USA - Situated in the heart of New York’s Times Square, seven floors up amid the luxury of the new Edition boutique hotel, is nightclub and performance space Paradise Club. The ‘brainchild’ of Studio 54’s Ian Schrager and home to an immersive dinner theatre and modern-day cabaret called The Devouring: A Marriage of Heaven and Hell Paradise Club hosts an Elation Professional lighting rig specified by AVL design and integration firm Clair Solutions with input from Yossy Marquez of J. Marquez Consultants. Paradise Club is a fully-immersive experience with an attention-grabbing starburst LED ceiling, depth-producing upstage video wall, enchanting décor, and atmosphere-generating dynamic lighting system. Following the multi-sensory Devouring cabaret show, performed by resident artist company House of Yes, the space transforms into a colourful nightclub with
USA - A light rain was falling intermittently on the July evening when Citizen Cope took the stage at the Stony Creek Brewery, an outdoor music venue just off the Long Island Sound. The weather didn’t affect the large crowd that turned out to see the widely acclaimed singer-song writer who was in the middle a national tour in support of his Helicopters and Heroin album. It did however, present his lighting designer, Peter Spadaro III with an inspiration. Seeing the mist roll in off the sea on a drizzly night, Spadaro directed his rig’s Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Hybrid fixtures into the crowd. Using the natural elements as a giant hazer, he filled the air around the stage with an immersive panorama of refracted light and patterns. “The music and the atmosphere of a venue really dictate my design, so I keep things free flowing,” says Spadaro. “D
UK - London-based Capital Sound, part of the newly-formed Solotech UK Group, has been successfully deploying its selection of Outline systems and processors with a diverse range of clients over the last few years. From the multi-national classical crossover vocal group Il Divo to Welsh rocker Kelly Jones, via the polished pop of Will Young to the recreation of Pink Floyd’s stadium shows by The Australian Pink Floyd, Capital’s Outline systems have consistently delivered the goods. James Lawford of Outline’s UK distributor CUK Audio remarks: “Tours equipped with Capital Sound’s Superfly / Mantas 28 combination have been able to play a diverse range of venues, from arenas such as Arena Birmingham and Glasgow’s SSE Hydro, to medium-sized spaces such as Ipswich’s Regent Theatre and Stoke on Trent’s Victoria Hall, each time using the same system in differen
USA - Bandit Lites provided the lighting for Dave Koz’ Christmas tour, featuring Jonathan Butler, Melissa Manchester, Michael Lington and Chris Walker. Koz’s tour and newest album, Gifts of the Season, features a smorgasbord of styles, ranging from an electronic rendition of Winter Wonderland, a whimsical It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas as well as an emotional Mary Did You Know and powerful original song from Koz, A Prayer for Peace. “As we sat down to begin concepting the production design, we knew that it needed to be versatile in creating moments for each of the emotions that the band is creating audibly,” explains lighting designer Erik Parker of Chris Lisle Lighting Design. To create the moments, Parker knew the rig would need to be outfitted with well-rounded fixtures that would also integrate with the vi
Europe - Coordinating with Stefan Mehnert of Rammstein’s management and production director Nicolai Sabottka as well as the production’s design teams, Solotech and SSE Audio provided the audio and video gear and services for the German industrial metal band’s 2019 stadium tour. Solotech’s Holger Schader, senior consultant, concert touring and special events for the Live Productions division oversaw the account for Solotech and SSE Audio. The sold-out European stadium tour supported the release of the band’s seventh album, which is the first Rammstein studio album in a decade. The tour’s audio spec, put together by Rammstein´s longtime FOH engineer Olsen Involtini and systems engineer Andreas Vater, called for L-Acoustics speakers and Avid Venue control. Assisting Vater was SSE audio crew Chief Nick Pain, and audio technician Nils Knecht, who
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) recently supplied tour and production management company Patchwork London with a Shure PSM 1000 wireless IEM system to provide monitor duties for the >25th Anniversary UK tour of Skunk Anansie. Patchwork managing director, Steve White got in touch with Steve Eaton, sales executive in AC-ET’s Audio sales division after he was getting an increasing number of client requests for the Shure in-ear-monitoring system. He comments: “We've had an increased number of enquiries for the PSM 1000, so when a three-month tour hire with Skunk Anansie came in, it seemed like a good time to expand our Shure stock. Prior to this, we had tried out wireless mic systems and Shure’s Axient system was the one which best suited our needs, so we decided to go with Shure across the board.” The UK tour coincided with the release
