Bassnectar

Bassnectar 

October 22, 2011 Filmore at 

The Jackie Gleason Miami Beach, FL

      Concerts can be portals into another world.  Saturday night was like slipping into Alice's rabbit hole.  The music genre of dubstep or electronica brings a unique atmosphere and fan base out to their shows.  The crowd was very young and very enthusiastic.  There was a sea of glowsticks, tutus, fur boots, face paint, masks and glitter.  This was not because it's the week before Halloween.  This is the norm when attending a show like this.  It is similar to seeing lots of leather or spiked collars when attending a heavy metal show.  Only this is the complete opposite.  Anything 80's, neon, glittery or whimsical goes!  I talk about the crowd and the scene because the people-watching was half the entertainment.  
     As for Bassnectar himself, the show was epic!  He is an exciting DJ to watch because he is constantly moving.  Check him out in the video below, he enjoys the music as much as the crowd.  He moves from turn table to laptop and back again all while dancing and shaking his long locks. Bassnectar's real name is Lorin Ashton and he hails from Southern California.  His style of dubstep includes original music and "mash ups" using other artists.  There is a reason he calls himself Bassnectar...so much bass!  He has songs like "Bass head" and lyrics like "we drop bass in your face."  The extra boom his bass provides for his songs gives something extra that really makes you feel like you're in the music.  The bass is so heavy that you can feel it in your chest.  To me, this is a good thing.  His songs are up beat with incredible crescendos while staying true to the sounds of dubstep.  The crowd was dancing for the entire show, including myself!  This type of music is not for everyone, but if you are in the mood to shake your body and not care what anyone else thinks, Bassnectar is perfect!
     There is a community feel to shows like this.  I mentioned the funky people before and it is almost like being part of an exclusive club.  At the end of every show Bassnectar steps off his podium and takes a picture with the crowd that he calls a family photo, and Saturday night was no exception.  He stood against the railing with his back to the crowd and took a photo with the audience.  People stood on chairs and their toes and put on their best family photo smile!  It's always nice to see an artist who appreciates his fans. A very enjoyable evening indeed!

  

Albums

• 2001: Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks
• 2002: Beatfreak Bohemia
• 2003: Motions of Mutation
• 2004: Diverse Systems of Throb
• 2005: Mesmerizing The Ultra
• 2007: Underground Communication
• 2009: Cozza Frenzy
• 2011: Divergent Spectrum

Ghostland Observatory

Ghostland Observatory, Sunday, October 9, 2011

Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

My post Ghostland “high” is still going strong.  This two man band really knows how to put on a show!  You might not have heard of Ghostland Observatory (most people haven’t), but you do have ears (most people do), so get on it!  You may ask, “What type of music do they play?”  Or, “Who do they sound like?”  These are not easy questions.  They have been described as elecronica, rock, funk, new wave, etc.  But Ghostland doesn’t easily fit into a genre, and they sound like no one.  All I can say is that from the time they took the stage Sunday night, until their synchronized bow at the end, I never stopped dancing!  Days later, my calves hate me but my smile and rock heart are happy!  So who are these guys?

 The band consists of two dudes from Austin, Texas.  The lead singer and guitarist is Aaron Kyle Behrens and the keyboarder, synchronizer, drummer and robot voice dude is Thomas Ross Turner.  But to me Aaron is better known as the “man with the braids who can really dance” and Thomas is the mysterious man in the body sized Texas state flag cape.  Yes, body sized Texas state flag cape.  Their stage setup involves multiple strobe lights, lasers and fog machines.  They define the old saying, “Two is a party!”  But wait….lasers? Robot voices?  Is this band really any good?  Let me paint a picture for you.

The venue’s piped in music finally ends and the lights go down.  The start of a show creates “butterflies” like no other, except perhaps a plane taking off.  The stage is dark and there is a quiet beat growing louder.  The first sign of life is a security guard with a flashlight pointing to the ground.  He leads the band across the dark stage and with the first glimpse of the band, the crowd erupts.  Thomas takes his place at his percussion command center and Aaron takes the mic with his back to us.  The crowd quiets in anticipation and the sound of Aaron’s voice masked by echo starts filling the room.  The sound is low, guttural and indiscriminate.  It gets a little louder.  And louder still.  Then all in an instant the sound of a familiar song explodes, the lasers come on and Aaron spins to life!  The audience is euphoric and sings along, dances and cheers!  When Aaron was not behind the guitar he was moving along the stage like a cheetah stocking prey.  He has such range of motion with his body that the only adjective to describe his style of dance is fluid!  He obliged his fans by dancing close to the edge of the stage and shook hands with us!  The show continued like this for two hours and seemed to pass by in minutes.  There was an encore thrown in there somewhere but lasted mere minutes.  We were all sucked in to a different world for a few hours.  A world of funky beats and endless dancing! 

          I left the show with ears ringing and a tired body.  Fortunately, the venue is small and my car was a hundred feet from the building.  It was a Sunday night after all and this old lady had work in the morning.  But for those two hours, I was 16.  Concerts are real time machines.  I know a few blonde ladies who would agree with me!  A handful of blonde women in their early fifties were there this time and the last time I saw Ghostland.  They were the first in line to get in, and they were at the front of the stage the whole night.  I mean pressed against the front of the stage, as close as you can get.  They danced and knew every word to every song, at both shows.  This is the power of music… it knows no age.

Me with my sweet cheetah glasses

I’ve seen them before, and I’ll see them again and again!  Enjoy the pictures and videos.  Break out of your rut and try something new!  Check out Ghostland Observatory!!!

          Pardon the quality of the pictures, I wasn't allowed to bring in my real camera.  These are all brought to you by the iphone.  I am working on how I can get a press pass for upcoming shows so that I can bring in my badass camera!

"Stranger Lover," Paprazzi Lightning

"Dancing on my Grave," Robotique Majestique

Albums:

delete.delete.i.eat.meat (2005), Trashy Moped Recordings

Paparazzi Lightning (2006), Trashy Moped Recordings

Robotique Majestique (2008), Trashy Moped Recordings

Codename: Rondo (2010), Trashy Moped Recordings

Trashy Moped Recordings is Thomas Ross Turner's record label.  

A Few Friends, a Guitar and Some Bongos

Current countdown until my next live show: 2 days until Ghostland Observatory

     As you have learned from my other posts, live shows flow through my blood.  I live for that rush when the lights go down, the crowd roars and the curtain goes up.  However, live music doesn't have to be an expensive concert performed by a famous artist.  The sound of human fingers plucking the strings of a guitar and palms gently tapping the skin of a bongo are enough to get that live music mojo flowing.  Last Friday night, we were on our way to Megan's house with supplies of wine and musical instruments.  The wine was poured and the guitar was taken out of the case.  What followed can only be described as one of the many great times brought to me by live music.  We had hours filled with off-key sing-alongs and the musicians were gracious enough to grant our requests!  Through our voices, guitar plucks and bongo pangs, we were joined by Jack Johnson, Sublime, Bob Marley, Lynard Skynard and even silly childhood songs!  We might have even took a turn or two around the dance floor.  In our case, the pool deck.  The night wound down and there were no tickets to save, no bartenders to tip, no huge parking lot to wander around looking for our car.  There were only hugs and and sore throats from singing and laughing!  I highly recommend picking up a guitar if you can or paying a little more attention to that random guitar player on the street.  The sweet sound of music is everywhere, pay attention!                         

Good times always follow when Fernando has guitar in hand!