Ghostland Observatory : Glitter Full Length LIVE : Amazing Laser Light Show

If you have not yet seen the Austin, TX dynamic duo : Ghostland Observatory : your eyes are missing the sole reason for their existence. Prepare to have your mind rebooted. Ghostland's new album, Codename : Rondo is on sale now. http://www.trashymoped.com/ plus the usual locations. The song featured in this video is Glitter. mmmmm. Taste the Laser Beams!

By the way, this fantastic video was edited by Zane Shapiro. I am sure Ghostland fans everywhere are grateful and will be excited to see more work just like this.

The 2010/11 tour packs 16 lasers into an amazing choreographed laser light show and stage performance unlike anything you have witnessed. The lasers used are Lightwave Prism Series. They are only available from Lightwave International, and, no, your LD or lighting company can't source them for you. Not even your laser company. But give us a call! We would love to hear from you! http://www.lasershows.net

Here is a snippet from a great article in PLSN by Frank Hammel:

Words can't describe it. Photos don't really do it justice. Even videos posted on Youtube after every one of their concerts can't quite capture the immersive laser experience at a Ghostland Observatory concert.

The visuals for the band's current tour, in support of the just-released album, Codename: Rondo, are almost wholly derived from laser effects synched to the electronic beat of the music, which work with simple house washes, haze machines and occasional strobe effects to electrify the atmosphere in venues typically seating 5,000 or less.

"We now have 16 lasers on this tour, and over 120 watts," notes George Dodworth, owner of Lightwave International, who also works directly with Ghostland band members Thomas Turner (electronics) and Aaron Behrens (guitar and vocals) to create laser looks synched to the beats of the songs, which are performed live without timecode with laser tech Derek Abbott manning the cues.

Synching Lasers to the Beat

For the band's current tour, Dodworth programmed the laser looks in Ghostland Observatory's studio in Austin in late October, meticulously matching the visuals, beat for beat, to each of the six new songs Turner and Behrens added to their performance list.

"The trick was slicing the main program into beat-accurate loops that follow 8, 16 and 32 count measures," Dodworth notes. "As long as you nail the downbeat, the content follows perfectly."

"We do about 20 songs per show, and that runs maybe an hour, hour and a half or two hours, depending on the number of encores," says Ghostland's Turner. "We have maybe 40 songs in our repertoire." Lightwave has synched laser looks for each of those songs.

While the lasers are precisely timed to the beat of the electronic music in programmed "building blocks" for a look that is consistent, show to show, Dodworth emphasizes that "the show is absolutely 100 percent live and 100 percent operator-controlled. There is no timecode; it does not fit the personality of the band or the music."

In that regard, Dodworth adds, the laser operator "performs like a third member of the band. The setup at FOH is more like a musical instrument than a control system.

"It's very intense," Dodworth adds. "A 90-minute set flies by in what feels like minutes, and it's an absolute rush."

Although Abbott is the laser tech for the tour in support of Codename: Rondo; Jesse Parker, currently out with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has manned the laser cues for Ghostland Observatory as well.

Maximum Laser Power

Although the shows now travel with little more than laser equipment, relying on house wash lights and backline equipment, there is plenty of linear firepower. Past Ghostland Observatory tours have featured two to five laser projectors. The current tour uses 16.

And while Ghostland Observatory's touring shows are modest in size, they dwarf much bigger touring productions in terms of lasers rented from Lightwave International. The runner up, according to Lightwave production manager Alan Fuehrer, is Korn with 13 laser machines.

Since throw distance isn't really much of a problem for lasers, the visual design works well in larger and smaller venues. "If you have a 60-foot ceiling and three balconies, there's a new 'awe' factor, but as long as they're synched to the music, they look cool either way - whether you're up close or farther away," Turner says.

"More is better," Dodworth adds, contending also that "small venues are the very best places to see this show. The density of laser equipment and laser beams is staggering when packed into a small house."

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Entertainment

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[nuhoho]

nice tune

[renebreton1795]

too bad the music can't live up to the light show.

[lpluke5]

1:05 the combo light music kills me

[from93till]

Cool show. This song is shit, though.

[genithlol]

duuuuuuude

[ravelasers]

Ghostland has the most amazing laser light show. Wow!

[toolivestew]

OMG this laser light show is the bong

[Cheeseboat20]

Bitchen