I am just coming back from La Ronde. The crowd was larger than I had expected owing to the cold temperature. Not the biggest crowd, of course, but better than many prior opening nights. It was a pleasure to meet again several persons, for instance Paul Marriott and some former judges, as I do each year.

Before the diner, walking near the firing ramps and riding La Grande Roue gave me an opportunity to analyse the set-up. The most important aspect was the seven platforms on the lake (what we can call the fifth ramp), which were located in a way to form a "V", with the bottom point near the public. Many pieces were launched from this fifth ramp throughout the show.

My general appreciation is rather positive.

Many segments were well-designed, with an increasing tempo and several pieces everywhere, for instance during the part 7, on the music of "Jazzfest". This segment started with many star candles, comets and mines. Then, the pyrotechnic performance became faster, with a lot of mines and many bombs which produced white and red clouds of stars. Along the same line, just before, stars were launched on the lake from ramp 5, followed by 12 white fountains on the third and fifth ramps. Then, a lot of white whistling stars completed the segment above. Another well-designed segment has been one of the last (the 15th, I believe, on the music of "Cantaloop" ). Really, it was beautiful, with a long and giant rainbow formed by star candles and bombettes, launched from as many as seven points along the ramps.

Among the other positive points, I have to underline choice of colors. In most segments, the colors were logically limited, creating some coherence inside each part. When green dominated a segment, I was enough surprised to see some green fire balls! At the end, I am sure that many people appreciated some 4-color bombettes and larger bombs. Music choice was another interesting aspect, since jazz is rather an original choice.

Synchronization was also correct throughout the display, but unequal. It was sometime excellent, for instance, the green- then-red- then-white- then- blue mines toward the end of "The Best Goes On". Other example is the perfectly synchonized mines ( ? ) and bombs on the transition from part 9 ( "Pow" ) to part 10 ( "Krupa" ). However, it could be improved in other parts, by synchronizing pyrotechnic with more specific musical aspects.

Final segment was not so intense, but spectacular with three repetitive fans near the lake and a sky full of kamuros.

In my opinion, the weakest aspect of the show was the narrative. First, more than 2 minutes were spent between the end of the countdown and the first pyrotechnic pieces. I know that the entire show was longer than 30 minutes (32'40" according to my chonometer), but the public of Montreal does not appreciate being in front of an empty sky at the end of the countdown. Second, I did not well understand the story about the pyrotechnicians who would not be real artists because they do not speak French, or something like that. Third, I am sure that many persons did not appreciate to listen a narrative which underlines how good were these pyrotechnicians. Fourth, the narrative after the closing segment was inappropriate: it is Michel Lacroix's job to announce that the show is over!

Some pieces were used too often, like the sky mines. Another minor problem was the inappropriate start of an helix before the segment in which the four other have been used.

In conclusion, Howard & Sons has well performed. Despite my critics, this show was not a failure at all! It was original enough with his soundtrack and many well-designed segments. It would be interesting to see Howard & Sons again in Montreal in the future.

Fred

Well, I'll state my opinion here again and add more later.

To start off, I had a terrible experience last night, mainly because of traffic and taking longer than I should have to get home. What rotten luck, especially with all the constraints.

Anyways, the show was ok, in general. I could see that there must've been excellent use of the lake, especially with those dramatic bright fireballs. I also liked the spinning wheels and the various colors in the bottom in many segments. I actually had to squint when those bright fireballs were going. And yes, the narration was driving me crazy, too. Everyone on Notre-Dame and De Lorimier were going impatiently with the countdown, but saw nothing. There were people who were only whistling, though!

Synchronization was pretty much done well overall, but I felt that some parts were weaker, well, in my perspective.

They had some really nice effects, though. Some of those colorful shells were amazing and I think the theme really fitted in.

Finally, in my opinion, however, it did feel really repetitive, as Enkil said. Also, I found that there were some moments where not too much was going on. I could tell from the audience's expression, too. The finale could've been much better, too. I was hoping for it to be more colorful and longer with more of those special effects rather than only one color and one type of firework, so there wasn't much excitement.

As for the weather, I've never seen so many jackets at this time of the year. And I was right, there were FAR less people that attended tonight. After taking a glimpse at the bridge and popular areas, I was quite amazed. This being said, not a very good start to the season.

I'll have more later today, after I get some sleep after a hectic night.

Trav.

I agree with the comments of both Fred and Trav. My report is now up so you can read my full comments there. As Fred said, the audience was surprisingly large given the cool weather. This was particularly noticeable during the long and slow drive home

Cheers,

Paul.

I there,

I am a novice on this forum.

I did not see the show but after read your descriptions I'm curious to know more about the Australia shownarration.

Regards,

Mac

Paul,

I read your report. I pretty much agree with you in every aspect.

Trav.

Mr. Bastien,

Thank you for your well written contributions to montreal-fireworks.com. Your thoughts are very much appreciated. Your in-site of the competion, because of your experience as a judge, is most welcomed.

Iowa Tom

Thank you, Iowa Tom, for your comment. I am not a member of the jury this year, so I am free to discuss with you and other fanatics about each display!

Otherwise, Georges Lamon, a former journalist of La Presse who has covered the Montreal International Fireworks Contest for many years, continues to share his comments and criticisms with us. Follow this link to visit Georges Lamon's website:

http://pages.mlink.net/~glamon/index.html

Fred

Tom,

It's great to hear from you again after a year! Are you going to attend some displays this year?

Trav.