USA - The recently-opened Mandrake has already established itself as a popular staple of the Miami Beach dining and nightlife scene. In addition to a variety of sushi and pan-Asian cuisine prepared by executive chef Jimmy Gallagher, the restaurant is known for its over-the-top décor, including a life-sized gorilla to greet the patrons and bright fuchsia-coloured lighting. Equally important for the restaurant’s ambiance, it also features a Martin Audio CDD sound system installed by Miami’s AVL Innovations (AVLI). Asked about the audio component, AVLI’s James Reed explains: “Mandrake has several floors and multiple rooms. There’s a sushi bar in the front room where we used eight Martin Audio CDD8’s mounted on the wall along with four SX210 subwoofers built into the banquettes; then there’s a hallway leading to the main dining room with two CDD8’s.” The
Spain - With over 50 albums recorded and the unusual distinction of being awarded a ‘uranium’ disc, singer Raphael is one of the most successful Spanish performers in in the country’s recent history. Still touring in his mid-1970s, a Yamaha Rivage PM7 digital mixing system is currently showcasing his greatest hits in a new orchestral tour. Since his career began in 1962, Raphael’s distinctive voice and performance style have made him an iconic figure amongst Spanish performers. 50m sales of compilation album Ayer, Hoy y Siempre saw record company Hispavox award him a ‘uranium’ disc for the achievement. Having performed in most of the world’s leading venues over nearly 60 years, he is still a very popular live performer. His current RESinphónico tour began in December 2018 and is booked to continue into 2020, with shows at major venues in Spain, Russia,
South Africa - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer Astera has announced DWR Distribution as its exclusive distributor in South Africa. It is understood that the agreement will include other southern and central African countries. DWR is headquartered in Johannesburg and has bases in Cape Town and Durban as well as extensive contacts across southern and central Africa. The company is headed by Duncan Riley, Robert Izzett and Bruce Riley and supplies an array of brands and products and equipment for the entertainment and architectural sectors which includes lighting, audio, AV and staging. “I am hugely excited,” comments Astera’s sales and marketing director, Sebastian Bückle. “I think the African and South African markets are vibrant and full of potential and I have heard so many great things from around the industry about DWR and their incredible custome
USA - Dustin Klein has the philosophy that the primary goal of a lighting designer is to bring music to life by creating a visual space for the band. For his recent work on Papadosio’s second annual Summer Sequence at the Pisgah Brewing Company, part of creating this space relied on weaving the lighting around the band’s music to tell a visual story. Klein relied on a variety of Chauvet DJ fixtures to transport the audience to another dimension, one ruled by the genre-bending music of the band. Placing six Chauvet DJ Intimidator Wash Zoom 450 IRC fixtures on the upstage truss facing outward allowed for an even spread of wash that created depth and shaping on stage. “I ran the Intimidator 450s in their highest channel mode, in order to chase the individual pixels and tie together the different sections of the light in full rig color wipes and
USA - Kelly Clarkson, the singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the 2002 American Idol, has recently been a regular coach on The Voice and is set to host The Kelly Clarkson Show in September. She also hit the road earlier this year to play venues across the US on her first tour in nearly four years. Lighting design for the Meaning of Life outing was by Roy Bennett, who employed an overhead grid of 120 Elation DARTZ 360 LED fixtures to accentuate nearly all aspects of the highly entertaining show. Key design elements of the set included a VIP bar that surrounded the B-stage to enhance the party environment, and a large upstage video screen that displayed a variety of content including heavy amounts of I-Mag. The DARTZ, housed in 10 overhead lines of truss, 12 fixtures per truss, complemented both in Bennett’s cohesive design. "Th
South Africa - The Rivers Church in Sandton decided to open a new place of worship to maintain the growth and comfort of their congregants. Their new location, formerly known as Theatre on the Track in Kyalami, is an old theatre turned conference venue, designed with holding people in mind. The venue needed an overhaul and DWR Distribution, with the help of the Install Crew, completely stripped and renovated the old technical installation from top to bottom, making it look fresh and professional and adhering to the Church’s aesthetic standards. Edward Helliwell, technical manager from the Rivers Church, was adamant on having a top-notch lighting LED based lighting system, which was supplied and installed by DWR. This includes eight Robin LEDWash 600s, six Claypaky Axcor Beam 300s and four Robe DL4S Profiles which come from the Sandton branch. These all serve a very s
