Concert Review: Ronnie Radke's Three Ring Circus

From mindequalsblown.net

Words by: Savanah Ruiz

Hi, everybody! So, Wednesday night I went to the NYC date of Falling In Reverse’s tour, which was appropriately named Ronnie Radke’s Three Ring Circus. If you haven’t heard of it, the tour features something Falling In Reverse hadn’t done before, which is perform Dying Is Your Latest Fashion in its entirety. Dying Is Your Latest Fashion is Escape the Fate’s first full length album, and was made when Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke was still in the band, making it a widely known album in the Escape the Fate and Falling In Reverse fandoms. So, back to the tour. On top of Falling In Reverse playing all of Dying Is Your Latest Fashion, Ghost Town opened for them and Falling In Reverse would do another set where they play their songs, hence it being a three ring circus (three setlists in total). When I first heard about this tour, I immediately bought my ticket, being a major fan of Escape the Fate’s first album, Falling In Reverse, and Ghost Town. Overall, if you’re looking a show with interesting music, over the top set decorations, and a quirky vocalist, this tour is the one for you.

The Venue- The date I went to was at the Best Buy Theater in New York City. This is a venue I was slightly familiar with since in March of 2014 I had gone there for Asking Alexandria’s Break Down the Walls Tour, and to say I love this venue is an understatement. The venue features a number of bars, a spacious pit for an indoor venue (in my opinion), and seating for those who don’t want to stand, and even a VIP balcony (which I don’t really know much about but thought I would mention), making it a great venue to go to if you want somewhere with a lot of space. When I went to the Asking Alexandria concert, I remember it being very hot, which was still enjoyable since that’s how it is at most concerts, but this time it was somehow perfect temperature, and it just added to the amazing time I had. I spent time in the pit, the area that separates the pit from the higher area (don’t know how to describe it that well), and even in the seating area, and I have to say no matter where you are you can still enjoy the show, especially since the Best Buy theater has TV’s that show a live feed of the show, which you can see from the seating area since it is very far from the stage. Overall, I really have no complaints about this venue, and highly recommend going there if you ever have the chance.

Stuff to bring beforehand- In case anyone plans to go to a concert anytime soon, I thought I’d mention a few things I find necessary to bring everytime I go to a concert. First, you absolutely need earplugs. They save you the pain of injuring your eardrums, and filter the sound perfectly so you can hear the band instead of the sound of speakers blaring. As Jeremy Saffer put it the other day, once you lose your hearing, you never get it back. Second, money is a must. Whether it’s for parking, band merch, or drinking, you’re going to need money at one point, so it’s always good to carry some cash even if it’s just a twenty. Third, a fully charged phone is a given if you want to take photos and plan on meeting any band members, since you can’t take a picture with a dead phone. Lastly, something to sign, even if it happens to be your ticket is something you should consider bringing even if you don’t plan on meeting anyone. Ghost Town ended up having a free signing after their set, so always plan for the unexpected.

Ghost Town- Ghost Town was the opening act, and I think they were a great way to introduce the tour. I’ve been a fan of them for quite some time, so I was not disappointed by their performance. They played songs they’re known for like “You’re So Creepy” and “I’m Weird”, while also playing new songs they have yet to release. I was in the pit for this performance so I didn’t see them that well, but they were still very good and I’d love to see them again.

“Dying Is Your Latest Fashion”- For this part of Falling In Reverse’s performance, they took on the stage name Dying Is Your Latest Fashion, and performed (you guessed it) Dying Is Your Latest Fashion. For this set, they chose to keep the stage very simple, and the only thing decorating the set was a big banner featuring the artwork from Dying Is Your Latest Fashion. This set seemed very intimate, and was just full of nostalgia for me. The songs were performed with skill, and even if you don’t like Ronnie Radke or Falling In Reverse, they put on a good show. The only thing I will say about this set is that they skipped two songs from the album (“Friend & Alibis” and “When I Go Out…”), which was very disappointing considering the main feature of this tour was the promise of the whole album being performed. Although that was a bit of a let down, I was still enjoyed the songs they did perform, my favorite being “Cellar Door”, and would love to hear them live again if I ever have the chance.

Falling In Reverse- The last set of the night was Falling In Reverse performing their songs. This setlist included FIR classics such as “I’m Not A Vampire” and “Tragic Magic”, while also featuring new fan favorites like “Sexy Drug” and “The Bitter End”. I’d have to say this set was my favorite, and I got the perfect view of it from the area above the pit. For this setlist, they went all in, and the stage featured a huge white riser where the drummer was, lots of lights that moved around, and a banner that had a carnival tent on it. Ronnie’s on stage mannerisms were hilarious, everyone performed amazingly, and all in all it was a very entertaining set. I also have to mention the introduction to this set because it was a great way to start it off. I don’t know how to describe the clip they played for the intro, but I will say it was very empowering, and it was amazing when the curtain dropped and “Chemical Prisoner” started playing. The only thing that could really trump the opening was when Ronnie hyped up the pit, said they were going to perform the “heaviest” song they’ve ever made, and then started singing “Bad Girls Club”, which made the whole venue crack up. I have nothing bad to say about this set.

Final Comments- To conclude this review, I just want to say this concert was my favorite out of the concerts I’ve been to, and if by any chance any of the members of Falling In Reverse or Ghost Town see this, everyone put on an amazing performance. Also, I met a lot of amazing people there, including Justin of Riddle Me This, and Kevin of Ghost Town. All in all, this was just a great concert.