Mercy
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The concert that might never have been
Introduction
I’ve been to nearly 200 concerts. At the time of writing this article it was roughly 180. So I have been faced with disappointment and joy in many ways. Bands I had never heard of shocked me with just how good they were. Others had to cancel shows for various reasons.
However, one band was set apart from all others by being my cursed band for over 10 years. This is the story of the concert I never thought I would get to go to, the long road that got me to that show, and why it meant so much to me.
Yes, the ending is spoiled from the start, but this article is about the journey. So join me on a 15 year adventure to finally see The Ghost Inside.
2010, Only The Strong Will Survive
It was mid 2010 and Parkway Drive had just released Deep Blue. With the release came the announcement of a tour, the biggest they had ever done up to that point. The Devil Wears Prada, The Ghost Inside and 50 Lions were supporting.
I went to the show with no idea about the openers, but I didn’t care. I loved Parkway Drive. The real shock that night was The Ghost Inside.
I still remember them going on stage. Their intro was silly and ended with a voice over screaming “cannon ball.” The performance was simple but it hit hard and I enjoyed every second.
I became a fan that night. I wasn’t a die hard fan, but I liked them a lot and they quickly worked their way into my regular rotation.
2012, Returner
Disclaimer: The names in the following story have been changed.
This story confuses me to this day.
That weekend I was planning to go to my friend Lisa’s Halloween party on Saturday and then a concert with Josh and his girlfriend Kate on Sunday. Lisa and Kate were sisters, so of course Kate would know about the party happening in her own house.
About two hours before the party I called Josh to ask about our plan for the next day. He told me he didn’t know if he could go because his aunt and uncle’s house had burned down in the bushfires and he was helping clean up. I was shocked. As a throwaway comment I said he wouldn’t be at the party. He asked what party. I told him about Lisa’s Halloween party.
He then claimed he was standing in the burned out house but would call me the next day.
The bushfires were north of Newcastle, which is about a two and a half hour drive from Sydney. So you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the party to find him there in a full zombie costume. His story was that his uncle drove like a madman to get him back in time and he threw the costume together at the last minute. It was bullshit and I knew it, but I let it go.
The next day he told me he had to go back to Newcastle and couldn’t go to the show, and Kate wouldn’t go if he wasn’t going. I was left with three tickets I couldn’t give away.
So I missed The Ghost Inside.
I never confronted him, and I had a falling out with that friend group a year later. He was known for lying, so it wasn’t out of character. Still, he was very into music then, so it was surprising he didn’t want to go.
That was my first time missing The Ghost Inside.
2014 festival season, If you want it, come get it
In 2014 The Ghost Inside returned to Australia as part of the Soundwave music festival. Anyone who has been to a festival knows how big these events are, and when things are that big, things can go wrong.
The day had gone so well. My friend and I saw several amazing bands. At around 3 o’clock we headed to the stage where they were supposed to play. The timetable had been changed earlier in the day and they played at 1:40 instead. I missed them again.
And it gets better.
They also did a side show opening for I Killed The Prom Queen, but when they announced it I already had Avenged Sevenfold tickets for the same night.
So I missed them twice.
2014 again, Going Under
I finally saw them, but only briefly.
One downside of being blind is that if the person you attend a show with has to leave, so do you.
I went to the East Coast Rampage tour with a friend. The lineup was incredible and I discovered two bands I still love. After five bands played, The Ghost Inside took the stage. Three songs into their set my friend said we had to go because her dad (who was picking us up) refused to wait around.
So the night was cut short, and they even filmed a music video at that show.
But I thought they would be back.
2015, Aftermath
This story could have been the end of everything.
In 2015 the Big Ass Tour was announced. A Day To Remember and The Amity Affliction co-headlined and The Ghost Inside were direct support. The tour was scheduled for December. But in November, two weeks before it began, the band was involved in a head on collision with a truck. Both drivers were killed and the band were all hospitalized, most in critical condition.
Stories of their injuries slowly came out.
The singer broke his pelvis and later developed a serious infection that put him back into ICU.
The guitarist had many broken bones and lost several toes.
The drummer suffered the worst injuries. He lost his right leg from the knee down and had years of recovery ahead. His father, an engineer, helped create a rig that allowed him to continue drumming.
