Photos and Review: Jeff Lasich
On Thursday night, October 10, around 7000 people filled the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH to witness Grammy award winners, Ghost, on their US run of The Ultimate Tour Named Death.
Starting the show was San Antonio, Texas’ Nothing More. I hadn’t heard of them prior to the show, but they hit the stage full blast, demanding the audience to take notice. I guess they would be more of a modern hard/alternative rock band. The singer, Johnny Hawkins was all over the stage, even stopping to play drums for a part of a song.
The crowd was buzzing as the stage was getting set. At 8:46, the curtain dropped and the Nameless Ghouls took the stage. Shortly after, they were joined by Cardinal Copia. I’ve seen Ghost many times over the years and wasn’t sure how I felt about Copia when he was first introduced. Papa II was my favorite. It didn’t take him long to win me over. He has a personality and presence that is as large as the stage they were playing on. A Ghost show is something that must be seen live to appreciate. It’s full of lights, smoke, confetti and pyro. Cardi Copia made several costume changes.
There were instrumental interludes by the Ghoulettes that prevented any dead space during periods when Copia or the Ghouls were off the stage. They played cuts from their entire catalog to the delight of the crowd, which consisted of people dressed as nuns, Papa and Ghouls. It was more of a giant event/party than just a regular concert. Copia is funny and charismatic as he engages the crowd. Papa Nihil even made a cameo with a saxophone. I was happy to hear them play their new single, “Kiss the Go-Goat,” which is their best song in several years. The band was on stage for almost 2 hours, with a setlist reaching 20 songs. I walked out of the arena wanting to see them again already.
