Thoughts about 2012

Ok, thank you for correcting me.

I never got to see a whole Luminosity show.

The bits and pieces of the show that I did see didn't impress me much. It was certainly a spectacle. But the night I stood on that midway, there was really no connection between the audience and the show. The impression I got was that a lot of people were standing around not knowing at all what to make of the show.

My feeling is that the music missed the mark with the audience, and in the segment I watched, about the time the auto-tune kicked in, I tuned out and walked away.

My impression is that they've got a good infrastructure in place, they came up with good talent, and they missed. But I don't think they missed by much. I think the show is the right idea, in the right place, and I think it's executed well. I think the big problem is that the content is a mismatch for the audience, and the reliance on total show automation and a canned music track hurts the show. What they have is a show that is good, but it is far from being great.

From rumors I have heard, people who are a lot more familiar with the show than I am are a lot more unhappy with it than I was. My prediction is that it will be tweaked, retooled, adapted, and turned into a much better show for 2013. If they bring it entirely in-house, that would probably help even more, because it would give them the ability to continue tweaking the show throughout the season.

Luminosity has the potential to be an amazing experience, and a much better show. I fully expect that we will see the show achieve that potential.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

On the one and only night I watched it, it seemed the crowd absolutely loved the DJ, but was very meh about the actual show. That being said, I'd hate to see it be just a bunch of people standing around while a DJ plays 20 second snippets of songs. The show part, with the right tweaking, can be quite successful I think.

^If they add an actual band to play with them the show wouldn't be missing anything. It would have that "thing" that is missing for families. After the show the current generation (which doesn't like "instruments") will stay for the DJ. I think it would be a perfect balance.

Perhaps they can combine the DJ with the actual show somehow?

Personally I think they should be separate. It would make it more awkward.

Dave's comments kind of bring me back to the classic Red Garter shows, with a band. Imagine something more like that... a live band and a set list that isn't the top 10 songs from March of that year, on that stage. That would be something to see.

I don't know why but for some reason, the very top of entertainment just does not like live bands. I wish I knew why that was because live bands actually make the production process a little easier. With tracked shows, you need to hire talent that can hit all of the notes in the prerecorded track. If they can't hit those notes, then what happens??? You can't retrack in a higher or lower key in such short notice. At least with a live band, you can have the band raise or drop the key of songs to accompany their singing talent. From last year's Luminosity show, there were definitely a couple of songs that were out of their talent's range ("The Way You Make Me Feel" for example) Couple that with a CEO who wants hip/current music and it looks like the Luminosity platform is gonna stay that way at least for another year. With all the music being current, I can't imagine they'll keep the same music as last summer because it's already pretty outdated.

I thinks songs such as Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I know It will defiantly stay but I could see everything else leaving.

I enjoyed Luminosity with the current "top 40" music, although more classic standards from 80's/90's mixed in would probably appeal to a larger crowd. The drummers in the show added depth to the music, a complete live band would make the show complete. It would also be nice to see the finale of the show done live vs. the pre-recorded ending they used last year ( this seemed to casue confusion to many as to when the show was ending and the DJ part was beginning). I don't see why the "Party Rock Anthem" style song of 2013 could not be done live to end the show. The Luminosity concept is exactly what the park needed, and Im sure we will see great advancements to the show in the years ahead.

Jeff mentioned the classic Red Garter shows from years past with a band. Those were always entertaining. I'm glad to see at least a partial band back during the summer with the country show. A full live band back with the Halloweekend show at the Red Garter would be quite welcome. This past years vocals in the Halloweekend show were great, especially with many of years past singers. A live band included with that caliber of singing would be a great addition brought back to the live entertainment.

It needs a live backing band badly. The drummers were extremely random.

Many people have said it'll be done by Cedar Point's entertainment team instead of someone else's next year, what affect or changes will that have on the show? Would it be same or different dances/singers?

Different dancers I'm sure. I highly doubt any amusement park "talent" is contracted. And I'm very sure that no one will notice new "talent."

The All Wheels and ice skating shows both use contracted performers through an outside company.

As for the backing band for Luminosity, does top 40 music even use instruments anymore? I try to avoid that type of music as much as I can, but the stuff I have heard seems entirely electronic.

You very rarely can find a song in the Top 40 with any instruments. It is all 808s and auto-tune. Dumb.

Music has been horrible for long time now, but that's what the mindless public wants and likes, so that's what we get...

Don't insult 80's music that way.

80s music is awesome.

Ralph Wiggum said:
As for the backing band for Luminosity, does top 40 music even use instruments anymore? I try to avoid that type of music as much as I can, but the stuff I have heard seems entirely electronic.

Good point. Bring in the iMac's then! ;)

I think a big part of the push for tracked shows has to do with automation. You can assign all of the lighting, video, and pyro cues to the timecode on the audio track, then all the performers just need to hit the marks. Switch to live band, and you need a show director who can keep track of it all and keep the show on schedule. It makes the show more complicated, and most people won't notice the difference

Except that the show would sound better because talent monitoring becomes less important and so you can have a properly balanced mix where the lead instruments actually get to play lead.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.