Galactic Empire @ The Cleveland Masonic TempleLive!

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Galactic Empire

The Cleveland Masonic Temple Live

Cleveland, ON

April 4^th, 2024

By Drew Latshaw

When I was a kid in the late 70’s, yes… I am old, moving on! One of my earliest memories is my Dad taking me to see Star Wars at the theater. This was long before the multiplexes we know today. There was a curtain separating the theater from the snack bar and lobby. Standing in line for the showing of Episode V: Empire Strikes Back, there were some people who were cosplaying as characters from the Star Wars IV: A New Hope that came out of the theater to greet those of us in line. I remember being elated to see Princess Leia, Han Solo, and C3PO… then it happened, Darth Vader came out, and I must add that I was 4yrs old, and vividly remember being terrified that Vader wanted to shake my hand! I had a full on breakdown there in the theater screaming that he was the bad guy! I have been hooked on Star Wars ever since!

Fast forward to 2020 or 2021 when I heard about this band who played metal versions of Star Wars songs in full costume! YES, PLEASE! I have been following these guys ever since! I have seen countless videos of the Galactic Empire on YouTube and Instagram, which makes sense seeing how I am an old school Star Wars fan boy!

They kicked off this North American tour with their first stop at the Cleveland Masonic TempleLive! On April 4^th, 2024. The house was packed to see this phenomenon. I got to the show early to secure my spot front and center!

Going back to the opening of this, I felt it necessary to share that with you readers because the crowd was all ages, and it transported me back to my childhood seeing so many fathers there with their kids! I mean, there were so many kids there! The fathers severely outnumbered the mom’s in the crowd easily three to one! It was funny, but great to see!

The lights went out and the kids were looking on with excitement in their eyes, and it was obvious that this was the first show that most of them had seen. Then I looked around scanning the room and saw that the parents were noticeably more excited than the kids for what was about to take place!

The show opened with 20^th Century Fox FanFare, then the Star Wars: Main Title, followed by the Imperial March. I looked at the crowd again and seeing that at this point there was little difference between the behavior of the parents and the kids! They were all dancing and rejoicing as if it was the firs time they had ever heard it while at the same time having a lifelong history with these iconic scores of music.

The night continued on, and they played: The Force Theme, and how can you have a Star Wars concert without the music from the Cantina on Mos Isley? The answer to that question is, you can’t! They nailed it!

They played songs from the Mandalorian, the Battle of Hoth, and then they played some songs that were not Star Wars music, but they were from movies that Spielberg and or Lucas worked on or directed.

The only downside for me from the show was that they were in different costumes, and while that was a bummer for me, I get that they probably cannot come out dressed up as Star Wars characters due to copyright infringements and such. While the adult part of my brain understands, the inner child was a bit saddened.

These guys did have some spoken dialog and playful bantering while on stage which made things even more entertaining and comical! I would love to share what was said, and how it went… but I personally hate spoilers. If you get the chance to see these guys live, I would strongly suggest that you saddle up your bantha, charge up your cruiser, or stow away on the next ship to make it to their show! You will not be disappointed!