This was a pretty big event!

Laser Spectacles fired on all laser cylinders at the stage known as “Neon Garden” in the Automobile Building, Fair Park, Dallas on June 18, 2011.  We created a special laser stage, working with Onstage Systems from Dallas to create special low level lighting that showed the lasers to best effect.  The promoters, Insomniac, expected it to be up to 20,000, almost twice as big as last year’s event at fair park.

Big white laser beams

LED screens on full white

The Automobile building is perfectly suited for lasers, being a long dark hall.  Onstage split their giant LED video screens into 3 sections, two tall ones on each side, and one long one centered underneath the DJ booth on the stage.  This left a large black area in the center which we filled with lasers, and hung a large mesh projection screen back behind the stage to project graphics and lumia onto.

It turned out to be a controversial event

Our experience was all positive.  The crowd was quite mellow, and clearly there to see the music provided by an array of top notch performers on five different stages.  Two of the stages were in our building, the Automobile Building;  two were in another building across the lake, the Centennial Hall;  and an outdoor stage that ended at 11 PM or so.  The indoor stages were scheduled to go on until 2 AM.

Cool Projections on Centennial Hall

Crowd around the fountains

I thought the crowd was great;  whenever I walked outside, it was crowded, but mellow.  there were great projections all over the place, people were playing in the huge fountains (not that they were allowed to!), and people walked around mindful of each other.

At midnight I decided to head over to the Centennial Building to see how the shows looked over there.  Well, there were police at the door, and they would not let anyone in.  I inquired, and was told that everyone was to leave the building.  There was no reason given.

Pic by Tetradtx

Pic by Aaron Leming

Back in our hall, the Automobile Building, the party was rocking!  Unfortunately, possibly because the Centennial Building was closed down, it became overcrowded, and the fire marshal stepped in to reduce the crowd.  Then, someone pulled the fire alarm;  at that point the DJ, Skrillex, was told to stop and he did;  they turned on the lights, and at 1:20 AM the show was over early.

Cyan and Magenta

Back in the event HQ....

What I did not know was that someone had died, and possibly another who was taken to the hospital.  The mood did seem a little somber after the show while we were packing up, but I attributed it to the party ending early.  No one was talking about any deaths.

I found out about that later on in the next few days.  I read several articles that were written from hearsay, clearly by people who were not there, and tended to sensationalize the event by using phrases like “out of control”, or “mob”, or “riot”, which was just not the case.  Besides one or two drug crazed people we ran into, everything seemed organized an under control.

I found one article online that seemed to make sense – here is a link to it:

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2011/06/on_saturdays_electric_daisy_ca.php

And finally, a quick and dirty video of the lasers in action at EDC Dallas 2011:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhPFLoM3dIU

SAAF Logo in laser

Green Laser Beams One

Laser Spectacles, Inc. had a blast at the San Antonio AIDS Foundation’s WEBB Party on April 8, 2011.  It was held at historic Sunset Station in downtown San Antonio; the theme was futuristic glam – “Supernova”; and we used lasers to bring the party into the future.  After all, it’s the 21st century, and we were promised that lasers would be all over the place, right?  At this party, the lasers were all over the place!

Color lasers looked good, too!

Lasers and the Tower

We had lasers out in the courtyard creating ever-changing beam sculptures overhead while people entered the party.  At 10 PM,  the laser really kicked off with a laser “Supernova” presentation scheduled once it got good and dark.  The specially choreographed presentation featured graphics on the tall “Alamo-like” wall of Sunset Station, and laser beams bouncing off mirrors and terminating on the  buildings around the area.

Through the door at Club Nova

Club Nova Shadow Boxes

In the club room – “Club Nova”, we had two RGB laser beam projectors working with DJ Jenntonic all night long.  And we had lumia projectors and Blisslights running inside the club room lounge to push the party over the edge.

The futuristic dance floor in the pavilion was awesome – it was very bright, and DMX controlled with seemingly unlimited patterns.

Lighted Dance Floor

Here are some pictures I took when we did quick tests of the lumia projector:

Lumia in the VIP Lounge

Blisslights on the Bar

We'll have it all....

Laser Lunch Room

The plan was for us to come in at 6 AM and be set up for the first of four shows at 8:45 AM. In the meantime, the students would be outside to see their principal fly in on a helicopter to kick off Science Day! Click on an image to see it larger –

Crazy Lasers

Lasers and students

Bridge Point Mascot Symbol

We began each show with a short demonstration of reflection, and how you cannot see light until it reflects off of something. We then presented our short production of “How A Laser Show Works” in laser light, and then proceeded to bring the house down for the next 25 minutes with pop and patriotic hits.

Science Day at BPE

It's 2011!

Where are we?

This morning was a magnificent morning for lasers! We ended each show with a world premiere performance on pennywhistle by Tim Walsh, to the accompaniment of the sights and sounds of the lasers. Stay tuned…..

Theme for the show

Laser Spectacles, Inc. has performed many times for the Texas School for the Deaf over the years, especially at the Christmas holiday farewell party.  This show was for another of those, but with a twist – the theme for the party was “Dream Big!  We tried to inspire the staff and students as they left for the holiday break by incorporating the theme and ideas of the TSD staff and leadership.