USA - An SQ-7 digital mixer from Allen & Heath now serves as the cornerstone of production technologies at the Academy of Modern Music Production (AMMP). Working in tandem with Ableton Live 10 music sequencer and digital audio workstation software, the SQ-7 brings a new level of control to the Mesa, Arizona-based learning centre. “We’re more than a project studio, and different from a university or any other conventional school,” says AMMP founder and all-round ambassador Brandon Mandy. “What sets us apart is that we focus on teaching what it means to be an artist first, all while demonstrating everything else needed to succeed from technical to marketing skills.” What sets this SQ-7 installation apart from all others is its deep integration with Ableton 10 Live, something - to the best of Mandy’s knowledge - that has never been done quite like this
UK - Specialist equipment supplier and production house, Light Fantastic Production Services have applied their stock of Robe MegaPointe fixtures to a variety of prestigious live events. Having made a significant investment in Robe MegaPointe fixtures to extend their growing lighting inventory, Light Fantastic has been keeping these versatile, powerful fixtures busy throughout the Spring season. LFPS director, Rob Myer, says: “We have a long-standing relationship with Robe so naturally we are delighted with the performance of our MegaPointes. Over the past few months we have been making great use of them on a host of projects, from creating aerial searchlight effects and gobo projection across building facades to adding incredible theatrical looks to prestigious large-scale live events, including a particularly spectacular product launch installation on a roof at C
USA - The Brooklyn Tabernacle, designed in 1918 by Thomas Lamb, the architect of the original Madison Square Garden across the East River in Manhattan, flourished for years as the Lowe’s Metropolitan, one of the leading vaudeville theatres of its day. Today, after being rescued from disrepair by the church, the building resonates with the uplifting energy of Pastor Jim Cymbala’s Sunday services, special events throughout the week, and performances by the six-time Grammy winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, which is directed by the pastor’s wife, Carol. Supporting these activities are immersive lighting and video displays that would have been impossible to imagine back in the building’s vaudeville theatre days. Running the lighting and video system is a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium, installed in early 2019 by lighting designer Abner Torres of Out of Darkness Desi
USA - Penn’s Peak is a popular 1,800-capacity entertainment facility in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, only tells half the story. Set in beautiful surroundings, its auditorium, plays host to a wide range of national and international artists. Recently, the production team at Penn’s Peak took the decision to install a new sound system in the auditorium. The team chose a system based around Coda Audio AiRAY, supplied by Pennsylvania-based Saturn Systems. The existing system at the venue was undersized and underpowered for what is a large, open, acoustically challenging space. Penn’s Peak is characterised by its predominantly wooden interior, the acoustics of which alter drastically when the hall is empty at soundchecks and full at showtime. The areas under the balconies on either side of the hall had also presented problems. The team was aware that the experience of pat
Colombia - Teatro Colón Bogotá, Colombia’s national theatre, finished the last stage of a four-year renovation with the addition of 10 ADB Stagelight Klemantis AS 1000 cyc lights and 10 Axcor Profile 900 fixtures provided by Audio Concept de Colombia. “In selecting the Axcor Profile 900s, we outlined the needs of the luminaires based on certain parameters - they must be spots, have blades, CRI, and, above all, must be LEDs,” says Leonardo Murcia Buitrago, the theatre’s lighting manager. “We compared the technical specifications of all the brands we looked at and without hesitation went with Claypaky. The Axcor Profile 900s give us a great temperature. The curve is so natural and exponential.” “The new Klemantis cyc lights have the most wonderful colour curvature and dimmer, perfect for theatre,” he adds. “We included the fixtures in all of our
UK - The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) has recently benefited from the implementation of a K-array Anakonda and Kobra loudspeaker system supplied by UK distributor 2B Heard. Following a K-array demonstration and training day conducted by 2B Heard directors Dave Wooster and Sam Nankivell, the audio staff at LIPA were impressed with the range of solutions that the Italian loudspeaker brand offers, and decided to take the opportunity for third year live sound students to use K-array systems on a production of <IRomeo and Juliet in the 400-seat Paul McCartney Auditorium. Students were given a strict brief to minimise the visual impact of the sound system, while at the same time delivering clarity and consistency throughout the audience area at an SPL appropriate for the dance-based nature of the show. “The sound system had to be as discreet as possibl