Poland - The award-winning TurboRay fixture from High End Systems recently made its latest TV appearance on the 17th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC, broadcast live from Arena Gliwice in Poland. JESC is designed to draw people together from all over Europe and Australia through light entertainment and healthy competition. It’s an increasingly spectacular and technically complex event, transmitted live to millions of viewers. This year, 19 participants aged between 9 and 14 years old took to the stage to battle it out for the trophy. The stage, designed by Giorgos Stylianou-Matsis, comprised a design featuring an eye-catching LED ribbon element symbolising floating kites. The ribbon gave the stage a spacious, light and simple design form. To complement the impressive stage design, a series of 26 TurboRay fixtures were positioned on stage and used
Norway - DJ and record producer, Alan Walker is currently out on his latest Aviation tour across China, India and Norway, along with an Allen & Heath dLive Wings system handling both FOH and monitor duties. One of Norway’s biggest EDM music exports, Walker performs with various third-party software, as well as a live band and requires a complex setup. The engineers needed a small and lightweight system to fly around the world, which could also handle a high I/O count via several protocols, such as Waves SoundGrid, Dante and MADI in order to interface with third-party systems. Supplied by audio production company, Sonic City AS, the FOH setup includes a dLive C1500 fitted with a Waves card for virtual sound check and multi-track recording, paired with a DM0 MixRack, which is equipped with a fibreACE card for the digital split and a Dante card to facilitate externa
USA - Broadcasting globally in more than 150 countries and territories, World Poker Tour (WPT) has ignited the worldwide poker industry. WPT also hosts a number of high-profile corporate and VIP events throughout the year. Needing a design element that could accentuate the visual experience at each tournament and event, WPT global events manager Steve De Santis invested in reFLEXion LED video systems from Nashville-based PixelFLEX. “WPT features a lot of professional and recreational players we see often who look for comfortability and reliability with tournament structures they trust from people they recognise and know,” says De Santis. “We have a footprint on six continents and our players love the quality and consistency of our events.” Knowing the level of trust and commitment shown by the players, De Santis wanted to ensure that each event provided the mo
The Netherlands - ADJ lighting and effects equipment was used exclusively to create the party atmosphere in the Tiroler tent at this summer’s vast Zwarte Cross festival in the Netherlands. Vizi CMY300 moving heads, 12P HEX IP pars and Encore FR150Z Frenels were all part of the package that illuminated the line-up of live acts performing in the tent across the four-day event. The Zwarte Cross Festival, which takes place each year in the Dutch town of Lichtenvoorde, is the largest paid festival in the Netherlands. This event combines live music, theatre and stunt spectaculars with the biggest motocross event in the world. This year, it attracted 220,000 visitors and featured more than 150 bands and 1000 theatre artists performing across a variety of themed stages and tents. A popular regular fixture of the festival is the Tiroler tent, which is an Oktoberfest-themed area tha
Spain - Singer Aitana first gained recognition in 2017 as runner-up of the Spanish reality TV music talent competition Operación Triunfo and she has enjoyed popularity and a number of hits ever since. This past summer, the 20-year old singer released her debut album, Spoiler, which topped the Spanish charts, then launched her much-anticipated Play tour with lighting design by SomosLuz, a Barcelona-based design studio who worked with Brutal Events on the creative process. SomosLuz turned to the Elation Rayzor 760 LED moving head to create a special design element for the show - four upstage Play buttons used for dynamic beams, eye candy looks and other special effects. Describing the show’s visual look, the design studio states: “The central element of the design is an inverted pyramidal LED screen with a staircase, which is used as a podium
UK - Stage Electrics has supplied, installed and commissioned new LED lighting to replace the existing house lighting at Kings Place, London. Originally opened in 2008, Kings Place is a multi-purpose venue including a concert hall as well as the home to The Guardian and The Observer newspapers. Stage Electrics were contracted by Paul Russell, technical project manager for Kings Place, to replace the lighting in Hall 1 which is the main concert hall, a system originally installed by sister company Northern Light. The new feature Lighting in addition to general auditorium lighting provides illumination, with full colour mixing, of the acoustic void around the upper walls of the auditorium as well as the stage and seating areas. This additional feature allows the venue to offer corporate clients the ability to customise the room in their corporate colours so