This show was held in the TSD Auditorium, seating up to 1100.  We used the ceiling as a projection area for abstract lumia and grating effects, and the house screen on stage for the RGB graphics.  One RGB laser beam projector was placed in the center of the stage, with mirrors on each side.

The laser ceiling

Laser Farewell - end of show!

Abstract Combo

The show was exciting – we played back the soundtrack at a big volume so that the deaf could feel the pulse. We highlighted some significant events during the year – such as the school’s Zealous Studio reaching out and communicating with the astronauts on the space station!

Zealous Studio to space...

Laser says "Dream Big!"

Dream Big, Texas School for the Deaf!

This is not your normal band, and this was not to be your normal laser show!  Quintron is a one man band on organ, percussion, and his invention the “Drum Buddy”.  Miss Pussycat rounds out the sound with her vocals and maracas, and her puppet shows.

What you saw upon entering

Mr. Quintron gets down

Quintron and lasers

The band before was “Eye Hate God” a metal band that packed them in and the place was hot and sweaty.  It was no different for Q & P, the crowd was jumping with their infectious swamp beat.

Laser Ceiling

Q & P had help

We used a Blisslights starfield projector, and a Laser Galaxy Lumia Projector to create the laser effects.  The stage was always moving with the beat, so the lasers had a natural sync with the music!

I made a panorama picture of the club after the shows were done, click on it to see the full shot:

Our little room

LACCE logo in laser

We did a Santa show to cool everyone off

Scrolling Text Demonstration:

At one point in the show we scrolled the name of the organization across the screen, since it is too long to be shown all at once with the laser:

The start of the scrolling text

...the second of the scrolling text...

...the third of the scrolling text

...the final scrolling text

The Lincoln Parish Conference Center was a great new venue for this meeting. I think that this conference was the first event in the center! It was a beautiful space, very accessible to downtown and the local businesses, and enjoyed by all. The conference had great food, really great speakers, and was a great networking opportunity.

The main meeting room

Main Exhibition Hall (used for banquet)

Small Exhibition Hall

Cross Beams in Kinetic Field

Kinetic Field Lights

Laser Spectacles performed for the Electric Daisy Carnival at Fair Park in Dallas Saturday, June 19, 2010 6 PM – 2 AM.  This was one of the best shows of the year…. we were on the Kinetic Garden stage with multiple solid state lasers, and at the Neon Garden stage with two water cooled lasers and a variety of fiber optics.

The Kinetic Field Crowd

The Golden Sun Effect

More Golden Sun

The double beams and LEDs

The Kinetic Field Crowd

It’s time for Spring Love! It’s to be held again this year on April 23 at the Travis County Expo Center in Austin, TX, with multiple stages, performers, and all of the good vibes noted in last year’s massive.
Armand Van Hammer is headlining, and I see that my friends Micro, David Christopher, and Danny the Wildchild will be spinning, and I’m definitely looking forward to Matt Darey’s set. It’s going to be a night to remember!

Here’s what last year’s Spring Love was like: April 24, 2010

Red beats with the Heart

Spring Love is the annual bacchanale put on by Massive Intent.  Although held at the Travis county Expo Center, the event was inside a fenced off area on a grassy part of the grounds, within easy distance of the parking.  Inside the fence were 3 huge white tents, vendors, and a special chill temple dome area created by System 7.

Kathy Russell in the psychedelic tent

We were in Arena 1, the Secret Garden.  It was wall to wall sound system from BassMax, an LED video screen fronting the DJ booth, and lights galore from Gemini.

Blue-Green is Bright!

We had two 3W microYAG projectors and one 2.1W RGB laser projector screaming all night long.  The reds and purples were particularly vibrant tonight.

The best thing about Spring Love was the vibe – thousands of people packed into a relatively small space, all there to enjoy a night of their favorite music and DJ’s.  The girls were beautiful, the weather was perfectly cool, and everyone had a great time until dawn.

Red looks Good in the Dark

Colored Beams from the Heart

My favorite spot when I was able to wander around the grounds was the chill downtempo area in the far corner. There were three domes people could hang out in, and very cool music with projections and little lasers all around the area. See the photo of Kathy Russell above while she was spinning in this spot.

Click here to see some special pictures from backstage!

The Palenque in Aguascalientes

The music is created by local composer Juan Vasquez, and delivered in mid-March.  We then analyze it and create a new beam show to choreograph it to perfection.  A few days are needed to bring the laser system up to speed as it is quite large and has sat unused for the last 11 months.

The laser system consists of two green Blitz projectors from LaserAnimation, each one with a split to a fiber optic output feeding an Accurate fiber projector from LaserAnimation.  So, the result is that there are four green lasers around the outside of the venue pointing in at the screens.

Then, in a secret room high up in the Palenque, there are two Coherent 10 Watt white light lasers, feeding into an array of 8 fibers.  The fibers feed out into the Palenque and into 8 Accurate fiber projectors mounted all over the video screen truss in the enter;  they are focused onto the screens and for atmospheric laser effects around the audience.

Here are three photos of the show yesterday, April 17, 2010:

The laser show is dynamic

and fills the room

with laser beams

Here is a video from YouTube of the show in 2009, taken by a fair patron:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwu6O37NjjA&playnext_from=TL&videos=XRpANeGffwY

Here is a video of the same show that we recorded for a normal auditorium style venue:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMPniAu05_Y