What Went Down At The Ghost Inside's Comeback Show in LA

There's not a bad word you can say about The Ghost Inside. They are one of the best and highly motivational bands within the metalcore scene and they just played their first show in four years at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, USA following their tragic 2015 bus crash which critically injured many of the members and claimed the lives of both drivers.

Over the past four years, the guys have been on the road to rehabilitation, getting their strength and bodies back on track again with fans/peers/friends watching every step of the way. They announced they were going to be playing this "one-off/comeback show" in LA and fans flew from all over the globe to be there for it, not knowing what to expect, but holy shit, it was huge. The setup was insane, a large outdoor stage (like a music festival) with hoards of fans piling in during the late afternoon to secure their spot.

The festivities were kicked off with acoustic sets from This Wild Life, Wage War vocalist Cody Quistad and Trade Wind before the sun set, the smoke started billowing and the lights shined upon the band as they took to the stage again.

The Ghost Inside opened the evening with 'Avalanche' before frontman Jonathan Vigil screamed "Los Angeles we're baccckkk" amidst a sea of cheering and screaming. Highlights from the performance included a massive all-in crowd chanting shout out to drummer Andrew Tkaczyk's dad Larry for helping to make the drum equipment he used to be able to get behind the kit again with one leg, the band playing 'The Other Half' for the very first time live (on top of a plethora of old bangers) + they also said they're filming/documenting the night for fans and will release it somewhere down the track too, so for those of you who missed it, you'll be able to see it with better footage than a mobile phone live stream.

[caption id="attachment_79653" align="aligncenter" width="602"] The Ghost Inside - LA Comeback Show. Photo by Ash Hull[/caption]

There was a lot of love for fellow bands within the community too with our very own Parkway Drive and The Amity Affliction scoring mentions, as well as the A Day To Remember boys who were in attendance after turning down the opportunity to play saying "they wanted the night to be about The Ghost Inside, so they attended as friends" and also Wage War who Jonathan gave a shitload of praise to for their new album revealing:

“[I] was in the back of my manager's car and he showed me it and I was punching the back seats it’s that heavy”

Also during the gig, Jonathan addressed the crowd, talking about the past few years and how he felt he was lying and letting the fans down because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to push through his struggles, unlike what he sang about in their lyrics over the years.

"I spent so much time thinking I was a fraud" - Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside during moments of doubt and vulnerability thorughout his recovery.

He went on to say he doesn't know what the future holds for the band. They don't know if they'll play 100 more shows or not, but they want to thank the fans for being there for them along the way.

The guys closed with 'Faith Or Forgiveness' and (of course) 'Engine 45' after announcing they're working on new material right now with A Day To Remember's Jeremy McKinnon. They've got no real plans with that just yet, they're just going with the flow and seeing what happens.

A HUUUGE effort from all involved. BIG thanks to Ash Hull for reporting back to us and sharing pics and clips from the show. We'll update this with more once it all comes out but let's hope this is just the beginning of what's to come from the band... It's strange, yet fulfilling to finally be able to say these words:

"THE GHOST INSIDE ARE FUCKING BACK"

Words by Browny @brownypaul

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzS5-AjJ71E&w=853&h=480]