In what could be considered the band’s East Coast homecoming show, Ghost Light, the newest project from Tom Hamilton, Holly Bowling, Raina Mullen, Steve Lyons, and Scotty Zwang brought their debut tour to the Ardmore Music Hall just outside of Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Philadelphia cosmic funk-fusion outfit Muscle Tough provided a stellar opening set of originals with some fun covers added to the mix, including Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and the theme song from Twin Peaks, tweaked with Muscle Tough’s brand of effects-infused mind-altering musicianship.
Enter Ghost Light, fresh off of a slew of sold out shows and without a doubt in their best form to date. The pit of the Ardmore Music Hall was filled with a mix of eager fans waiting for their first taste of this new project and friends and family of the band. The band was all smiles as Hamilton thanked the crowd for packing out the house on a Thursday.
From the first note of the night, it was clear that this band is not your average, run-of-the-mill jam project. Starting their two-set night with an original titled “Come Apart,” the band weaved between each song with impressive group improvisation highlighted by fiery guitar solos from Hamilton and blissful piano interplay from Bowling. Set one included covers of Derek & The Dominos’ “Keep On Growing” and Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels,” with Zwang taking lead vocals on the latter, with a powerful rendition of Ghost Light original “Lead Weight” in between.
Set two began with American Babies favorite “Synth Driver,” and was filled with more Ghost Light originals including the dreamy rocker “Isosceles,” and passionate lead vocals on “Diamond Eyes” from Mullen. The night ended with a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Deal,” and a Ghost Light’s debut encore of the Brothers Past song “Leave The Light On.”
From his side of the stage, Hamilton played quarterback for the band as they took each song on the night out for a walk, signaling to each member of the band when it was their turn to shine. Bowling was a mad scientist on the boards, somehow making it look easy to play three keyboards at once. Mullen provided flawless rhythm guitar complementing both Hamilton and Bowling’s solos, while also dropping jaws with lead vocals on multiple songs, and Lyons and Zwang held it down on the low end with ease.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of being in the audience for a Ghost Light show is the clear look on each band members face that reads “Wow, this is FUN!”
A word of advice: if this band is anywhere near your hometown… GO!
Check out the live stream of Thursday night’s Ghost Light set below, courtesy of Liquid Silver Stream:
[Video: Liquid Silver Stream]