They refuse to do encores because the drummer has to disconnect from his setup and put his leg on to leave the stage. The fact he can play at all is incredible.
Nobody knew if they would ever play again. In early 2019 they posted a video of them rehearsing which gave everyone hope. They announced their first show back for July 13th 2019, three and a half years after the accident.
That show was live streamed and later released as a live album, one of my favourites.
Obviously missing them doesn’t compare to what they went through, but it was another moment where I had hoped to see them and didn’t.
2020, Alive and well
2020 was a terrible year, but it started even worse for me. In 2019 I was told I had cancer again, 21 years after being told I was all clear. So in late 2019 and early 2020 I was undergoing treatment.
On January 14th 2020 The Ghost Inside played their second show back since the accident. It was in Melbourne at the Unified Gathering festival. I had never travelled for a festival but I would have loved to have been there. Instead I was lying in a hospital bed, incredibly sick, having just finished my fifth and final cycle of chemotherapy.
So once again, I missed them.
But they kept announcing more shows. Covid delayed things but they returned in 2021, doing festivals and tours.
2023, In a world this shakey and unstable, we need to be less fucking hateful
I remember waking up and seeing the lineup for the Full Tilt festival. Headliners: The Ghost Inside. I called my friend and told them we were going. I didn’t ask. I just said we were going.
I was so excited. Thirteen years since I first saw them open for Parkway Drive. Nine years since I saw three songs. Eight years since the accident. Five missed attempts to see them.
Not an opening slot, a full headline show.
I even paid extra for VIP upgrades.
Three weeks before the festival they announced it was cancelled due to rising travel costs and fees. International bands apologised, saying they would try to come back soon. Some Australian bands were placed on smaller tours.
But once again I was shattered. At that point I genuinely believed I would never see them.
2024, Provoke
Sometimes an off hand comment can come back to haunt you.
In 2024 The Ghost Inside were scheduled to return to Australia, supporting Parkway Drive on their 20th anniversary tour with I Prevail and Void of Vision. It wasn’t the headlining slot I wanted the year before, but at this point I would take anything.
The show was going to be massive. Parkway Drive released videos showing the scale of the production. Huge arenas, pyro and a giant stage.
Me and my friend got into the city early, got food, and on the walk to the venue we passed an ice cream van. We thought why not and grabbed one. My friend mentioned they hadn’t had one in about ten years. I joked that it might be the highlight of the night.
Inside the venue people were confused because the inner doors were still closed. Announcements appeared on screens saying that Void of Vision and The Ghost Inside wouldn’t be playing due to production delays.
The statement claimed it was out of their control. It wasn’t. They added extra shows in Brisbane and Melbourne, which meant Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. There wasn’t enough time to break down and move the stage. So both bands were cancelled in Sydney and Melbourne.
I was angry. It ruined the night, so the ice cream really was the highlight.
Another miss.
2025, Life is swinging hard but I’m swinging harder
In early 2025 The Ghost Inside announced a headlining Australian tour. Of course I bought tickets, but after everything that happened I couldn’t bring myself to get excited. Part of me honestly believed something would go wrong again.
But the day finally arrived. October 24th 2025.
Even then the universe messed with me one last time. After the intro played the venue went silent and the lights flashed. Everyone was confused, but a minute later everything settled and the band started to play.
It had been such a long road but they didn’t disappoint. Fifteen years after I saw them for the first time, they played nineteen songs and it was incredible.
I’ve been to so many shows, but none have meant as much to me. The fact that they played all my favourite songs was a bonus.
Final thoughts
I know much of this story won’t matter to many people, but this article, like the show itself, has a deeper meaning for me than just a blog post.
This is a collection of stories across 15 years. The concert this week traces back to September 24th 2010 when I first saw The Ghost Inside. The highs and lows of that journey placed a lot of emotional weight on finally seeing them.
Writing this helped me reflect on how crazy this whole story is. Plenty of bands come to Australia only once or twice. I’ve seen bands I may never see again. But few have had the impact on me that The Ghost Inside had. Being able to finally see them meant more than I can express.
I have listened to them during struggles with mental health, while stuck in hospital, and through both happy and sad times. They have been with me through a lot.
So this show was a moment I will never forget.
Conclusion
Also just as an FYI, The headings are titles or quotes from The Ghost Inside songs.
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