UK - Creation Live started working with Fly Events on their inaugural Fly Open Air dance promotion in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens back in September 2016. By the time the event arrived at the 17th century stately home, Hopetoun House, the following May they had adopted sister company VME’s Martin Audio MLA, aware of all the sensitivities of presenting an EDM event in the 6500-acre grounds of a historic building overlooking the River Forth, which separates Edinburgh from Fife. Since then, the event has blossomed, more than doubling the original Hopetoun House attendance to 8,500 per day this year, and increasing the inventory of award-winning loudspeaker elements accordingly. Creation Live’s Tom Whittle, who heads the event and production company which this year will see them execute 300 plus events of varying sizes, described the event as “absolute
Spain - The International Music Summit Ibiza (IMS) is a comprehensive event dedicated to promoting awareness of and appreciation for electronic music. Created in 2007, when it was presented by Pete Tong as a platform to inspire debate and discussion, the Summit has since grown to be widely regarded as a leading platform for thought and leadership in the electronic music sphere. The 2019 edition took place over five days in May and welcomed industry leaders, influencers and newcomers to participate in a series of talks, presentations, socials and performances, spread across a number of venues on the island. Curated in partnership with shesaid.so, the global network of women in the music industry, this year’s programme focused on mental health, diversity and examining club culture within the objective of developing new strategies to address these important issues. The
USA - It’s been a year since Tomcat and JTE joined Area Four Industries America in a 25,000sq.ft shared office and warehouse space in Thousand Oaks, California. At this location, the companies have been able to provide their customers on or near the west coast of the US and Canada with faster delivery, local customer service, and full technical support. The Tomcat and JTE factory in Knoxville, Tennessee, supplies the warehouse with the most popular sizes and lengths of Tomcat and JTE products to ensure their customers’ orders are packed up and shipped out efficiently. The west coast office team includes Adrian Forbes-Black, vice-president of sales and marketing, supported by Douglas Debusschere and Gene Matera, both western regional sales managers. Also ready to serve is the newest addition to the team, Sean Carr, who is a sales and customer service represen
Sweden - Despite having worked with Swedish House Mafia’s Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso in a one-off show in San Francisco, when the time came, Vision Factory production designer, Sam Tozer nevertheless had to pitch for the gig (read full production report in LSi June). At the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium gig he had gone heavy on GLP’s popular impression X4 20 Bars and equally en-vogue JDC1 hybrid strobes, and that same formula worked for him again at the house legends’ comeback shows at Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena. It quickly became clear that this would be no ordinary EDM experience. Assisted by LD, Alex Hess, he says: “I already knew the feel of the performance the boys would want to create, so the
Spain - Pacha’s Destino Resort in Ibiza revamped its entire outdoor DJ stage and club for the 2018 season, installing a complete d&b GSL system to increase sound quality and volume inside the resort while reducing noise pollution for nearby neighbours. Perched on a clifftop at Cap Martinet above the resort of Talamanca, Pacha-owned Destino resort offers stunning views over Ibiza Old Town. For summer season 2018, the resort launched with a new, wooden arched stage and half-dome covering, revamped VIP and outdoor dancefloor spaces, and a d&b GSL System. A customised DJ booth takes centre stage, flanked by six GSL tops each side, consisting of four GSL8 and four GSL12, and 10 SL-GSUBs stacked directly beneath in a distributed sub array for a total control of the LF dispersion beam. For monitoring, the DJs are hearing four V-GSUBs and a pair of V7Ps. Fres
The Netherlands - Andre Beekmans, lighting designer with The Art of Light, used Ayrton’s Ghibli LED spot fixtures to create a lightscape on and around the main stage at A State of Trance festival in The Netherlands this year in celebration of ASOT 900. A State of Trance (ASOT) is the weekly radio show of award-winning DJ Armin van Buuren and the largest trance network in the world. Every year the 50th episode is celebrated with a major live concert in The Netherlands, with smaller satellite events in other countries around the world. This spring marked the 900th show, which was celebrated in front of a 35,000 capacity audience at the Jaarbeurs Centre in van Buuren’s hometown of Utrecht, designed and operated by The Art of Light, and promoted by Alda Events. Lighting designer Beekmans chose 65 Ayrton Ghibli, supplied by Ampco Flashlight, as the main spot fix
