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Worldwide - The current sell-out Rolling Stones tour, A Bigger Bang, reached the shores of the UK in August 2006, with a spectacular production incorporating 350m of Mojo aluminium barriers.

Mojo Barriers' MD Patrick Jordon explained: "In May 2005 Jake Berry (production director) approached us to supply the Rolling Stones with our barriers for their US dates starting in August 2005. Having worked with the Stones before, we were delighted to be awarded the contract to supply barriers for the whole Bigger Bang World Tour. Due to commitments with U2, Jake passed the role of the tour production manager to Dale 'Opie' Skjerseth to look after the daily business on the road."

Mojo Barriers supplied 220m of black aluminium Mojo Barriers for the US stadium shows. This allowed Opie to create a specially shaped barrier in front of the stage that extended around the thrus

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UK - Loudspeaker manufacturers, don't always get enquiries they expect - as was the case when TV production house Objective Productions contacted Surrey loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics with a rather unusual request.

Objective Productions, known for producing shows such as Derren Brown, were working on the first show for a series called Fear Of . . ., with the first programme dealing with Flying. The show features 'thought therapist' Lawrence Leyton, who throughout the course of the programme splits people's fear of flying into core elements, such as heights and claustrophobia. The participants are put through a series of tests to illustrate their fears, and then return to the same tests after therapy, and finally get on a plane for a real flight. To bring out the effects of claustrophobia, Objective Productions approached EM Acoustics for the use of their anechoic c

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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Peru - More than 25,000 people gathered in the esplanade of Lima's Estadio Monumental recently to bask in the music of Carlos Santana. The Mexican guitarist, on tour to promote his latest album, All That I Am, had not appeared in Lima since his first visit in 1995, and a capacity crowd was on hand to welcome him back.

Sound providers Carlinho Hermes Landa and Iluminación Artistica RTA opted for a system based on Meyer Sound's MILO high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker system. Freelance system engineer Andres Cuadros commented: "For me, it was necessary to have the very best equipment," he says. "With MILO, we got excellent response from the system. As a result, the public reacted very well, because both the show and the technical production were at the highest level."

The main system was made up of 12 MILO cabinets on each side, with four UPJ-1P

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UK - On 31 August and 1 September, the Association of Lighting Designers is holding its first Forum, in collaboration with Rose Bruford College. A two-day event, the Forum is comprised of "Pick and Mix" workshops and discussions based around a central theme, relevant to modern theatre practice to help educate members and share ideas.

The "Pick and Mix" format has been designed to make the event as flexible as possible to those with work commitments. The event is free and food and drink will be provided. This year the theme is Digital Scenography. With the use of video projection and other digital media becoming more widespread in Theatre, the worlds of video and lighting are converging. The aim of the Forum is to raise awareness of this equipment and it's use, and discus how it is going to affect designers in the future.

Workshops throughout both days will

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USA - Gear-Source Inc has launched a new website specifically marketing Martin Professional pre-owned inventory. The site (www.MartinCheckMarked.com) is now online and features a 'Check Marked' program, developed in cooperation with Martin - a sliding scale system in which five Checks designates an item as almost new, with one 'Check' indicating a product that has extensive usage hours. New value-added services are under development to add further value to the program, say GearSource.

The site is the first of its kind, and although designed exclusively to move Martin pre-owned inventory, it is managed and operated through GearSource.com's complex backend site administration system.

As part of this agreement, all existing Martin dealers will have full access to the dealer level of the system, and can also gain access to GearSource dealer prices on other brands, which will appea

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UAE - Production Technology LLC, better known in Dubai as Protec, recently provided full lighting production services to their Dubai-based client, Al Nabooda Automobiles, for the Middle East's largest-ever car launch. The event took place in the iconic Sheikh Rashid Hall of Dubai's International Convention Centre. One grandMA full-size, one grandMA ultra-light and two NSPs controlled the vast variety of lights during the show.

Al Nabooda, the leading Audi distributor in the Middle East, launched the latest top of the range SUV from Audi: the Q7. The event was attended by over a thousand invited guests, including several local VIPs. The set consisted of, among others, eight hydraulic scissor lifts, four of which lifted two cars through the stage, with the other four featuring UK based pyrotechnic performers from Phoenix Productions. Eight cars were flown in from the roof of the v

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Romania - Mondy's Club - a 1,000 capacity nightclub on the Romanian Black Sea coast - has recently reopened after full redesign and refurbishment, which was completed in just 45 days. The venue leads the way in the country in many ways: it hosts the largest bar (12m long), it is the first to install large beds for the comfort of the night revellers and displays not one but two large fishtanks, one as an eye-catching backdrop to the main bar and one as a most unusual flooring to one of the bedded relaxation areas.

