My GF is a huge Radiohead fan, and once she heard there was a Laser Radiohead show in Seattle, we had to go.
The last time I went to a laser show was 1986. As part of a school event, we went to LASER Beatles at the Hayden Planetarium. Way back then we had only red laser light projected on the ceiling with the music. Things have changed since then. The Radiohead show included blue and green lasers and even a fog machine.
Paragraphs like that make me sound old. And show like this make me feel that way, too.
My GF (age 28) and I (age 37) got to the show fairly early. We bought our tickets and waited for the gates to open. Gradually more and more people showed up and bought their tickets for the 10:30 PM show. A few of them may have been college age, but probably 95% of them hadn't yet been born when I went to that Laser Beatles show. So we stood around joking with one another about how old the crowd made us feel, expecting Chris Hansen to show up at any moment.
When they let us in, my GF and I grabbed some seats in the back. Most of the teenagers brought their own pillows and laid on the floor in the middle of the Laser Dome. I thought next time I should bring a pillow because that looks like a good way to watch the show. But a quick look at the piles of teenagers sprawled about the floor quickly reminded me that it would be "creepy."
The sense of depth the laserists created on the dome was impressive, as was the variety of animation. At one point they appeared to create real looking cloud patters in the ceiling. I tried to figure out how they did that with the Lasers, but it turned out they had simply turned on the fog machines and aimed the lasers through the actual clouds.
The mix of animated stories, spirograph patterns, and missile command allusions made for a nice show, and not a bad way to spend an evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I think Lawrence Welk is on.
If you would like to know more about Laser Radiohead, visit the Seattle Laserdome at the Pacific Science Center. If you really like the Seattle Laserdome, you can become its best friend on MySpace.
2 comments:
I used to go to the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco on friday night when I was sixteen and watch the laser light shows. Mostly they played Pink Floyd. It was an interesting and enjoyable experience. A lot has probably changed since then. Did they use any astronomical backgrounds?
I felt old and creepy at their concert too.
Even though "Creep" was a hit when I was in college.
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