Ghost – Minneapolis, MN – May 4, 2013

Written by Tracy Hansen.  Photography by Kyle Hansen.

AEG Entertainment and Mill City Nights present Ghost.

Mill City Nights in Minneapolis is filled with a strange assortment of people on May 4, 2013.  From those dressed in everday street clothes, to leather and spikes, and even those dressed as the band, they are all there to see Ghost, a not so highly known heavy metal import from Sweden.  Many are unsure of what they are in for as the evening progresses, simply at the show to witness what many friends have told them will be a fantastic show.

The most commonly heard question of the evening is, “Who is this band?”  And while one may ask themselves why people would pay to see a band that they don’t know about, it is downright comical how often it is asked.  The question ranges around the Nether Bar and the rest of the club, as well as descriptions of Papa Emeritus II and the Nameless Ghouls.  By the time Ghost hits the stage, many of the audience members still are unaware of what they are going to see and are quickly fascinated.

Ghost is a theater style band.  Covered in masks, cloaks, and focusing a majority of their show on forms of ritual, they are a group that would benefit incredibly from a large stage.  So being able to make use of a stage in a club the size of Mill City Nights is a great feat.  Regardless of where anyone in the club is, Ghost takes on a menacing, yet strangely enchanting feel, pulling everyone into the show itself.

They open the show with the track, “Masked Ball” by Jocelyn Pook.  For those of you who may find it a bit on the familiar side, it was originally played in the film, “Eyes Wide Shut”.  They are known for always opening their concerts with it.  They proceed to enthrall their already eager audience with songs from both their new album, “Infestissumam”, and their past, “Opus Eponymous”.  Tracks such as “Stand By Him” and the newly released, “Year Zero”, pull the crowd into chants and cheers.

The performance seems to end too soon, making many people wish that they had a variety of tracks they knew nothing about.  In such a circumstance, the show would go on for much longer and the audience would still be living under the watchful eye of The Nameless Ghouls and their masked leader.  For now, people can reveal in knowing that they were able to view such a sight at the club, as it is unknown how much bigger Ghost will become in the coming years.

Setlist: Masked Balled, Infesstissumam, Per Aspera ad Inferi, Con Clavi Con Dio, Prime Mover, Elizabeth, Secular Haze, Body and Blood, Stand by Him, Death Knell, Satan Prayer, Genesis, Year Zero, Ritual, and Monstrance Clock