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Live review: Ghostland Observatory
A cynic could be forgiven for having doubts about Austin dance rock duo Ghostland Observatory’s worthiness as a Saturday night headliner. 2008’s “Robotique Majestique” was released to uneven reviews, and while the local electro pioneers built their reputation partially on the strength of a previous smash Austin City Limits performance, they’re unquestionably orders of magnitude less popular than the Dave Matthews Band.
But when Aaron Behrens and Thomas Turner were joined on stage by the entire University of Texas marching band, with multicolored laser lights on full blast and horns, drums, guitar and synth blending together for an intoxicating cocktail, the night hit a transcendent high that made one thing clear: only a fool doubts Austin’s kings of dance rock.
Across an hour and a half set dominated largely by cuts from the band’s “Papparazi Lightning,” with occasional forays into material from “Robotique Majestique” and “delete.delete.i.eat.meat,,” Ghostland Observatory demonstrated that they’ve honed their festival performance to an exact science.
With industrial fog machines and laser displays operating at full capacity — and it stands to be mentioned just how brilliantly timed and dazzling the show’s visual element was — the two-man team pulled in a large crowd on the strength of mesmerizing performances of band standbys like opener “Piano Man.” An enthused version of “Sad Sad City,” as close to a local music anthem as anything else produced in the last ten years, had thousands singing along note for note as Behrens whirled about onstage like a man possessed. “Heavy Heart” and “Move With Your Lover” brought the grooves, while an encore of “Silver City” was pleasantly smooth.
And just when the band’s studied stage antics and driving beats threatened to seem almost clinical in their precision, Ghostland Observatory employed the UT band to throw in that something extra and illustrate their genuine enthusiasm at having a headlining slot. For the massive crowd assembled at the Dell Stage — constantly jumping and throwing their hands into the air even hundreds of yards back from the photo pit — it was clear that their faith in Behrens and Turners was not misplaced.
Jay Janner photo
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Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: ACL 2009: Saturday, ACL Festival 2009
Comments
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By Bob
October 4, 2009 2:20 PM | Link to this
Just to clarify one thing this reviewer doesn’t seem to be aware of — last night’s Ghostland set was virutally identical to their show at Austin Music Hall last year when they released the Robotique CD. Right down to the opening song and bringing in the UT marching band. I thought the set was tired and they didn’t do anything new for their ACL headlining act. They’re still a lot of fun, but it was disappointing. It even felt like they were working hard to string some songs out to fill up 90 minutes.
By Rebecca
October 5, 2009 12:12 AM | Link to this
Not that this REALLY matters, but it wasn’t the entire band. There’s no way 350 of us would fit up there, haha. Just the drumline and a few from each of the brass sections.
I thought the show was great! The exact opposite of the chill factor that Dave Matthews was, so it was nice to give ACL-goers that option. May have been a repeat from Austin Music Hall, but the crowd loved it, and that’s what counts!
By music lover
October 5, 2009 10:39 AM | Link to this
I’ve seen Ghostland many times now, and sure they always play pretty much the same set, but they don’t have that many songs to choose from yet. I can tell they’re constantly tweaking their sound and improving on what they already have. Not too bad for some small town Texas boys. Keep on bringing the beats..
By Dirtybeats
October 6, 2009 1:35 AM | Link to this
Bob…with all due respect..you obviously dont pay attention or know what you are talking about. Its called a LIVE SHOW. its not going to sound like it does on the album. Im sure you are referring to Midnight Voyage…you say “they were working hard to string some songs out to fill up 90 minutes”. They always turn that track into a jam session for about 10 mins in every show they do live. Its just a sick tune to get lost in and everyone loves it. They actually have a sick new setup that they pulled out at Stubbs Sunday night…they couldnt use it b/c of the rain on saturday….They have plenty of tunes to fill up 90 minutes. They havent sold out like 99% of the industry…its just them 2..Thomas and Aaron……no manager..no agent…no label telling them what to do or how to make music…just them two and they stick with what they love and THEY control it. How can that be disappointing? and do you REALLY want to hear new music at a festival? thats not the place to test out new stuff…it would totally kill the energy b/c nobody would know it. Thats not the place to introduce new music. You know you would be bored if they played an hour of new tracks and would be here complaining about “it was all new music and i wanted to hear sad sad city and piano man”
By Bob
October 7, 2009 1:03 PM | Link to this
“with all due respect..you obviously dont pay attention or know what you are talking about”
How is this respect?
No matter, I’m just pointing out that they basically gave this show before and didn’t do anything really new for their ACL headlining gig. I don’t think I ever said it should sound like a CD (I’ve been to concerts before and know better), just that they didn’t seem to have enough material to fill 90 minutes (which one of the Statesman critics also pointed out pre-festival) and I admitted that they’re still fun, it was just disappointing that they didn’t do anything new/special for ACL. I think that’s a fair criticism, so I’m confused about the complaint and ALLCAPS.
Also, good for them for “not selling out” whatever that means when they play a 60,000 plus festival and cash a big check.