Ghostland Observatory @ House of Blues, 5.15.08

I'm sure everyone who is seriously passionate about something has been afforded some cool experiences in their time. Like, as a kid I was a huge fan of Punky Brewster and got to meet Soleil Moon Frye at a "Say No To Drugs" march when I was in elementary school. I really thought I was so cool. A few years ago, when I was a bit more politically involved, I got to meet Arianna Huffington and she told me I was smart. I had a girl-crush ever since.

As time has gone on, I've had some cool shit happen where I have to sometimes pinch myself. Like, sometimes things just happen...they just work out with all the right pieces falling into place, and there you are totally lost in one huge awesome moment.

Thursday night, for me, was one such night. My bff has been in town a lot lately and suggested we try to go to the Ghostland Observatory show. I did a little digging, got in touch with the band, and come Thursday had a pair of tickets and a photo pass for their show.

I'd heard presale ticket sales were light, but by the night of the show, the band packed in plenty of fans to make for an exciting show. House of Blues has a strict three song photo policy, but perhaps because I was the only one there taking pictures or perhaps because they knew it was nearly impossible (with my camera, at least) to get solid pictures when the band relies so heavily on lasers and darkness, not to mention the continuous ass shaking, I have to admit that I snapped a couple hundred pictures to get about a dozen that are worth posting.

I'm not complaining, because the show was awesome. Aaron as a frontman reminds you of Mick Jagger, Freddy Mercury, Prince, and at times, I saw him as one of those Native American dancers you catch at street festivals, summoning the gods for rain or glory. I even saw a little Shakira ass shaking or M.I.A. swagger. Meantime, Thomas is killing it in his vampire cape, sometimes on keys and knobs and noise, and sometimes playing a drumkit.




The crowd loved it, too, and everyone was dancing, screaming, and generally going nuts about the pair onstage. They played for about an hour and a half and the energy never died. And the lasers? Killer effect that worked amazingly at the House of Blues. There was never a dull moment and there's no question why this band is getting tons of internet praise.



During the encore, I was about to step out, when I passed the merch table. There was only one shirt there, a bunch of price labels, and a pile of cash. WTF? So apparently, there had been nobody manning the table and people left their money for the merch that was available. I had to make a decision. Because I knew that Tim Mays was the promoter of the show, and because I had Thomas' direct contact info, and because I get hired to sell merch, I decided I couldn't just leave the shit there. I grabbed the cash, but in so doing, people came up to buy stuff. I saw the price list, checked out the merch stashed in a suitcase under the table, and took over. I sold a bunch of stuff, and then the show ended and Alex, who was there to sell merch, came up, we introduced ourselves, I gave him the stash of cash, then helped him sell until the staff swept everyone out of the venue.

So the deal was that G.O. does everything themselves...booking, touring, selling, everything. Alex was not only selling merch but working front of house, meaning he was managing the lights and sound. Once everyone was gone we got to chat and Thomas and Aaron came out. I introduced myself and got the biggest hug from Thomas, and Kristian was giddy because he is a superfan of the pair. By the end of that night, I was too. For my efforts, they hooked me up with a CD and a shirt, but honestly, being able to just be there was thanks enough. And now I cannot wait to see them again.