UK - The fast-developing Farmer J health food concept opened its second operation recently in the City of London in a strategic new development opposite Monument Station, at the entrance to London Bridge. An all-day operation, it serves breakfasts and lunches on fieldtrays, with all food cooked on site using fresh ingredients. As it moves into the evening session for cocktails and dinner the atmosphere changes again. To keep the mood constantly evolving during the different trading patterns, owner Jonathan Recanati wanted a subtle, but high-quality sound system. Evolve Install had already undertaken some work at the original Farmer J in Leadenhall, boosting the original sound system there with some JBL Control 25-1. “And that primarily won us the contract for the full fit-out here,” explains director Elliot Patterson. Working alongside music providers and cu
South Africa - Selby’s Productions has been servicing the events and conferencing world since 1980 and most recently, the company upraded its offering with the addition of an L-Acoustics Kara system. The purchase of the long-throw Kara modular line source loudspeaker system is part of a larger plan for Selby’s to move fully to L-Acoustics as their choice of loudspeaker. This choice was two years in the making, according to the Durban branch manager Wayde Sparks. “Richard Smith from DWR Distribution and I had been talking about the Kara for a while, and when it came time for us to upgrade our PA system it was my first option. I have been to the demos for most of the big players in this field, and the truth is, nothing else really compares for me.” As a company Selby’s focus a lot on the conferencing world, and this involves spaces of varying size. “The versa
UK - AV and event production company Blitz has installed loudspeaker equipment from EM Acoustics to ExCeL London’s ICC auditorium. The equipment forms part of the auditorium’s in-house equipment so any clients using the space will be able to benefit from this installation as part of their tenancy. The kit list from supplier EM Acoustics includes equipment from the company’s new Halo Arena line. Jeremy Rees, CEO at ExCeL London, comments: “At ExCeL, we recognise the importance of delivering innovative events that provide a truly immersive, memorable experience. Increasingly technology is at the core of that approach. We are delighted that Blitz has chosen ExCeL to install this high-spec system, enabling us to deliver an enhanced experience, within our Auditorium, to our varied portfolio of clients including agencies, corporates, associations and exhibiti
USA - Australian burlesque Star Wars parody The Empire Strips Back has just completed its most extensive North American tour to date, also visiting Canada for the first time, complete with a suitably boisterous lightshow designed by Peter Rubie, featuring 30 Robe Spiider LED wash beams as the core moving light fixtures. The show has delighted audiences since it launched at the Vanguard Theatre in Sydney in 2011. Peter has been involved with the show for the last four years, taking over from original lighting designer Ross Graham. Since then, it has evolved into the performance spectacle it is today including new acts and songs, and in 2018, a complete refresh of the lighting rig. It was at this stage that Peter decided to replace the previous LED wash lights with Robe’s latest generation Spiider - a fixture known for its power, smooth colour mixin
USA - Hung on five 30ft truss fingers that rise at a 30° angle as they go from upstage toward the audience, the Chauvet Professional Nexus Aw 7x7 fixtures at the heart of Greta Van Fleet’s lighting rig allude to a plane taking flight. Eric Cathcart, the band’s lighting designer, has a first-hand appreciation of this dizzying trajectory. The owner of Bigtime Lighting Design, Cathcart was with the quartet on some of their earliest touring a little over a year ago. Back then everything, including lighting, audio gear and the backline (not to mention the band), fit on a single bus and trailer. Today, a Grammy Award win and a slew of No. 1 hits later, the band’s caravan is considerably larger at five vehicles. Cathcart’s rig, with its 100 Nexus panels, which, like the rest of the fixtures, were supplied by Primer Global Productions, sprang to life with the kind of
Italy - Showman and superstar Vasco Rossi - Il Blasco - returned with another Live Kom tour, including six sold out nights at Milan’s San Siro stadium with a performance to match his profile. Leading the creative production team was lighting designer Giovanni Pinna, who has worked with the artist for many years as part of a team ensuring that the live shows are constantly exciting, interesting and innovative and meet the massive public expectations each year. A master of making impressions - Giovanni chose to use over 340 Robe moving lights - 152 x MegaPointes, 122 x Spiiders and 72 x LEDBeam 150s - to assist in the visual impact. Video screens / content director and disguise server operator Marco Piva and disguise tech whizz Nicolas Di Fonzo worked directly for Giovanni who also collaborated closely with live camera director Peppe Romano from Except to create
