Europe - Popular UK band The Kooks have just completed the latest UK and European leg of an ongoing world tour in support of their fifth studio album, Lets Go Sunshine, released late last summer. Jordon Cooper of Moth Lights is their lighting designer and lighting equipment for this latest tour was supplied by LCR including 69 x Robe LEDBeam 150s and 32 x Spiider LED wash beam as the moving lights, plus a pair of BMFL WashBeams being controlled by a RoboSpot remote follow spotting system. Jordon has worked with the band since the album launch last year. He was recommended by their stage manager Will Matthews with whom he’d previously worked on Band of Skulls, and when he and The Kooks production manager Dave Skelton saw Jordon’s design for Skindred at Brixton Academy, it confirmed his credentials as well as his talents as a designer and he was offered The Ko
UK - Production designer, Tom Campbell used multiples of GLP’s award-winning impression X4 Bar 20s, as well as the new FR1 compact automated light and innovative KNV Cubes in a GLP-dominated stage when guitar-dominated band The Hunna played a small UK tour of mostly O2 Academy theatres recently. The MIRRAD lighting designer, who has been working with the band for the past two years, adopted completely different scenography from that used when the band last played Brixton Academy in January 2018. “We started from scratch this time,” Tom Campbell confirms. “We wanted to drive video content but without using a video wall or projection - instead doing something a bit more obscure.” His solution was to light the back wall with 48 of the X4 Bar 20s, pixel-mapped into an Avolites Ai Q3 video server, provided by MIRRAD (while Liteup Productions supplied the Bar 20’
USA - Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. seats 20,000 fans and is home to the Washington Capitals NHL hockey team, the Washington Wizards NBA basketball team, and the Georgetown NCAA men’s basketball team. As of late, the arena had been feeling the effects of the age of its original sound reinforcement system that was installed two decades ago. Headquartered two hours away in Manheim, Pennsylvania, national AVL integration firm Clair Solutions embraced the task of modernising the Capital One Arena with the installation of new EAW self-powered Anna and Otto adaptive line array elements, complete with custom flown equipment racks. Clair Solutions managed the project without a hiccup on a short lead time. “Capital One Arena’s previous sound reinforcement system was 20 years old,” explained Jim Devenney, Clair Solutions senior systems designer. “It lacked cla
Israel - MA Lighting was once again the control solution of choice for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest staged at the Tel Aviv Expo Centre which featured lighting design created by Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay. Fifteen grandMA2 consoles graced the FOH technical area, controlling 71,061 parameters and a mix of over 2,500 light sources and LED fixtures. These were lighting the main stage – another elegant design by Florian Wieder – the auditorium and the green room. MA was chosen by several on the creative and technical team co-ordinated by ESC’s head of production Ola Melzig, including Jack Collins, the event’s lighting systems and control specialist who has worked on several ESCs in recent years. “The multiuser functionality and ability to control every fixture from every console and to alter fixture types to suit your needs were two big advantag
Europe - Universal Pixels provided video packages for Spice Girls in Dublin, Snow Patrol in Bangor, and The Chemical Brothers in London across an action-packed Spring Bank Holiday weekend. The video specialist supplied over 1,450m2 of LED screen, multiple 3G camera packages, disguise GX2 servers, and a total of 26 crew over the three shows. When it comes to big shows like this, the devil is in the detail, explained Universal Pixel’s Phil Mercer: “We know from many years of experience in delivering large-scale shows and tours that pre-planning and the correct preparation before equipment and crew get onsite is fundamental. We pay close attention to each project and simplify things wherever we can, so that everything runs as smoothly as possible.” Kicking off on Friday 24 May, the hotly anticipated Spice Girls comeback show at Dublin’s Croke Park welcomed an audi
Ireland - The first convention centre designed from the outset to be carbon-neutral, the multi award-winning Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD) opened in 2010. It has since become a landmark on the Dublin skyline while its world-class facilities, technical infrastructure and central location make it attractive to a wide range of international clients. Twenty-two separate, individually-configurable spaces are available for meetings and events of all kinds. At its heart is a 2,000-capacity auditorium (featuring a full theatrical production specification) in addition to a capacious exhibition space, extensive banqueting facilities, a further large theatre space in the Forum and six spacious areas in the magnificent glass-fronted foyer. Autograph Sales & Installations were recently approached to provide an upgrade path to the venue’s existing Clear-Com communications
