be described as derivative of Wax Trax! Records.

Al Jourgensen, Tony Campos (Fear Factory, Static X), Sin Quirin, John Bechdel, Cesar Soto, and Derek Abrams delivered a stunning set of early Ministry/Wax Trax! material bringing alumni member Chris Connelly onstage for four of the songs performed towards the end of their set. For Ministry fans, this was a dream set featuring three songs from The Land Of Rape And Honey, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste and Psalm 69.

Add in “No Devotion” (Revolting Cocks), “Supernaut” (1000 Homo DJs) and “(Every Day Is) Halloween,” and you have the makings of some of the finest Ministry material ever recorded. I never thought I’d get to hear “(Every Day Is) Halloween” performed live. It’s a track Al has downplayed as being from a genre of music he has little interest in anymore, but given the tone of the evening as a celebration of Wax Trax! he brought the song to life in a crowd sing-along that was pure pleasure to be a part of.

I loved every damn minute about this evening. The Wax Trax! label and its catalogue of incredible music have had long-lasting effects on so many music fans (including this writer), and this event felt like a well-deserved group hug for a good number of its participants.

“Jesus Built My Hotrod” was one of the standout tracks on this evening. Check out the official music video.


Ministry Toronto Setlist:

01. The Missing
02. Deity
03. Stigmata
04. Jesus Built My Hotrod
05. Just One Fix
06. N.W.O.
07. Thieves
08. Burning Inside (with Chris Connelly)
09. So What (with Chris Connelly)
Encore:
10. No Devotion (Revolting Cocks) (with Chris Connelly)
11. Supernaut (1000 Homo DJs, Black Sabbath cover)
Encore 2:
12. The Land of Rape and Honey
13. (Everyday Is) Halloween (acoustic with Chris Connelly)

Check out the artwork for the soundtrack to Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records.

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