Mexico - A crowd of over 7,000 waited eagerly for Ana Torroja to appear at the esplanade of the Chihuahua Desert Museum of Delicias. They immediately erupted into wild cheering when the former singer from Mecano stepped on the stage dressed in a striking blue outfit and surrounded by her four bandmates, all in white. As soon as the first notes were struck, the star and her backups were engulfed in a sea of intense back and side light that moved from white to blue. It was the beginning of a combination of music and light at this free concert sponsored by the state government as part of the XV edition of the International Festival Chihuahua. Contributing to the immersive visuals was a collection of 64 Chauvet Professional fixtures, which, like the rest of the rig were supplied by Chihuahua-based Pro Audio Soluciones S.A. de C.V. Making this civic stop as part of
UK - Leicester-based provider of specialist electrical LED lighting installations, Ventola Projects, has completed a major project at the newly re-launched Cheshire Oaks Tenpin bowling centre near Ellesmere Port. Cheshire Oaks has invested more than £1m in the recent transformation which includes the latest technology, new attractions and will create more than 25 new jobs. Ventola Projects has helped to implement some of this latest technology. Managing director, Mick Ventola and his team have assisted the venue in achieving its ultimate objective; to change the dynamic of the existing design, ensuring high quality white lighting plus the inclusion of vibrant colours through the site. Functionality and controllability were high on the wish-list of the client and neither of these proved to be a challenge for Ventola who understood the wants and needs of the entertainme
China - Work Pro Audio, the installation and pro audio division of Equipson, has made an inroad into the Chinese market by supplying the country with its first SL210A Line Array system. The system has been delivered to Freelancer Production Company, a theatre and event production company that specialises in audio equipment rental to theatres in Hong Kong and touring artists on the mainland China. Since its delivery in September it has already been used at the 3,000 seater Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong for a musical theatre production celebrating the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The SL210A Line Array was specified by sound system designer Camus Chan, director of Equipson's Hong Kong distributor All Solution. He says: "Freelancer Production Company contacted us as a result of a promotion we were running to showcase Work Pro products to
USA - In January 1922 the Orpheum Theatre in Marion, IL, opened its doors for the first time. The flagship location of a vaudeville chain, the theatre offered locals a wide array of entertainment options, even hosting stars like Harry Houdini and the Ziegfeld Follies who performed before standing room only crowds. Although the Orpheum is long gone, having been purchased by the city and renamed from a variety of genres. Only today, performers on its stage are supported by a modern LED lighting system that would have been unimaginable in the Orpheum’s incandescent era. Anchoring that rig is collection of 46 Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures that were added to the theatre’s rig earlier this year. “We purchased the Mavericks after some extensive research and testing against competing fixtures, led by our executive director Josh Benson,” said Kyle Upchur
USA - When Texas country artist Aaron Watson was planning the fall leg of his current Red Bandana Tour, the decision was to go native with Houston-based production company LD Systems. It was a “natural” decision and an “easy choice,” says lighting designer Anthony McCoy, who recently worked with the company with Watson’s shows at the Houston and San Antonio Rodeos, plus a few festivals. In business since 1975, LD Systems specialises in turning a sketch or key concept into a workable, real-world solution - be it for festivals, corporate events or concert tours. So when operations manager Bill Bowers saw a sketch of Aaron Watson’s design concept, he says, “We knew we had our work cut out for us.” Production manager Jared Miller created the design framework using the band’s Red Bandana album artwork for inspiration. “Jared’s idea was to
UK - James Bond tribute band, Q The Music is currently touring theatres across the country, accompanied by an Allen & Heath SQ digital mixing system and 13 “game-changing” ME-1 personal mixers. The current 13-piece band has been performing the 007 hits across prestigious venues, including the West End’s Adelphi Theatre, since 2014. Warren Ringham, who founded the show in 2004, opted for the SQ system after becoming frustrated with the lack of flexibility and reliability offered by other systems. “Our show and the demands on the production were getting bigger so we needed to upgrade. The SQ-6 arrived just at the right time. It had great reviews and did everything we needed and more.” The full setup for the show comprises SQ-6 on FOH, while an SQ-5 acts as a monitor desk for visiting engineers and FOH back-up. SLink and Dante option cards provide recording
