For an awards ceremony honoring ear candy, there was plenty of eye candy to behold at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, broadcast live from Staples Center and seen by an estimated 25.8 million viewers. Supporting companies including Pyrotek Special Effects and Aerial Rigging Techniques helped crank up the visual volume.
For Lady Gaga, who won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording ("Poker Face") and performed with Elton John, Pyrotechnics crew chief Bob Ross and pyro technician Adam Biscow provided a custom six-foot outer diameter flame ring. Multiple cryo jets also cued streams of industrial-looking smoke to accent the set, cued in sync to the beat.
Pyrotek also provided a low-lying fog effect for Maxwell's performance of his Grammy-winning "Pretty Wings." (Maxwell also won a Grammy for Best R&B Album – Blacksummers' Night.)
Pink may not have won an award this time around, but she was still walking on air – or, more precisely, floating and twirling through it – during her performance of "Glitter in the Air" from her Funhouse album. The artist got a boost from Stage Technologies' AU:tour system and three BigTow winches, controlled via an Acrobat desk by Aerial Rigging Techniques.
Photo by Tanja Demarmels
