Fireworks and Concerts

[meimjustalawnmower]

Don't let me down, Kerry. ;)

[Jefferson James]

I love concerts with fireworks; the Hollywood Bowl's annual 4th of July Fireworks spectacular is pretty cool.

[progeezer]

:rofl This could cause death by laughter in old people!

[tom unbound]

Best show with fireworks for me was Pink Floyd Tampa '73. They sold seats on the field and on one side of the stadium. On the other unsold side they set them up, and lit them off at the end of the show. Rows of different fireworks, spinning, spraying, all different colors , gradually making it up to the top where it spelled out "The End".
Worse show with fireworks for me was Pink Floyd Tampa '73. people were shooting rockets, firecrackers, etc all over the field. I remember some guy stomping out one of those things that spin and change colors as it burns. It stuck to his (bare) foot.

[meimjustalawnmower]

Worse show with fireworks for me was Pink Floyd Tampa '73. people were shooting rockets, firecrackers, etc all over the field. I remember some guy stomping out one of those things that spin and change colors as it burns. It stuck to his (bare) foot.
And this was an outdoor show, right?
I'd say that the most concerts i saw in one year was 1977, but it was a year later that there was a noticeable amount of aerial and explosives started becoming a commonplace at indoor shows, and in my case the Omni in Atlanta. By that time I would avoid certain types of shows where it was more likely to occur, even if I really wanted to see the act(s). I started going to smaller venues like the Fox or the Great Southeast Music Hall instead, and as a result I was actually treated to a much better class of music than what you would get at an arena. These days it's different. The worst complaints are about phone cams or dumbass drunk couples who are already sitting in your seats when you get there.

[GuitarGeek]

If we're talking about bands using pyro, probably the best I saw was Pink Floyd at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. During Run Like Hell, they used just about everything imaginable. They shot off a ton of stuff just on the first beat of the song (right where the rest of the band comes in after one of Gilmour's protracted guitar intros). Then at the end of the song when they got to that final fermata, it was like the like an entire 4th of July display in the space of about 90 seconds, before firing a bunch of pyro out from behind the ciricular film screen on the last beat (same as seen in both Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse).

I saw a few good in door pyro displays. I remember Rush shooting off a bunch of flame jets at the start of the second set when I saw them on the Vapor Trails tour. Roger Waters shot off a ton of pyro at the end of In The Flesh when I saw him in 2005, I think it was. Kiss of course used lots of pyro, with stuff shooting up in the rafters of Gund Arena at the end of the show the first time I saw them back in 96, and flame jets during God Of Thunder.

Fortunately, I missed that whole 70's era thing where people were bringing fireworks to shows and setting them off. There's that notorious firecracker on Wind Of Change on Frampton Comes Alive. You can hear firecrackers going off (accompanied by booing from the audience) during Shine On You Crazy Diamond from one of the Pink Floyd Madison Square Garden show in 77. A few nights later, one very obnoxious explosive device detonates apparently close enough to Roger Waters to piss him off enough to stop in the middle of Pigs On The Wing pt. 2 in Montreal. And I remember someone saying that he got hit in the face by a bottle rocket at a Yes show, I believe one of the tours where they had one of the Dean stage sets, so he apparently spent the night in the ER and missed the entire concert.

[Jefferson James]

one very obnoxious explosive device detonates apparently close enough to Roger Waters to piss him off enough to stop in the middle of Pigs On The Wing pt. 2 in Montreal. And I remember someone saying that he got hit in the face by a bottle rocket at a Yes show

These incidents were likely my fault; I was seventeen after all.

[Progatron]

I remember Rush shooting off a bunch of flame jets at the start of the second set when I saw them on the Vapor Trails tour.

The first VT show I saw I was in the second tier seating (the '200s'), so about twenty rows back, and I felt those flames! Neil must get practically scorched!

[80s were ok]

if you want to see pyro, go see TSO. Tons of Pyro.

[SteveSly]

I would probably also agree that Pink Floyd were the king of pyro (hell, they were the king of everything really). Back in the day Triumph always put on a pretty impressive pyro display as well.

As others have mentioned back in the late 70’s early 80’s it was not unusual for people in the audience to have fireworks. Very dangerous indeed and usually drunk assholes setting them off. I am sure many of you have heard Kansas “Two For The Show” live album when right in the middle of a soft violin solo someone in the audience lights off a bunch of firecrackers.

My favorite rock n roll related fireworks display though, was when we saw Yes on the “Talk” tour at Summerfest in Milwaukee. After the show was over Summerfest had what they called The Big Bang which was probably the most incredible fireworks display I have ever seen. It was basically 45 minutes of non stop Grand Finale. We were standing outside the big ampatheater and could see Chris Squire and a bunch of other people watching it from the roof.

Steve Sly

[Cuz]

As someone who grew up in the late 70s and early 80s, I've been to plenty of shows with fireworks. However, the use of fireworks (by the audience) at concerts is one of the things that I absolutely hated. Even as a dumb-ass young kid, I thought the whole idea was lunacy. What kind of sadist maniac thinks it's smart to shoot off that shit inside a concert? I had some pretty wacky friends, but no one I knew was involved in such stupidity.