Anatomy of a Ghost

live in Chicago (2003)

As you will find out, my review is pretty long and covers only one band who performed. This is my first review for the site and I guess is kind of a trial run for me to see what you all think of it. If you'd like me to post a continuation review for the rest of the bands who played let me know in the comments and I'll put it up. Thanks.

Anatomy of a Ghost is a band I have been a big fan of since downloading a few of their songs off the internet and later picking up their cd (Which I really reccomend getting). When I saw on their website that they would be playing a show at the legendary Fireside Bowl I immediately made plans to drive to Chicago and see them live along with Bear vs. Shark, Haste, and This Day Forward.

After driving on the highway in some rather nasty weather and horrendous traffic, I finally made it to the Firesidebowl just in time to see the show start. As I was walking up the street to the Fireside I could hear Anatomy of a Ghost starting their set so I made a mad dash inside, payed the $8 cover, and scrambled to the front of the stage. I had heard that Anatomy of a Ghost had a very energetic and memorable live performace, and this night they didn't disappoint.

Anatomy of a ghost plays a melodic post hardcore style which could be best compared to a mix of Thursday and Coheed and Cambria. They have a very unique style that is hard to pin down to one specific genre. The band also has an incredible stage prescene, and with the exception of the drummer, not a single member of the band was stationary on stage for more than a few seconds at a time.

The lead singer would be on the monitors on stage to get close to the fans in front one moment, and the next would be writhing on the ground screaming into the microphone while the guitarists kicked eachother into the walls or fell on their backs on stage during a heavy breakdown. At one point during the song "In Case of Future Complication" (my personal favorite) the lead singer dove off the drum set on stage and onto the right shoulder of the bass player, and continued singing perched between the bass player's shoulder and the clubs low ceiling before diving off and delivering a stiff kick to the bass player's side.

Surprisingly, with all the chaos onstage, the instrumental performace of the band was near perfect. The drum beats and bass rythms were dead on, the guitars never missed a note, and the lead singer delivered his vocals flawlessly. Everything the band played was off of their album "Evanesce" with the exception of one new song. In between songs, a quiet and creepy instrumental track with muffled children's voices played over the speakers, which added to the atmosphere of the band onstage and provided a "calm before the storm" like setting before the next chaotic song was played. Very cool indeed.

After the show I had a chance to talk to the lead singer of Anatomy of a Ghost who was definitely one of the coolest performers I've talked to at the Fireside. I commented on a great set as I saw him walking by and he turned around to come talk to me about the show. He asked me if they played well enough on stage and asked if there was enough energy during the set. I respected that alot because it showed a band who was really working in the fan's best interest and was there to put on a great performance. The rest of the band was also very cool and I spent some more time talking to the lead singer about their CD and upcoming shows before leaving the Fireside to hop in my car and head back home.