Local company 3 Fingers was responsible for the entire design and installation for club owners Calatis. Although all the furniture was custom-made, the walls were purposely kept bare and white to emphasise the vast LED lighting installation. A total of almost 16m of flexible colour changing Tryka LinkLED systems illuminate the main bar fishtank and the second bar front,

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France - Located in Vallée de la Maurienne, Savoie in the French Alps is the family-oriented ski area of La Norma. Henri Ratel, La Norma's mayor, and Bruno Garros, managing director of Martin Professional France, met in 2004 to discuss the idea of creating a special one-week event with dynamic lighting during the ski season. Mutual interest was quickly recognised and a plan agreed upon: Martin would provide technical know-how and equipment while La Norma would offer Martin Architectural the opportunity to invite customers to experience the resort dressed in an overall dynamic lighting concept.

The event was a success and ultimately the town's tourist office chose to invest in the lighting to illuminate both the town and the base of the ski area. La Norma wished to associate the dynamic lighting scheme with the resort's new blue and rose-colored logo as well as the town's

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Worldwide - After her last album The Emancipation of Mimi Mariah Carey has launched her World Tour The Adventures of Mimi. Beginning in Tunisia, the journey leads trough the USA, Canada, Japan and ends on 28 October in China. On the road with Mariah are two grandMA full-size consoles and four NSPs.

The MA system was great support to lighting designer Justin Collie and lighting director Michael 'Sparky' Anderson who applied among other things 56 Vari-Lite 3000 Spots, 50 MAC 2000 Wash, 38 Atomic Strobes, six 7K Syncrolites and 44 Color Kinetics Color Blasts for the lighting rig. The task of programming the show was given to programmer Demfis Fyssicopulos. He comments: "As expected for Mariah the production is as big as she is. Everywhere one looks, there's something that just can't be missed."

The performance area consists of two stages - a main stage and

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Italy - The main stage at the Umbria Jazz Festival in July relied heavily on Radian MicroWedges for the second consecutive year, with 12 RMW-1122 12" and four RMW-1152 15" enclosures providing onstage monitoring for performers such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Diana Krall, James Brown and Jamie Cullum. Italian sound reinforcement equipment manufacturer and distributor Reference Laboratory provided the low profile, two-way, coaxial Radian MicroWedges as part of a complete sound and lighting package for the Arena Santa Giuliana.

Monitor engineer Claudio Venturelli admitted to having been initially skeptical about the MicroWedges, but was quickly won over: "Their main strength is probably the very vertical and narrow directivity pattern, which helps to keep the stage clean even when you have as many as 21 monitors playing really loud," said Venturelli.

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UAE / Saudi Arabia - Multisell announced today that it has appointed AEC as its distributor to boost sales in the Saudi Arabian market. AEC will be responsible for distributing the Multisell Technology range of MIM (Motion Interactive Media) solutions, including MultiFx, iPoint and Lumin projection screens to system integrators and up-market end-user clients.

"We have studied the Saudi market for more than a year, proactively looking for a reliable partner able to offer our line of products and provide unmatched client support and servicing," Said David Holm-Glad, managing director MultiSell Technology ME.

AEC's systems solution division will be the system integrator and the link between the two companies, with more than 100 managers, engineers and technicians amongst them. Focus on vertical markets such as retail, events, advertising and security will be key success

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USA - Recognised worldwide as the most comprehensive training course of its kind, the Tomcat Hoist and Rigging Workshop is a unique learning opportunity for those new to the entertainment industry, as well as veterans of the business. And until August of this year, you had to come to Midland, Texas to take part in this course.

However, after years of enquiries from various companies and groups around the US, Tomcat USA has reported that the first ever Hoist and Rigging Workshop took place August 1-4, 2006 at the historic National Theatre.

Working with I.A.T.S.E. Local 22 in Washington D.C., Tomcat provided comprehensive training for over 50 union members. Many were from the Baltimore/D.C. area - and some participants traveled in from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York, New Jersey and Delaware to be a part of the training.

Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon coached participan

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USA - Ben Harper's music is a unique combination of rock, soul, and blues with roots in reggae. His latest album, Both Sides Of The Gun, is no exception. The singer-songwriter and his band, the Innocent Criminals, will be promoting his eighteen-track album in a twenty-two date U.S. tour.

Ben Harper and management team including tour manager, Scott Cadwallader, production manager, Kenny Nicholson, and lighting designer, Keith Wissmar chose Bandit Lites to supply lighting for the tour.

"Ben [Harper] expressed a very keen desire to add video as a new element to his show- simple, big images. This obviously affected the lighting design from the European tour, which had no video. Keith [Wissmar] took this onboard and came up with a very smooth blending of the lighting and video elements," explained Dizzy Gosnell, of Bandit's San Francisco office.

Bandit's own Shaw

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USA - Manhattan clubbing is a little more upscale at The Manor, where the approach to nightlife is truly luxurious. Those who are lucky enough to make it inside experience an exclusive environment where proscenium arches, dioramas and dark leather set the scene, and the clean power of a Danley Sound Labs loudspeaker system sets the pace.

According to Steve Petrik, systems designer of D&A (NYC), his decision to design the sound system around eight Danley Sound Labs SH-100 full-range loudspeakers, six SH-50 three-way loudspeakers, and six TH-112 subwoofers, has enabled the 5,000 sq.ft. bi-level Manor to deliver a premium sonic experience to its selective patrons.

"This is one of the best-sounding systems that I've heard in NYC in several years," Petrik states. "It has to be able to handle almost every genre of music, including hip-hop, rock, dance and even jazzier

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UK - The Glade stage at Glastonbury Festival was the forum for cutting edge electronic and dance music. In 2004 the team behind Glade started their own event and continued running the stage at Glastonbury. The Glade Festival provides a platform for electronic music from around the world.

The atmosphere combined with the range of dance music and live acts with top live acts and DJsperforming back to back throughout the day is unique. Running late into the night things switch over to a more chilled and laid back pace, but it is the blend of stages and areas that make the festival so enjoyable, notably the Overkill and Breaksday tents.

The Breaksday stage is a mix of break and psy trance. Live acts include Hybrid, Krafty Kuts, Meat Katie and many DJs from Canada, Australia and Italy. Breaksday featured an arch of AC Lighting Colour Block as a centre-piece over the stage with each

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USA - System Of A Down, supported by David Benveniste of Velvet Hammer Management, tour manager Ken Denson and production manager Janet Taylor, recently wrapped up a tour as part of Ozzfest- a touring festival with two stages and approximately 15 bands. In its eleventh year, Ozzfest kicked off on 29 June, in Seattle, Washington and wrapped up on 13 August in West Palm Beach, Florida. System Of A Down shared time with Ozzfest's very own Ozzy Osbourne headlining the show. This is the eighth year Bandit has provided lighting for System Of A Down.

System Of A Down's lighting designer, Chaz Martin chose to incorporate four 36 lamp pods with 600w ACLs, 20 atomic strobes, 12 Martin 2k washes and 12 Martin 2k profiles (six moving lights on each pod). Martin used a Martin Maxxyz console with a Martin Maxedia linked to the console.

Martin said that the general idea was to create somethi

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UK - Sony-BMG recording artist Eros Ramazzotti recently finished the second leg of his 2006 World Tour, which closed with three nights at Montecarlo's famous Sporting Club. Sound was mixed by Jon Lemon (Oasis, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, The Cure, and Depeche Mode, amongst many others), and on stage by Stevan Martinovic, each using a DiGiCo D5 Live desk. Audio and lighting were supplied by top Italian rental firm Agorà of L'Aquila.

Lemon said: "In 2004 with Eros, we used basically the same PA, but ran it in analogue. This year, to make the most of the digital desk's features, I convinced Agorà to run the whole system as digitally as possible, as staying in the digital domain obviously gives you more separation and edge, which is the whole idea behind using the desk."

Regarding the choice of an all-digital chain from desks to amp racks, Lemon, who used the same idea on t

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UK - Northern Light has recently won the tender to install state-of-the-art AV equipment in 12 of the University of Stirling's teaching rooms. Working directly for the main contactor, Hadden Construction, Northern Light's AV team will complete the installation in mid-September 2006.

Stephen Dishon, AV manager at Northern Light, said: "Northern Light has had a long working partnership with the University of Stirling. As well as carrying out this current project, we were previously responsible for kitting out 20 other lecture theatres, including the Pathfoot and Logie, with capacity for 210 and 350 respectively."