UK – Australian three-piece alt dance group Rufus Du Sol headed to London’s Alexandra Palace for the headline performance of their Solace tour and their biggest UK show to date. In a statement, the band said: “We wanted to find somewhere big enough to host a night of electronic music with all the bells and whistles.” TSL Lighting was brought in to make this happen, specifying their latest investments to provide the pizazz befitting of Matthew Smith’s ambitious lighting design and production manager Jonathan Nelson’s requirements. Senior TSL project manager James Davies oversaw the equipment package creation and delivery, which included 25 of GLP’s award winning JDC1 hybrid strobe and control via the company’s new grandMA3 Light consoles, NPUs, a Luminex networking solution and a full rigging package utilising EXE Hoists. “TSL has heavily
UK - Audiovisual production supplier SFL provided a custom-built 10m wide projection screen and stage monitoring for Senbla’s latest film season - starting in September with Star Wars and finishing in December with Love Actually - which sees films screened in HD in venues around the UK, with live orchestras performing the films’ scores. “We supplied a 20m truss screen and our brand new 10m wide custom-built AV Stumpfl screen,” says SFL’s video and projects director, Craig Lawrence, who worked on the project alongside the company’s Sungho Jeong, Sam Wheeler, Paul Medley, Chris Gunner-Lucas, Adam Chisnall, Jack Roberts. “The screen was built specially for these tours at the aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which is specific to film. Projection was done using our Barco UDX and HDX projectors. We also provided onstage monitoring for the conductors and
UK - Shure worked with Wigwam to install a new audio system into the magnificent York Minster building. The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, more commonly known as York Minster, is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The historic Minster building is justifiably seen as a national treasure and unsurprisingly boasts Grade 1 listed status with Heritage England. Church leaders have been refurbishing and maintaining the building and an important part of the project was for the audio in the building to be crystal clear -- both for music and the spoken word. As a result, the installation of a new audio system was commissioned, and the entire sound system has been upgraded. The system had to accommodate the wide variety of uses the building hosts, often with two or more events taking place simultaneously. There are up to 2,500 pe
USA - Audinate, developer of the Dante media networking technology, worked with Utah State University to implement a Dante audio network that helps offer a series of online courses and live, interactive broadcasts where students can remotely attend live classroom presentations - and also communicate with the instructor. This is mission critical for the university in its effort to serve rural areas of Utah, where students may be unable to travel to campus for instruction. A major component to successfully bringing these presentations to all students is utilizing the latest AV technology - and that’s why Utah State University relies on Audinate’s Dante and Dante Domain Manager to ensure students are connected with crystal clear audio. Jim Wellings is the senior systems designer and programmer for the Academic and Instructional Services Department at Utah State Univer
USA - St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach, California has added Ayrton Khamsin-TC profile luminaires to its equipment inventory for worship services and special events. St Andrew’s has been in the Newport Beach community for about 70 years and is known as a neighbourhood church with global impact. It holds three weekend worship services, both modern and classic, and maintains a staff to handle AV production needs. “It’s been our long-term goal to offer live streaming on the internet, and our recent camera and lighting purchases are designed to aid us in live streaming services and events,” says Erik Alkire, lighting designer at St Andrew’s. The church has six Panasonic cameras, four of them remotely controlled by the technical director and two manned on tripods. Its extensive lighting complement includes 90 conventional fixtures plus some
South Africa - Few holiday traditions are more treasured in Joburg, South Africa than the annual pantomime, held at The Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein. This year, writer, director and South Africa’s queen of pantomime, Janice Honeyman has brought to stage the story of country boy Jack the Joller, and his adventures with a family cow, some magic beans, an enormous beanstalk, an unfriendly giant and an enchanted hen that lays golden eggs. Long-standing technical manager at the Joburg Theatre and industry veteran, Enos Ramoroko, points out that the panto is one of the biggest draws for the Joburg theatre over the December holidays, and is a highlight in the year for cast and crew alike. “The characters on stage are always larger than life, and everyone has a leading role. In some productions, you can switch the followspot from one lead to another –
