I think it's going to be all right now.
The first stirrings of good news came at PLASA in September. I didn't attend but people who did insisted that there was a good feeling going around, a sense of optimism combined with customers who actually, really, truly wanted to purchase some products. That feeling was confirmed at LDI, which, at more than 10,000 attendees, reached the levels of the pre 9/11 years. Best of all, several exhibitors happily confirmed that they did some bang-up business in Orlando.
There was more good news: There are potentially significant new players in the moving light market in Robe and Techni-Lux's SGM line. Clay Paky is making a real commitment to the US market. Pulsar seems to be more focused on the US than before. In addition, there's lots of new technology. The march of the LEDs continued apace, with fascinating new productions from Element Labs, TMB, and G-LEC. (The latter company's product, an LED curtain, plays a major role in this month's cover story, the recent Jay-Z concert at Madison Square Garden.) There are some very interesting new developments in the area of lighting control, what with the Jands Vista, the debut of Luminant Lighting's new console, the new edition of VLPS' Virtuoso, and, last but not least, a little something from Martin Professional called the Maxxyz,
There was much, much more, of course, but for me, that is, ironically, the hell of LDI. It only takes until about noon on Friday for me before a vague feeling of panic sets in, as I realize that I'm not going to accomplish half of what I want to do.
Here in the Lighting Dimensions office, we've identified a new disease, called Trade Show Syndrome. It strikes three out of four people attending entertainment technology trade shows. The symptoms include exhaustion, dehydration, sore feet, and a general feeling of irritability. (An enlarged liver can also be a key indicator of Trade Show Syndrome or, as we call it, TSS.) There's no cure for TSS, and since the only available treatment is abstinence from attending trade shows, we'll all just have to put with it, I guess. Still, this year's LDI was more than worth it.
A couple of corrections from November: The Tribute in Light was held on Sept. 11, and was supplied by Space Cannon Illumination. Also, the Light Side piece on Anna in the Tropics was by Ellen Lampert-Gréaux; some computer gremlin gave me the byline by mistake.