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Archive for the ‘Trenton, NJ’ Category

Ghost: Imperatour (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2022)

Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Mastodon, Set in New Jersey!, Spiritbox, Trenton, NJ on September 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 9, 2019] Ghost 

This was my third time seeing Ghost.  In four years!  They never fail to put on a spectacular show.

Each time I’ve taken C. with me and these last two he brought his friend with him.  This time, though, the boys sat in the seats straight back but on a slight rise (they had a great view) and I went to the floor to get as close to the action I could.  The usually toss stuff out to the audience after the show, but I was not in the right place.

There were tons of people in full cosplay, and they looked amazing.

It took a while for Ghost to come out.  They have a huge stage change up, so it’s understandable.  I happened to run into someone I knew there and his son (Hi Gary) which was crazy (although not really as he has seen Ghost like 6 times).

They play taped music as the band sets up.  It’s usually a kind of Gregorian chant.  Soon the stage was revealed in all of its multi-tiered, stained-glass glory.  The music segued into a tape of “Imperium” before the Nameless Ghouls ran out on stage followed soon after by Papa. (more…)

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Mastodon (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2022) [GHOST]

Posted in Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Mastodon, Set in New Jersey!, Spiritbox, Trenton, NJ on September 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 9, 2019] Mastodon

This was my third time seeing Mastodon.  I have enjoyed them each time but I didn’t think I’d be seeing them again.  So it was a treat that they opened for Ghost.

I hadn’t really listened to their new album that much, so I didn’t really know what to expect.  Plus, in an opening slot, they wouldn’t get that many songs.  And I see that each show has their sets getting shorter and shorter.

The biggest surprise was the addition of a keyboard player.  Joao Noguiera stood on the same riser as the drums and had a lot of hair and a top hat (yes, like Slash).  He added a lot of atmospherics and sounds while the other guys were tuning.  But Mastodon is such a force, I’m not sure he was needed.

So they played five songs from the new album.  And then six songs that I’d seen them play before.  Most of those they’ve played at each show.

There were great visuals behind them–a huge screen showing videos.

“Pain with an Anchor” was sung by drummer Brann Dailor, who has the most melodic delivery of the band.  He and singer Troy Sanders share a lot of lead vocal duties on the new album.  And I love Dailor’s colorful drum set.  (more…)

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Spiritbox (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2022) [GHOST]

Posted in Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Mastodon, Set in New Jersey!, Spiritbox, Trenton, NJ on September 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 9, 2019] Spiritbox

We arrived pretty early for this show.  Early enough to get merch before the first band went on.

My son and his friend had seats (straight back and a few rows up–they said the view was perfect), but I wanted standing room on the floor.  And just as I walked down the steps to the floor, the lights went dark and I walked pretty close to the stage.

Then Spiritbox came out.  I didn’t know them at all.  But their story is

Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band from Victoria, British Columbia. Husband and wife duo guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante established Spiritbox in 2017. The band’s full lineup comprises LaPlante, Stringer and drummer Zev Rose; former As I Lay Dying bassist Josh Gilbert currently performs live with the band.

The band plays pretty loud and abrasive guitars, but there’s all kinds of electronic effects and interesting quiet/loud elements going on.  Courtney LaPlante can growl/ scream very impressively, but she also has a pretty singing voice, adding even more to the diversity.

It’s like they combined some of the best elements of various new heavy metal sounds into a composite that sounds familiar but unique at the same time. (more…)

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Ghost (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, October 25, 2019)

Posted in Blue Öyster Cult, Cure Insurance Arena, Emmylou Harris, Ghost, Gregorio Allegri, Jan Johansson, Set in New Jersey!, Slayer, Trenton, NJ on October 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 25, 2019] Ghost

A few years ago Ghost had just popped on my radar when I saw that they were playing the Fillmore in Philly.  I didn’t go, but a friend of mine took his son and said the show was outstanding.

