Ghost 5/17/14

Ghost and King Dude at Best Buy Theater was absolutely STRANGE. There is always this aura of inconspicuousness when Ghost comes to town. I have seen them only one time before at Webster Hall literally a year ago. That show felt more cinematic, more enthralling to me. This time, the mood was very dark and eerie. Almost every aspect of this production was beyond atmospheric. Lighting, sound production and even technique were all significantly grim.

King Dude was way better than their last opening act when I saw them the first time. Bottom line Ides of Gemini held no cloud to King Dude. This type of show was meant for them. The music matched the environment and stage presence of all members involved. I had to run my ISO levels so high and my shutter speed at 1/100 – 1/150 just to get the desired lighting I needed. Talk about a ghastly presence, these gentlemen wore the black you wear for a funeral. Dreary tunes by lead singer TJ Cowgill. There was a persona to this man that was enveloped in pure misanthropic fashion. You need to see the photos yourself to see what I am talking about. Off stage, the guys were having drinks, talking to fans and taking pictures. Seeing them switch off their show personality with the flick of a switch was awesome. Check out the photos below as I do not have the set-list for this act.

Ghost had me pumped from the moment the choral music came on. The stage was so full of red and black until The Nameless Ghouls showed up and then Papa Emeritus II came forth unto the stage. The background lighting was full of blues, purples, and green tones but never any real clear white or foreground lighting. Papa’s photos in my case were very, very overpopulated by shadows which was a major plus coming from his persona played on stage. My last photos at Webster Hall were full of light and beautiful. Compared to that show, they had their own lighting system where as on THIS particular night, they only used the house lights (I can only assume the reason was that Saturday was last night of the tour). Opening up with Infestissumam onto Per Aspera Ad Inferi (both of which are on their current album Infestissumam), the crowd was singing with Papa Emeritus II like it was a typical choir session at a Roman-Catholic Church. The band did have some surprises in store. For starters, they brought nuns with them to distribute the body and blood of the dark lord himself coincidentally as the song Body & Blood was being performed. Most of all, they covered Here Comes The Sun, which was originally sung by The Beatles in 1969 off their infamous Abbey Road album. Ghost is an amazing photography session but I am truly hoping they change up the stage presence and add some new things to the show. I almost feel like believing that once you see them the first time, there is nothing else to see. For a band on their second album, the third should be quite a wake up call for fans and the members who will hopefully add more to the honorary “Church of Satan.” After the show, some die-hard fans waited for the band to come out to sign autographs. Disappointingly, the band packed their stuff in a limousine and kept it moving. Some other tour stops had autograph signings and meet and greets but not the last day of tour. The night was awesome until this occurred and it will leave a bitter memory. Not only that, but since I kept the photo pass, I now have a memory that will NEVER fade away. Isn’t that what a Ghost does? they haunt you??? Anyway, Check out the photos and the set-list below.

1. Infestissumam
2. Per Aspera ad Inferi
3. Ritual
4. Prime Mover
5. Jigolo Har Megiddo
6. Con Clavi Con Dio
7. Elizabeth
8. Body and Blood
9. Death Knell
10 .Here Comes the Sun
(The Beatles cover)
11. Depth of Satan’s Eyes
12. Stand by Him
13. Genesis
14. Year Zero
15. If You Have Ghosts
(Roky Erickson cover)

Encore:
16. Ghuleh/Zombie Queen
17. Monstrance Clock

See you rockers on the flip-side.

—Derek Soto—

Check out the full flickr gallery HERE!

King Dude Photo Gallery

Ghost Photo Gallery