Israel - The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 (ESC) has been an extraordinary showcase of Italy, thanks to the great singing show of runner-up Mahmood and the high-quality performance of the DTS products. For the first time, DTS fixtures were chosen for the ESC: 376 Katana LED bars were shining in the main hall with their “blade of light” and 48 Synergy 5 Profile were installed in the Green Room. Lighting designer Ronen Najar says of the DTS products, “We hung the KATANA around the stage and above the crowd. KATANA was the perfect fixture for continuing the triangle ceiling design and completing the lines from the triangle video strip. With the new module designed for us we used the KATANA all the time. SYNERGY was hung in the Green Room and helped us to duplicate the feeling from the main venue. We were very happy and all units worked without problems.” The
France - Le Moulin Rouge, the emblematic cabaret of Parisian nights and entertainment since 1889, recently renewed its followspots and chose Alice, the latest in Robert Juliat's generation of LED followspots. Three new Robert Juliat Alice 600W LED followspots have recently joined the iconic Moulin Rouge revue, Féerie. This show, which has been on the bill for 19 years, tells the story of the Moulin Rouge over two hours of amazement and spectacle, mixing dance scenes and variety acts. Every evening, a dream world is invented on stage with 60 artists, 1000 feather costumes, crystals and sequins, exceptional performances, sumptuous sets and original French music, not to mention the famous French-cancan. Robert Juliat’s Alice followspots have found their place in this legendary venue, installed on a technical bridge, from where they cover distances of 15m to 30m across
UK - Stage Electrics has supplied the Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen, Wales, with a lighting control upgrade alongside additional staging. The theatre, part of the Carmarthen Theatres Group, was seeking a lighting control solution that offered professional grade programming power, along with the ability to integrate into other systems, making transitioning between desks simple. “ETC’s Ion Xe was the obvious choice for the Lyric Theatre,” comments Neal Tomlinson, technical sales consultant at Stage Electrics. “We sought out a solution that offered flexibility, whilst being able to work coherently with the grade of fixtures coming through the venue. This theatre hosts a number of touring shows, so compatibility was a must.” Looking to further expand their offerings to touring shows, in terms of space, the theatre has invested in a Prolyte LiteDeck staging
Israel - The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was hosted by Israel at the Expo Tel Aviv and boasted over 700 Ayrton fixtures in its massive lighting rig. Set designer, Florian Wieder, and Tel Aviv-based lighting designers, Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay created individual looks for each of the 41 competing countries. Wieder’s stage design was based on triangles and the number 12 - important symbols for Israel - while Najar and Azulay chose a large number and variety of lighting fixtures which allowed them to create enough unique looks to handle a show of this size and diversity. Key to their enormous and extremely adaptable design were over 700 LED lighting fixtures from Ayrton. “Our main idea was to maintain the special stage design developed by Florian,” explains Najar. “We therefore chose to use a significant amount of Ayrton MagicBlades to create new geom
Belgium - Ancienne Belgique is steeped in musical history and is one of Brussels' most revered live music venues. A multi-application space spanning several floors and incorporating two live rooms and a recording studio, it’s often the first stop on the touring calendar for international acts, as well as a hotspot for up and coming local bands. Over the last 18 months, the venue has invested in two DiGiCo consoles in a bid to stay as flexible as possible: first, an SD5, which sits at monitor position and most recently, an SD12 which is now the venue's go-to FOH board. “All of our crew are capable of doing everything, and what's nice is that we are also interchangeable between the main hall and the club,” opens Ancienne Belgique's technical manager Mark Vrebos. “For example, a rock and roll show might be all-standing and full to the brim, but if we have jazz mus
USA - After outgrowing its long-time location in Tustin, California, Calvary Chapel Tustin (CCT) moved to nearby Santa Ana in 2015 leasing the main sanctuary from the First Church of the Nazarene. The two churches co-exist on the property with CCT occupying the 700-seat main sanctuary and First Nazarene holding services in the recently remodelled chapel. Based on the success of BESA-Bowls Engineering Sound & Acoustics’ recent sound system upgrades at Wildwood Calvary Chapel in Yucaipa, California, CCT contracted the design-build firm in early 2018 to facilitate much needed audio upgrades. BESA founder and senior sound designer, Darren Bowls, worked through a sound design that addressed the extremely high ceilings, split-block wall surfaces, and the voluminous nature of the room. Bowls felt CCT would benefit from a similar equipment combination he first implemented at W
