Ghostland Observatory Keeps 'Em Moving
What does a man with Wednesday Adams’ pigtails, a cowboy hat, aviator glasses, and a leather jacket with fringe have in common with a man in a cape trimmed with Christmas lights and a glowing Celtic cross on the back? I don’t know, but add a laser light show and an audience armed with glow sticks, and it’s the Ghostland Observatory performance that helped to cap off day two of the Austin City Limits festival.
A patch of blue sky appeared right before sunset, as fans waited for Ghostland Observatory to come on stage. After a day of rain, it was a good omen of a dry evening. Perhaps it was the lure of laser lights and heavy dance beats, but the crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder despite Dave Matthews Band playing at the same time across the park. Even in tight quarters, the audience danced as best they could. There was no other choice. Front man, Aaron Kyle Behrens, slinked around on stage, crawled on the ground, and moved in a way that infected everyone watching with the need to dance.
After the first three songs, the band performed their big radio hit, "Sad Sad City." True to typical festival behavior, after the most popular song, the crowd thinned, but only slightly. Behrens’ very unique sound – a screaming, high-pitched falsetto akin to Freddy Mercury and AC/DC –works for him and few others. However, a sound that distinct caused many of their early songs in the set to sound very similar. But before anyone could write Ghostland off as one-trick ponies, they broke into a 15-minute purely instrumental exploration that was mind blowing. Rather than the dance party of the first half of the gig, the second half sounded much more like a techno rave, leading the audience through a dream of sound. The end of the show only added to the surreality when the UT marching band came on for one number and then disappeared without explanation.
The last song, "Rich Man," left the show on a high note, marking the difference three years makes. In 2006, Ghostland Observatory held a Saturday afternoon 1:30-2:30 slot. In 2009, they commanded a huge audience as one of the major attractions of ACL. Hometown band definitely makes good.
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