Ghostland Observatory come into their live show at a disadvantage. Unlike other touring electronic acts such as Hot Chip, Simian Mobile Disco and MGMT, their songs as they appear on the album are kind of awful. They sound like they dragged Daft Punk beats through a B-horror movie set in Transylvania and stuck singer Aaron Behrens' Zack De La Rocha meets Cedric Bixler-Zavala (At The Drive-In/The Mars Volta) wail in front of it. The voice is powerful, sure, but sometimes it really doesn't fit the groove they've created, or just straight-on grates.

Their live show is their attempt to severely overcompensate for this deficiency with a full on assault to the senses. By the end of the set my nose stung, my eyelids burned and there were little blue stars in the corners of my eyes. Unpleasant aftermath aside, their tactics certainly had the desired effect as the sold out audience full of dancers with glo-sticks ate up every second. Some of the other touring electro-dance acts could learn a few things about presentation from the Austin duo.

One thing that Ghostland Observatory has learned from masters of the genre, Daft Punk, is the value of a good light show. But while Daft Punk has a full LED-tastic spectacle, Ghostland Observatory focuses purely on the strobe lights and lasers. The unrelenting strobe was a nightmare even for those of us that aren't epileptic, but colorful lasers aren't so frequently used and provided a more fun visual. This was especially fun when used in tandem with the ever-present smoke.

Secondly, these guys, Behrens in particular, actually know how to move. When he wasn't reaching his arms down into the crazed ogling crowd, Behrens swiveled his hips and gyrated around stage like a fully clothed Gil Mantera. Thomas Ross Turner wasn't as mobile but even over his over-large keyboard and synth, he had a commanding presence.

That said, watching Ghostland Observatory requires a certain suspension of disbelief. There's a very tacky aspect to the band from songs like "Freeheart Lover" that sound like they'd have fit in well in an 80's metal band catalog to the costume-y silver cape worn by Turner and replicated by some of the concertgoers in the front row. The flip side is that the tackiness was more fun than the ten minute droning instrumental part where they channel their inner Tool and Behrens was much more effective as an all-out spaz than as a guitar god.

Ghostland Observatory are doing quite well for themselves with a live show that is one part Disney Magic and Lights Show and one part Monster Energy Drink. When they depended too much on their actual music and less on their presentation, some of the illusion dissipated. However they kept the illusion long enough to recognize that it didn't take much work "marinating" the 9:30 crowd into a frenzy since, as Behrens put it, "Y'all are already in the BBQ pit." Spoken like a true Texan.