UK - With less than 30 hours from load-in to showtime in a 600-capacity theatre, Orbital Sound’s Mike Thacker needed true plug-and-play functionality from his audio production package of Yamaha control systems and Nexo Geo M10 mid-size line array. Mike Thacker, Orbital Sound’s head of education, was commissioned to creatively design and facilitate the audio systems for a production of Starlight Express by the Coventry Youth Operetta Group. The assignment was a challenging one. The 65 young artistes of the YOG, many of them wearing radio mics, would be performing on roller-skates, dancing and singing on a track that encircled the stalls of the Albany Theatre. “Yes, right in front of the PA,” explains Thacker. “My main concern was whether we would be able to get enough gain before feedback.” The one-man audio crew took just 90 minutes to load in and ri
USA - Howards Grove is a small community and suburb of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Howards Grove High School serves over 300 students from Howards Grove and nearby communities. Its music department is well-developed and extremely active, with three choirs, and concert, jazz, symphonic, and marching bands. It also has an active drama department that puts on a performance every year. Surprisingly, Howards Grove High School made do for years without an auditorium of its own by appropriating the gymnasium, the cafeteria, classrooms, or even neighbouring schools’ auditoriums. That’s all changed now with the completion of its own 450-seat auditorium adjacent to the gymnasium, complete with the high-fidelity and even coverage of Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers. “The students at Howards Grove High School are very active in the performing arts, especially musi
UK - Following the release of their studio album Ephyra, Woman’s Hour brought their musical journey to a close with a final show in their hometown, before parting ways to work on separate projects. The band performed a farewell concert at The Dome in Tufnell Park, London, on Friday 22 March. Creating an appropriately ethereal vibe for the concert was a production concept that drew on simple, but impactful imagery, while it played with negative space. Created by David Howard, and based entirely on lighting, this design was controlled by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console. Forming the foundation of the band’s entire stage aesthetic was an illuminated structure of a house. The aim of the house was to provide a softly-lit space that the dancers and band could interact with, perform inside and use to show contrast and progression over the course of the show.
USA - Sprint Centre, a flexible arena in downtown Kansas City, has recently reached out to local integrator Digital Sound Systems, Inc. (DSS) to explore options for updating its arena sound system used for sporting events. DSS was tasked with updating portions of the arena’s control room, as well as audio and video facilities. After thorough research and consideration, DSS was able to provide Sprint Centre with an entirely new front-line sound system, including new speakers, subs and amplifiers, thanks to the powerful and cost-effective solutions provided by L-Acoustics Kara(i) loudspeakers, SB18i subwoofers, and LA4X amplified controllers. “Sprint Centre consistently ranks as one of the top venues in the US, so it was important for us to make sure that we were advising them on the best plan of action for years to come,” says DSS CEO Jeremy Dixon. “A simple am
UK - Wakefield-based Backstage Academy recently presented a graduation showcase, which saw third-year students assessed across five presentations. The students were assessed in a project-based environment, with each team working under a project manager. The event was supported by many industry partners, some of whom had arrived fresh from attending PLASA Focus Leeds. Vice-principal Rachel Nicholson explained the idea of designing real world concepts - effectively transforming black box studio/stages into coruscating jewels - had grown out of the Live Visual Design & Production course. “It’s the first time we’ve presented the work in this fashion,” she confirms. “The team looked back at last year and decided they wanted more scope to visualise. Our live visual design course has always been project based, so we adapted that to the other courses - which seem
UK - On Joe Bonamassa’s current world tour, system engineer Michael Grabarczyk relies on Outline’s Newton FPGA-based processing platform. Bonamassa played a three-night residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall in April as part of his European spring tour, for which Adlib provided a full audio package, including part of their Newton stock. Michael comments, “Newton is an extremely capable device. A single 1RU unit replaces a multitude of current industry standard devices. The clocking flexibility, simplistic routing, and plentiful IO makes Newton a dream to use. Each output has gain, delay, polarity, layers of EQ, and every filter type including both types of all pass filters. The possible uses for the device are incredible. “Not only can the Newton make a whole rack of gear disappear, but sonically it is very transparent. When applying a filter, you hear the f
