Exhibitors Show Their Cards in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — The fire alarm system went off with strobes flashing as lasers and spotlights pierced the smoky air in the long hall within the Las Vegas Convention Center. But attendees at the LDI show kept greeting one another with hearty handshakes and hugs, kept watched demos of new products and went right on learning about the newest software upgrade while others simply strolled along the mostly-black and occasionally confetti-strewn carpet, absorbing the visual spectacle offered by more than 400 exhibitors. Here are a few of the new developments that kept attendees from racing toward the exits.

CARLSTADT, NJ — City Theatrical announced its first eight SHoW DMX technology partners, each of whom have agreed to use SHoW DMX technology inside their products, which include wireless dimmers, wireless distributed dimming, wireless DMX transmitters and receivers, wireless lighting controllers and wireless remote circuit breaker panels.

NEW YORK — Fashion Week once again brought a variety of lighting designers and show producers to venerable New York landmarks, but one of Scharff Weisberg’s most impressive projects this year was on a vacant lot on the corner of 30th Street and Tenth Avenue: a temporary, three-story white building, used for a multi-million dollar bash thrown to mark Calvin Klein’s 40 years in business, which also served as a benefit for New York’s Highline urban redevelopment project.

GLENDALE, AZ — Regarding Tina Turner’s 2008 North American tour, LD Baz Halpin noted that the show is “at times a full-on rock concert to rival AC/DC, and at other times a heavy production show similar to that of any major pop performer.” LEDs, including Coemar Infinity Wash XL lights, are helping the age-defying vocalist glisten and glow.

SACRAMENTO, CA — When the Theatre Arts department at American River College began making plans for its new performance space, an up-to-date rigging system was one of the department’s top priorities.  So was student safety and speedy changeovers.  The two-year community college, which serves 30,000 students, chose to update its rigging with the PowerAssist system from J.R. Clancy.

NEW YORK — Wall Street may have been caught in the grip of panic, with a stampede of bulls turning into bears overnight. But if the recent manifestation of the ongoing subprime lending crisis was giving fits to traders and investors, CNBC’s Fast Money program made a smooth transition to an uptown venue — Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room.