Ghostland Observatory…

Ghostland Observatory…
Gods of Electro-Rock
(Music, Concerts)

San Francisco, CA, 11/1/08 – The first time my ears were blessed with this shit was sometime around the beginning of 2008 after stumbling upon someone’s MySpace page with a song called “Sad Sad City” on auto-play. Instantly hooked like DiCaprio in Basketball Diaries, I began playing the shit out, then randomly this dude Greg I work with mentioned that Ghostland Observatory was playing at the Mezzanine in SF… it was on. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but from the moment the first beat was dropped the motherfuckers were electric. You know how some bands are just ridiculously sic slash insane when you see them live? This is one of them. Part of it is the impressive light shows, part of it is the extremely unique and upbeat tracks, but the main element making these displays of electric excellence so awesome is the energy from front man Aaron Behrens. With his eccentric steez, intense dance moves, aviators and pigtails, it’s not humanly possible to stand still. The second half of the Austin based duo is Thomas Ross Turner, who often wears a cape onstage, and plays the drums or synthesizer. The band describes their sound as “A robot making love to a tree,” which I guess makes sense, but you really have to experience it for yourself to even attempt to figure it out. Ghostland followers run the gamut of live music aficionados, but overall it’s a young crowd that is ready to get hype and rage. The laser shows and electronic undertones make for a rave-esque atmosphere, which brings out a handful of wide-eyed teenagers who’s jaws will endure some damage before the night is done, but bottom line it’s a rock show, so really it’s just pure energy from start to finish. I’ve been lucky enough to catch them twice in SF and I’m just waiting for the next opportunity to get weird. If you have a chance to check them out it’s highly recommended, and whether you end up enjoying it or not, I promise you will never forget it. Turns out last night for Halloween Gramps and I dressed up as Ghostland and didn’t even know it! While Gramps may not have realized he was Behrens and while I may not have realized I was Turner, we definitely rocked it as hard…

Get Weird or Go Home…
Scheme-On