Friday night, I found myself at Showbox SODO to catch a concert by Austin, Texas-based electro rock duo Ghostland Observatory. For a lot of people, the duo bursted onto the scene with the song "Sad Sad City."I had always heard that their performances were flat out energetic and if you weren't at the very least bobbing your head and stopming your feet, there was something wrong with you. Having experienced one of their shows in person, I can easily confirm that.
The first thing that became clear as day was the fantastic use of lazer lights. It's just one of those things like balloons, that if you don't like lazer lights, something must be wrong with you. Right from the start and for the entire show, the colors stabbed any and all space on the ceiling of the venue and when it got to the lowest possible point, yet still just above the crowd, so many people stuck their hands up to touch it as if it were mist you wanted to bust out of. In the mix were strobe lights that if you are prone to seizures, you would not have enjoyed the show.
Even though I wasn't front and center; I was still center, but actually in front of the stage control booth (where the lazers and etc. were being controlled) I was still able to see first hand the stage presence of vocalist Aaron Kyle Behrens. I think if you were to compose a fantasy all-star band of today's musicians, you would definitely have to consider AKB as the frontman to go with as he shifted from side to side on the stage with gyrations only fitting for the music Ghostland Observatory filled Showbox SODO with. AKB definitely has his own style going with the shades and pigtails and it'd just be honestly strange to see him in anything else. Same can be said for Thomas Ross Turner who provides the beats in the dynamo one-two punch duo that they are. In all performances I've seen on television and heard about, TRT dons a shiny silver cape and Friday's show was no different. While I wasn't close enough to see what grphic was on AKB's t-shirt or if TRT's cape was actually silver for that night, their distinct styles would've been impossible to mistake for someone else.
Overall the show was as energetic as you'd expect from Ghostland Observatory if you are familiar with their music. If you want upbeat turned up past ten and into the dangerous but always awesome eleven level, electro rock music, by all means check out Ghostland Observatory. The lazer lights, strobe lights and four vertical brite-lite boards unleashed a flurry of colors that were a feast on the eyes. Now there was also the use of a smoke machine and allegedly, the smoke machine set off the fire alarms at Friday's show. I can't verify this myself because I left right after their encore set.
However, I conclude this post with video I recorded from the show. Here is Ghostland Observatory performing the hit song, "Sad Sad City." If bright flashing lights give you headaches or anything worse, you may want to think about skipping this video. Otherwise, enjoy.
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