Ireland - AC-ET Ireland has been supplying Prolights StudioCOB FC LED PARs across the country following demand for eco-friendly, yet high quality, lighting solutions. This full colour LED PAR has become an increasingly popular fixture amongst a variety of venues, including the Dunamaise Arts Centre and Siamsa Tíre. The Dunamaise Arts Centre, situated in Portlaoise, is comprised of workshops, a gallery, a café and a 240-seat theatre. The centre hosts a range of national and international performances including live music, theatre productions and dance shows. Siamsa Tíre, in Tralee, is home to the National Folk Theatre of Ireland. Across the summer the centre hosts a variety of folk theatre productions, leaving the rest of the year for a wide range of different events including touring drama, classical music, comedy, dance and opera along with productions by lo
UK - White Light has recently supplied new LED lighting packages to two ATG venues: Aylesbury Waterside and the Grand Opera House York. When Stuart Graham, head of technical operations at Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), was looking to begin an LED upgrade at the group’s venues, he contacted WL. WL’s business development manager Jonathan Haynes comments: “Stuart got in touch saying that ATG wanted to implement an LED upgrade and had chosen two theatres as a starting point: Aylesbury Waterside and Grand Opera House York. The organisation wanted to upgrade its offering to support its diverse range of productions, as well as reduce the energy consumption of the house equipment in order to make the rig as green as possible.” WL was asked to put together an LED upgrade package. This meant substituting the tungsten rig with LED, replacing the overhead and cyc li
UK - London-based technical event specialists Light Fantastic Production Services supported Voxburner with a full design and technical solution for YMS London. YMS LDN is Europe’s largest youth marketing festival, part of a series of global events demystifying the changing trends, habits and attitudes of the consumers of the future. Held over two days at the Old Truman Brewery, YMS19 LDN was the largest Youth Marketing Strategy event to date, welcoming almost 2,000 delegates and over 150 speakers. Working closely with Voxburner to deliver an engaging visitor experience, Light Fantastic Production Services provided a comprehensive equipment and support package covering all technical elements, including lighting, audio, video, set and staging. Commenting on the show, LFPS project manager Andrew Maxted says: “Handling all aspects of the technical requireme
France - Printemps des Vins de Blaye is more than a celebration of fine wines, it is also an event that offers visitors an opportunity to savour enchanting sights of natural beauty and historical significance. Located north of Bordeaux on the banks of the Gironde estuary, the village of Blaye traces its roots back to pre-Roman times and is the home to evocative ancient ruins. It provides an idyllic setting for this popular festival, held in a region that is known for its Côtes de Blaye red wine. Contributing to the sense of splendour at this year’s wine-lover’s event was the richly coloured light from Chauvet Professional Rogue R3 Spot fixtures, supplied and installed by Societe ALS (Animation Loisirs Sonorisation). The company, which has been lighting the festival for the past three years, decided to use its recently acquired Rogue units to add colour and vibran
USA - Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas just kicked off his solo Chip Tooth Tour with an all Elation lighting rig specified, designed and programmed by Benoit Richard. Richard, who has worked with Matchbox Twenty since 2000 and has designed Rob Thomas’ first two solo tours, serves as production and lighting designer on the outing. Lighting vendor is Bandit Lites of Nashville with lighting direction and additional programming by Patrick Hayes. “My goal has always been to deliver a visual experience that is very 'clean & classy' and also offers forward thinking ideas by using new and exciting lighting technologies,” comments Richard, who has created plenty of visually stunning moments in the show, reinforcing hits from Thomas’ solo career as well as a few songs from Matchbox Twenty. “The toughest part is to avoid repeating key gags and effects more
South Korea - At a recent a stadium show in Seoul, the LA Philharmonic Orchestra took the music of celebrated composer John Williams to new level, incorporating giant screen projection and an epic soundscape provided by L-Acoustics L-ISA Hyperreal Sound technology. The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (aka 'LA Phil'), led by music & artistic director Gustavo Dudamel, has been celebrating its 100th year with the 2018/19 LA Phil 100 centennial programme. The season includes runs at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, the free Celebrate LA open-air festival, and a global tour that includes seven residencies in seven cities, and performances on three continents. That journey started with LA Phil's 2019 Spring tour of Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, and included a landmark performance of film music by John Williams in the Seoul Olympic Park Gymnastics
