Review: Luminosity (2012)

Ralph Wiggum said:
...it's hard to compete live with something that's been so processed and polished in the studio.

Then the key is probably, as others have mentioned, choosing the "right" music to include in the show. It's important to have popular music, but it's critical that the music lends itself well to live performance.

I finally got around to watching Jeff's video. Apparently, nobody puts Baby Alien in a corner. What the hell was up with those dancing aliens?

Seems like an easy fix to allowing the singers to take a curtain call would be to have the DJ call them out during his first song immediately following the show.

Reminded me of the dance orgy at the end of Matrix:Revolutions

Uh, what? Sure you weren't watching Matrixxx Revolutions?

He's right. Matrix Revolutions dance scene - NSFW-ish

Chief Wahoo said:
I finally got around to watching Jeff's video. Apparently, nobody puts Baby Alien in a corner. What the hell was up with those dancing aliens?

I've been making that joke for a week now and I can't believe it took that long!

I think the singers are pretty solid, though some are more consistent than others. I mentioned in another thread that one of the dudes (who sings "Come Sail Away" was just awful the first time, but nailed it the second time. The harmonies do seem problematic in some cases, but I think there's also a problem with the mixing. When you're singing a backup vocal, you back it off so it doesn't overtake the lead or the music track. The vocal in general have been a little too hot relative to the track.

Some of the material may also not play to certain vocalists' strengths. I don't have a good example off the top of my head, but for example, the lead who wears the corset-like costume blew me away on certain songs, but didn't sound as good on others. Yet, I can't help but describe her as awesome. The other lead (the one with the close-up in the video), is also amazing, but I think she has better stuff to work with.

Yeah, we're all non-professionals who are arm-chairing the show, I know, but with the cost and scope of the show, I suspect it's natural to hold it to a high standard. No idea how much rehearsal time they've had. And ultimately, it probably doesn't matter, because people seem generally really into it.

I was there last Thursday (preview) and Friday (opening) and I was blown away. The music, lights, pyro...all of that was great. I can only imagine watching it after a couple of beers! The singing was a bit off, but I think maybe nerves and adrenaline threw them off-key at times...other times it was spot-on. The dance party that followed was fun as well. I just loved the deep, thumping bass and crazy light show. I saw many older folks (like myself) right in the middle of it. Sure, it's not for everyone, but I don't remember seeing people skipping and dancing and laughing before on their way out of the park as I did those nights. For the most part the folks who were there in person appreciated what they experienced.

So, how does one acquire VIP tickets to the show?

Go back in time to last Friday and be on the list. :)

Actually, they have a Pepsi-sponsored VIP area that they will randomly give out passes to during the day, from what I understand. They'll probably give them to prospective group sales clients and things like that as well.

On Saturday we didn't see anybody regulating the VIP area until a few minutes before the show started. It appeared that some folks with food had sat down in there assuming it was just another grouping of tables open to anyone. When an employee was finally posted at the entrance there didn't seem to be an effort to clear anybody out but he did stop some new people from entering without a pass.

If you're trying to stay away from the crowd, I suppose it's a nice spot, but half of it is blocked for the fireworks by one of the screens. Come to think of it, I'm not sure the rear screens add a lot of value anyway.

Jeff said:
...they will randomly give out passes to during the day...

Well that doesn't make any sense. As I understand it, the evil capitalist pigs that run the company never miss an opportunity to milk their customers of every last penny.

Jeff said:
I've been making that joke for a week now and I can't believe it took that long!

I'm a little slow.

Oh, and by the way, with regards to Matt being a "charmer"...if I ran into you and Diana I'd be ignoring you too. She is obviously the reason Simon is so cute.

I suck at the quote feature.

That's OK. I'm still the one who gets to sleep next to her every night. I still win. :)

I finally had the chance to see Luminosity myself tonight, and I thought it was great, especially in comparison to the garbage we used to be fed at night. The only thing I found disappointing was that I got the impression the crowd was confused at the end: Was the show over? Music's still playing, there's a DJ, the other dancers left...I don't know what to do!

The DJ tried to get people amped up by yelling "Are you ready to party!?" and the crowd did respond with cheers, but then they did nothing. The haphazardness of the music didn't help much either, in my opinion. I'm not sure if its part of the program he was given, or if it was the DJ himself, but he'd play 30-45 seconds of a song then move on to something completely different. The "line dance" songs, like the Cha Cha Slide got the most response, but he didn't even allow them to reach their potential...it never even go to the "everybody clap your hands" part. It kinda abruptly stopped...people were having fun, and then they just went back to standing around. And later he played some Journey, and while I can't stand Journey, you can't play only a portion of Don't Stop Believing and NOT even play the main chorus line...

Those were just some of my observations from tonight. I think the more people see it, or even hear about it, the better the "night club" atmosphere will become. I'm not sure guests were ready to go from passive watchers to active dancers in a live entertainment environment. I think the crowd was waiting for some closure to the "show" portion.

While I still haven't seen the show, I suspect the whole "not having closure" thing was on purpose. If guests clearly know when the show is over, it's more likely there will be a mass exodus all at once. With the "soft" ending, it probably keeps people around a lot longer (and presumably some of those people are buying food and drinks during that time).

BirdOfPrey00 said:

The DJ tried to get people amped up by yelling "Are you ready to party!?" and the crowd did respond with cheers, but then they did nothing. The haphazardness of the music didn't help much either, in my opinion. I'm not sure if its part of the program he was given, or if it was the DJ himself, but he'd play 30-45 seconds of a song then move on to something completely different. The "line dance" songs, like the Cha Cha Slide got the most response, but he didn't even allow them to reach their potential...it never even go to the "everybody clap your hands" part. It kinda abruptly stopped...people were having fun, and then they just went back to standing around. And later he played some Journey, and while I can't stand Journey, you can't play only a portion of Don't Stop Believing and NOT even play the main chorus line...

I really hate DJ's that change songs every 45 seconds. If he sees that the crowd is loving a certain song (Journey - Don't Stop Believing is ALWAYS a hit), you don't change it!! It's a great technique when used right, but some DJs abuse it.

Does the park have multiple DJ's?

I'm guessing some of you have never been to a dance club. :)

A DJ's job is to keep people energized. Listening to the entire 4 minutes of an overplayed Journey anthem would get old, fast. Luminosity isn't a wedding, it's supposed to be a party-like atmosphere.

Think about it - if the DJ simply played entire song after entire song, why even have a DJ in the first place?

Side note...
I'm guessing the DJ played "Don't Stop Believing" through the "born and raised in south Detroit" line, which happens to occur at around the 0:42 mark. To those of you who haven't been to a sporting event in the last few years (since the finale of Sopranos, when the song saw a surge in popularity), that's standard procedure in the Detroit region.

^Exactly. Club DJs are going to do the same thing, even the party DJs at the Disney parks do this. About the only time they come close to playing a full song is when they play a shuffle or slide.

From being at the park this past week, it seems that a lot of people are enjoying not only the show but the dance party that follows. Every night that I was there the crowd that stayed for the dance party was large enough and stayed long enough that the park still had to keep its crowd control employees around til the very end.

^^Luminosity has a main DJ that is there 6 days a week and then a swing DJ to fill in on the 7th day, just as the do with the performers.

I wasn't suggesting playing the entire Journey song. He's a DJ. He could very easily mix it to go right into the chorus even if it's after the first verse. But it wasn't just that. He'd bring up the crowd with one song, people were having fun, then he'd go into an old Motown song which just didn't fit, and groups left the whole area. I think a little more effort needs to be made to learn your audience, even if it means there's a different crowd every night.