Right Here Right Now Before the Devil

Due to preoccupations with other interests over the summer, I did not remember that I was going for my second ritual with Ghost until school started again and the band released their EP.

Nevertheless I am so happy that I went to see them this week. I felt like I needed a night out due to how busy I’ve been this semester, and Ghost is one of those bands where I can sing my heart out that night and forget about everything, including all the pressure this semester is putting on me.

It was a busy day as I had to rush home from school after an hour long class so I could have enough time to eat something and do my makeup. An egg and toast would have to do.

I put on my tour shirt from the last ritual as well as my Grucifix necklace and earrings. I actually got a few compliments for those since other fans had the double Grucifix on. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the double Grucifix logo the band has come out with, so now fans like myself who prefer the classic Grucifix like on the rosary beads, we stand out more.

Brayden and I got to the venue just as the sun went down and had to wait a bit for Damian who was joining us, but I tell you once we were inside, I was shocked when I learned where our seats were.

Pretty close!

I was like, damn we’re that close!? I mean, last time I saw Ghost it was at the Phoenix where it was general admission, but I’m kind of glad they went to this venue so we don’t have to rush inside to secure a good spot from the stage.

The opening act was Marissa Nadler, another sort of calm before the storm act just like King Dude. I think Ghost likes to put acts to open for them that keep people relaxed. That being said, she was a good singer and covered Blood and Tears by Danzig.

After she was done, I just sat there patiently waiting for Ghost. Everyone started cheering once the drum set was uncovered and the incense spread through the room. It felt like I wasn’t waiting for very long; like one minute they’re checking the instruments and the next minute the stage goes dark and you can hear the choir.

We cheered and waited as the music grew louder waiting for the ghouls to take the stage. My all time favourite moment of concerts is just the few seconds before the band I’ve waited to see or see again hits the stage. In that moment, it gets your heart pumping with excitement, and this time I felt like it happened so fast since they didn’t do any intro track to open their set. I saw the nameless ghouls and screamed, and when Papa hit the stage as it lit up…I screamed even louder. Everyone stood up cheering.

I took several photos but narrowed it down to this one because I wanted to see if I could spend more time enjoying the concert itself while I’m there.

As I expected, Papa Emeritus III has a fantastic stage presence just like the 2nd Papa, and the ghouls look great. The bass ghoul is actually female now! Nice to have one girl in the band!

The setlist was great to be honest, every song had me jumping if not singing all of them. They opened with Square Hammer from their new EP Popestar. I was aware that the EP was already out, like I said I was preoccupied with other stuff and never heard the song until that very night! I feel bad, but hey no matter, once I heard it live, I loved it and now I’ve been listening to it nonstop for the last few days! I think it works well as an opening song with the whole chorus like “Are you ready to swear right here right now, before the devil” there’s just something about those lyrics that have a “welcome to the show” feeling just like when KISS opens with Psycho Circus.

Then they started playing my favourites from all three albums and I sang along all of them even if I didn’t know the lyrics by heart. I was happy to hear Secular Haze since they didn’t play it last time I saw them, so you can imagine I sang that one pretty loud.

Just before Body and Blood played, Papa brought out the Sisters of Sin which I remember was introduced halfway through the tour two years ago I think. Man those girls who applied for that are lucky. I’m just happy their nun outfits aren’t revealing but I’m not going to go in to detail about why I think that. Anyway, I’m happy for those who got to be one at my ritual and the many others. God I don’t think I could do it no matter how much I love Ghost.

Body and Blood of course is another song I sing at the top of my lungs because it’s one of the few songs that made my love for Ghost spark, and then halfway into the set, Papa changed into his casual clothes. As I said, I like Papa III’s casual look way more than Papa II’s. He just looks so classy!

I loved how they played the Devil Church instrumental, it’s so beautiful and sometimes I wish it was longer like Genesis because that melody just captured my heart in a way. Cirice was another song that I belted out as I binge-listened to it when it was released as a single. Like I swear to God I stood on my toes, my hand on my heart and my mouth open wide singing the song from start to finish. It’s so hard to tell if I’m singing just because the music is so loud I can’t hear my own voice!

It’s too bad they didn’t play much from Opus Eponymous but I was happy to hear Ritual again and sing to that. They shot confetti into the crowd during Mummy Dust and I caught a whole bunch of pieces and stuffed them into my purse. They are resting on my dresser as I write this.

Brayden was belting out their now signature ballad He Is, which is a beautiful song. Ghost is one of those bands that tend to throw in something unexpected and that’s another reason to love them.

Papa was eventually given a rose bouquet and it made me think he was going to give out the roses but he never did. I was never really focused on trying to get the band’s attention that much anymore; although that would be a nice bonus. Papa didn’t see me this time but I’m sure he heard me shout that I love him without looking!

Anyway, after we all chant an encore, he comes back onstage and talks about the female orgasm for a bit cracking us all up. I’m not going to mention any of the political stuff he said for obvious reasons but yeah. Last but not least we all sang along to Monstrance Clock which will always be a fantastic song to end the night.

My confetti grab. Apparently they had Ghost cash in there too somewhere

Got home with ringing ears and a sore throat. It’s already Friday and my neck still hurts from headbanging. But I have no regrets. I’m glad I went to this ritual, I deserved a night out for all the hard work I’ve put into this semester so far.

Thank you so much Ghost, I love you with all my heart and may we have another night together soon.

-Emily