Before getting tickets for Starset, I had bought tickets for C. and I to see Ghost.  I had heard that their live shows were tremendous and I was pretty excited to bring him to a show like this.  When I looked for tickets, I knew we wouldn’t want GA Floor, but I didn’t know if we should go straight back or close to the stage on the side.  I chose close to the stage and I was pretty happy with the location although C. thought it would be better straight on.

I had no idea we’d be going to see two concerts in two nights.  But it was fun for him to compare the two styles of venue–club vs. arena.

Starset has a backstory and Ghost has a backstory too.  Ghost’s story is pretty fascinating.

But before getting to that I have to say that this show was spectacular.  Holy cow was it fun–the band was fantastic.  The stage set was incredible and Cardinal Copia was an amazing front man.

Now, onto the story of Ghost. (more…)

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Nøthing Møre (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, October 25, 2019) [GHOST]

Posted in Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Nøthing Møre, Nothing More, Skrillex, Trenton, NJ on October 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 25, 2019] Nøthing Møre

Before getting tickets for Starset, I had bought tickets for C. and I to see Ghost.  I had heard that their live shows were tremendous and I was pretty excited to bring him to a show like this.  When I looked for tickets, I knew we wouldn’t want GA Floor, but I didn’t know if we should go straight back or close to the stage on the side.  I chose close to the stage and I was pretty happy with the location although C. thought it would be better straight on.

I had not heard of Nøthing Møre before this show.  I rather wish I had looked them up beforehand, because part of their live show was really cool and I wish I had known it was coming so I could have appreciated it more.

But as it turned out, I was not quite in the mood for them.

Traffic was fine (I loved having the Arena only 45 minutes away and would totally go back).  Parking was a little tricky (I’ll know better if there is a next time).  We walked in with a few minutes to spare. (more…)

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Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: Dragons (Sun National Bank Center, Trenton, NJ, May 18, 2012 )

Posted in Acrobats, Adventure, Aga-Boom, Anachronisms, Animals, Big Apple Circus, Consumerism, Daredevils, Nostalgia, Peking Acrobats, Pets, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Set in New Jersey!, Sun National Bank Center, Supernatural, Trenton, NJ on May 26, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 18, 2012] Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

The last time I saw Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was in the mid 70s.  My parents took me two years in a row (and I still have the program books somewhere to prove it).  I didn’t realize that the circus was still around, to be honest.  I knew about all of the other circuses, but RB&B&B (what an awkward name) seemed like maybe it just went away.  Well, that is not the case—apparently once you have kids who are old enough to enjoy it, the circus comes to your town.

Or more specifically, to Trenton.  We thought about going to the show back in March when it was in East Rutherford and Newark but that seemed too far (and pricey).  When it came to Trenton (which was actually further than we anticipated) and I could get tickets for $15/ea, that was all I needed to hear.

If anything was worth $15 it was this circus.  Indeed, the joy we got out of it was worth much more than $15.

If you’ve been following along here, you know we’ve been to a number of circus-type shows over the last few months, so we are jaded circus-goers at this point.  But this show was called Dragons, and that’s hard to pass up, especially if you have a soon to be 7-year-old boy (and you used to play D&D).  When as the show opened and several performers came out with dragons attached to the front of Segways, I knew this was going to be fun.  And that it wasn’t the circus from 1977.

And yet, it kind of was.  Because once the circus proper started, it had all of the elements of circuses of yore:  elephants, tigers, trapeze artists, springboard jumpers, hoops of fire and more.

The theatricality was quite spectacular both old school (the ringmaster and clowns) and new school (remote controlled (I guess) platforms and floating screens to project pictures).  And, yes it was all about Dragons–the ringmaster sang a long over the top song about being a dragon (I think–the sound was really quite poor).  And they explained the four qualities of being a dragon (or maybe the four qualities you needed for the dragon to come out?  That’s what seemed to happen anyhow).  Each of the four qualities (Courage, Strength, Wisdom, Heart) was represented by a color and, tenuously, by the performers in a certain section.

And I cannot keep straight who exemplified which quality so, as my memory allows, here’s what we saw. (more…)

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