From my vantage point at Chestnut and Myrtle (south of the launching stage), we could see that the stage caught fire about 10 minutes in). My friend Ryan pointed out that the fire department probably shut it down early. It certainly didn't feel much like a finale, did it!
Ah well, in the time the fireworks were going off, I was able to shoot this.
We have been every year since it started and it has always been great - this year sucked.
Starting with the commerical for Center Stage was a bad start...didn't sing something patriotic - but a piece from their upcoming show, the anthem was weak and they got some words wrong and then if you had something go wrong...get on the P.A. and say "Sorry, had some trouble, have a good night and it will be better next year." You don't just stop it - so anti-climatic.
I live a block from where they were shooting them off. I was up on the roof of my building where I should have had an awesome view, but the pathetic little things they were shooting off were barely making it above the buildings. And word on the craptacular music. But I could also see all the surrounding cities' shows which put Monrovia to shame. One show (I couldn't tell where it was coming from but I think Duarte) had huge fireworks and went on for almost an hour.
Great shot Stephanie. May I blog it for this post?
Got some information from the city and they said that the “big finish” did not go off because the pyrotechnics coordinator’s battery system failed. Depending on the situation, they may end up canceling payment to the company.
Some snark first: Yes, the show was short which would not have been so bad if the music had ended at the same time as the fireworks. Worse, the same thing happened last year. On the other hand: I think everyone knows that the souped up displays are at the Rose Bowl, Dodger Stadium, etc. I kind of like the relaxed, street party feel of Monrovia. This years rockets were actually better than last years.
We were sitting in the street looking south. Up until it abruptly ended, it seemed as good or better than last year's show. I do enjoy the "small town" events like this and the music in the park series.
But they really should have made an announcement if there had been a technical issue. When the rockets stopped mid-song, everyone around us just sat there looking puzzled. After a while the music stopped too, then someone turned the street lights back on so we assumed it was "officially" over and left.
If I were the city, I'd be checking the performance guarantees in the contract fairly closely, and looking to withhold a substantial part of the expected payment.
Hope it goes more smoothly next year.
I did get some hand-held shots while it lasted, but Stephanie's shot is better than any of mine ;-)
9 Comments:
I'm not sure what happened but it seemed kind of short. I was not crazy about the music.
8:41 AM
From my vantage point at Chestnut and Myrtle (south of the launching stage), we could see that the stage caught fire about 10 minutes in). My friend Ryan pointed out that the fire department probably shut it down early. It certainly didn't feel much like a finale, did it!
Ah well, in the time the fireworks were going off, I was able to shoot this.
10:32 AM
We have been every year since it started and it has always been great - this year sucked.
Starting with the commerical for Center Stage was a bad start...didn't sing something patriotic - but a piece from their upcoming show, the anthem was weak and they got some words wrong and then if you had something go wrong...get on the P.A. and say "Sorry, had some trouble, have a good night and it will be better next year." You don't just stop it - so anti-climatic.
In general - lame.
11:02 AM
I live a block from where they were shooting them off. I was up on the roof of my building where I should have had an awesome view, but the pathetic little things they were shooting off were barely making it above the buildings. And word on the craptacular music. But I could also see all the surrounding cities' shows which put Monrovia to shame. One show (I couldn't tell where it was coming from but I think Duarte) had huge fireworks and went on for almost an hour.
11:04 AM
Great shot Stephanie. May I blog it for this post?
Got some information from the city and they said that the “big finish” did not go off because the pyrotechnics coordinator’s battery system failed. Depending on the situation, they may end up canceling payment to the company.
1:52 PM
Sure! I'd be honored. :)
5:51 PM
Some snark first:
Yes, the show was short which would not have been so bad if the music had ended at the same time as the fireworks. Worse, the same thing happened last year.
On the other hand:
I think everyone knows that the souped up displays are at the Rose Bowl, Dodger Stadium, etc. I kind of like the relaxed, street party feel of Monrovia. This years rockets were actually better than last years.
1:18 PM
Noticed the city's webage has an apology up front at www.cityofmonrovia.org
9:50 AM
We were sitting in the street looking south. Up until it abruptly ended, it seemed as good or better than last year's show. I do enjoy the "small town" events like this and the music in the park series.
But they really should have made an announcement if there had been a technical issue. When the rockets stopped mid-song, everyone around us just sat there looking puzzled. After a while the music stopped too, then someone turned the street lights back on so we assumed it was "officially" over and left.
If I were the city, I'd be checking the performance guarantees in the contract fairly closely, and looking to withhold a substantial part of the expected payment.
Hope it goes more smoothly next year.
I did get some hand-held shots while it lasted, but Stephanie's shot is better than any of mine ;-)
2:05 PM
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