Why have I attended? Ghost caught my attention a few years ago. Listening to them can be very pleasant. Open the blender, the ingredients are religion, Satan, video games, rock, and sex. Blend it all and the result is this Swedish band. Since the band members use costumes and their shows are well critically acclaimed, I didn’t hesitate much for purchasing the tickets. We are not talking about a common band here, more than artists, I was expecting death souls in the stage.
Setlist?
1 – Square Hammer
2 – From the Pinnacle to the Pit
3 – Secular Haze
4 – Con Clavi Con Dio
5 – Per Aspera ad Inferi
6 – Body and Blood
7 – Devil Church
8 – Cirice
9 – Year Zero
10 – He Is
11 – Absolution
12 – Mummy Dust
13 – Ghuleh/Zombie Queen
14 – Ritual
Encore
15 – Monstrance Clock
What did I like about this gig? Almost everything that I expected from this show was delivered perfectly. The venue was completely full of people. I was amazed by the level of commitment of the audience toward the songs. The first song of the show was “Square Hammer”, and the last one was “Monstrance Clock”, I can’t come out with better both opening and ending songs. Can you? The pre show was amazing, the songs Miserere Mei, Deus by Gregorio Allegri and Masked Ball by Jocelyn Pook went on before Papa came out. I know this concert was on a Thursday, but I felt like I was in a church on a Sunday morning. I liked the connection that the member of Ghost made with us. I really enjoyed this show.
What would I have preferred? I know that you might read this same complaint of mine in several concert reviews. But I think (once again) that this was a very short concert. You have to know that Papa Emeritus talks with the audience before some songs. And in some cases, it talks A LOT! There were some songs intros that he spoke for as long as 5 minutes of a subject that wasn’t so clear (more on that later on). With that being said, 1 and a half hours of show is a very little amount of time if you include the (unnecessaries extensive) talks of Papa. There were also problems with the audio of the band frontman. In some part of the songs the volume went down and that was a shame, this is why that in some cases the subject of Papa’s talks wasn’t so clear. The lights of the stage were very powerful and they wouldn’t let appreciate the show. And this complaint didn’t come only from me, but from more attendances as well.
And what about the openers? The band that opened the show is Zombi. They are an American synth-wave duo. For being just two folks they delivered quite a show. I really enjoyed their performance. After 30-40 minutes I have to say that I found it quite repetitive and I was just expecting for the headline band of the night. But that might be because of my anxiety for hearing Ghost live and my musical preference only. I recommend listening to Zombi, if you want to chill out or if you have a party where you need a pleasant background music.
Social shots!
Zombi inaugurated the evening
And Ghost ended it