This project utilises the most up to date technology. Each teaching room, which can hold up to 50 students or corporate delegates, will be equipped with a data projector, sound system and IR system. These will be controlled via a Crestron system which interfac

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UK - Wireless transmission is a fast-growing technological phenomenon which is already being widely used in the entertainment industry, and the technical team at Navigator Systems, computer specialists in the entertainment industry since 1995, have put together a free information website to assist people when they're designing and building wireless networks, whether it be for shows or community projects.

"As visitors make their way through the free information pages, it will soon become apparent that the wealth of hands-on experience in projects such as Wireless FOH control, Wireless DMX distribution and conference delegate hot spots as well as an understanding of the physics makes the Navigator Systems Wireless website one to add to your Favourites list," says the company.

(Lee Baldock)

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Europe - Paul Oakenfold is returning to the stage with Madonna for her phenomenal sell-out Confessions tour. Oakenfold, the opening act on the 2006 European leg of the tour, will be travelling with his instrument of choice, a Rane MP 2016a mixer and XP 2016a expander, of which he comments: "Rane mixers are made to a very high quality; I have been using them for years. I would highly recommend anyone to use one."

Rane products are distributed in the UK by Sennheiser UK.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Baldwin Boxall's CommuniCare Advance disabled refuge communication system has been installed in one of London's largest universities - London South Bank University. Installed by Trinity Protection Systems, the system comprises 12 networked buildings and is the largest CommuniCare Advance installation to date.

Each of the 12 buildings has its own local control panel, there is also a single point master unit for site-wide control, allowing fire officers/building management to communicate with any refuge area. Due to the nature and size of the project, Baldwin Boxall produced bespoke software to enable the multiple control panels to be networked. One of the key benefits of CommuniCare Advance is that it is linked to the building's fire panel and, therefore, remains 'dormant' whilst not required - avoiding misuse by a building's occupiers - in this case some 20,000 students!

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UK - Prolyte Products Group of the Netherlands, a manufacturer of aluminium truss systems and rigging products has, this week, appointed Hawthorn to be a Prolyft Service Partner, following an extensive training session at Hawthorn's base in Old Dalby, Leicestershire.

Hawthorn's operations manager, John McAlonan and three of the technical team: Nick Key, Drew Lane and Steve Simons were trained by Conrad Vegter, operations manager for Prolyft and his colleague Jeroen G. Doeve.

Hawthorn now join only 15 accredited Service Partners in Europe and they are now licensed to maintain, service and repair the Prolyft product range as well as certify installations with a lifetime guarantee from the Prolyte Product Group.

"We are delighted to have Hawthorn on board as a Service Partner for our Prolyft product range; they are an extremely professional organisation and a pleasure to w

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UK - Regent's Park in central London hosted the free Fruitstock Festival in August, with a headline appearance from the celebrated London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC), using its newly-acquired battery of Electro-Voice vocal microphones.

Dressed in pure white, 40 members of the LCGC performed a one-hour set on the Main Stage, giving the 100,000-strong Fruitstock crowd a taste of gospel. Set up two to a mic, the Choir was using the EV RE510 super-cardioid vocal mics which it has recently purchased from Shuttlesound, prior to setting off on a tour of European festivals.

Front-of-house engineer Schon Emmanuel is largely responsible for the Choir's investment in 20x RE510s, two of which are wireless, packaged with EV's RE1 receivers. Emmanuel first discovered the potential of the RE510s when working with jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine, and more recently has introduced them to Brit

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Taiwan - As part of its mission to stay in touch with its partners, Mipro recently held a seminar for invited Southeast Asian distributors at the conference room of its Taiwan headquarters. The presentation showcased many of Mipro's latest product ranges, with a focus on its portable wireless PA systems - MA-101, MA-705, MA-707, and MA-808.

International sales manager Gina Lee, who presented the first session, commented: "My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all who had attended the presentation and making it a success: my hope is that everyone got a better insight to the range of Mipro products available."

(Lee Baldock)

  1. Bandit's Lighting Award for LIPA
  2. Midas brings out the Festival Spirit
  3. Blitz provides the technology for Lacoste
  4. VisualDMX joins the party with Bacardi
  5. Power Logistics power V Festival
  6. XL Touring Video supports Kelly Clarkson Tour
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