And the press release:

The Australians will be setting Lac des Dauphins on fire with music out of the "mixer"!


Montréal, Friday, July 18, 2008 – Lac des Dauphins will be lit up in a way rarely seen over the last quarter century that the competition has been held in Montréal. The Australian firm of Howard & Sons is coming to town with no less than 30 pontoons that will be used to deploy what they call "close proximity pyrotechnics." Never has the L’International des Feux Loto-Québec presented by TELUS slogan of "come and see what you’re missing" been more appropriate than this week.

The Australian spectacle, entitled Evolution, uses light and sound to showcase well-known pieces of music that have "evolved" through new covers, arrangement, remixes, and rerecording. Howard & Sons will be running just about every kind of music—classical, electronic, pop, and rock—through their huge mixer. The program includes a symphonic version of the huge Metallica hit Nothing Else Matters as well as revisited versions of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love and Mary J. Blidge’s cover of the U2 hit One. The team from "down under" will also be putting on some of their own with Nicole Kidman interpreting Sparkling Diamonds à la Moulin Rouge and Crowded House’s planetary smash Don’t Dream It’s Over, as remixed by Grant Stevens.

A worldwide pyrotechnical leader, Howard & Sons remains a family business, as is often the case in this field. Since 1922, the company has been headed by four generations of the Howard family. In other words, three generations have produced "pyrotechnical" offspring. And the tradition is continuing: the fifth generation is already under way and the Howards are awaiting another "explosive" birth in the hours ahead!

Of course, Howard & Sons has also produced spectacles seen by audiences everywhere, such as at the 2006 Commonwealth Games (opening and closing ceremonies), a competition in Malaysia in 2007 (first-place winners), in Shanghai in 2005 (second place), and in Montréal the same year. While firm members recall that their 2005 participation was rain drenched, their main memories were out about using the site and its characteristics to the utmost. That is exactly what they plan to do on Saturday to win an award in what designer Stuart Bensley has stated is the "most prestigious and well-established pyromusical competitions in the world."

A few scenes from a video interview with representatives can be viewed on the Internet at www.internationaldesfeuxlotoquebec.com. The site also lists the 13 pieces of music that will be heard at the La Ronde.

Thanks for all this, TRae. Truly sounds like quite the "blending" kind of display! I was also curious to what they had meant when the broad theme of "Evolve" was introduced, but it looks like the delivery is ultimately focused on the evolution of certain types of music, and perhaps more indirectly, the pyrotechnic evolution of Howard & Sons themselves from one generation to the next.

Other than that, I hope these rains aren't hindering whatever setup processes are taking place today - this is kinda why I was worried moreso about today than tomorrow. It's almost like a repeat of 2005, although under different conditions.

Trav.