Germany - Berlin-based Complete Audio, the first adopters of Martin Audio’s MLA platform anywhere in the world back in 2010, continue to impress their clients with the system. They have been providing sound reinforcement for German rapper, singer, producer and DJ Alligatoah for many years, and recently completed the mainly sold-out Wie Zuhause Tour 2019 of arenas. Alligatoah was promoting both his new album, Schlafenabletten Rotwein V, and performing classics from his archive. The artist’s FOH tech Claudio Malaguti is a big fan of MLA and he was given a massive inventory of Martin Audio enclosures to work with, including 38 MLA, four MLD Downfill, 20 MLX subwoofers and 24 MLA Compact enclosures. Venue capacities ranged from 8,000-18,000 (at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne), and therefore the rig was scalable. The left/right hangs consisted of between 12
USA - Michael Bublé’s world tour, An Evening With Michael Bublé, in celebration of his 10th studio album, Love, marks the singer’s return to touring after a two-year hiatus. It is a major production with an intense schedule, with 12 performances already taking place in just the first two weeks of the tour. The inaugural show opened at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Florida on 13 February, from where it will travel to arenas throughout North America until April, then on to Canada, Europe and Australia later in 2019, and onward into 2020. The show has a ‘big band’ feel to it and the elegant set, designed by international entertainment architects, Stufish, provides a stylish backdrop for the Canadian crooner. “It’s all aimed to focus on the man and his music,” explains Bublé’s long-term show and lighting designer, Kurt Wagner, who has worked with Bublé for the pa
India - Bangalore-based freelance lighting engineer, Guru Somayaji, recently worked on a production designing shows for premier local live music venue and festival / events production company, The Humming Tree. One recent show was the concert for rising Indie artiste, Prateek Kuhad, when PR Lighting fixtures unexpectedly came to the rescue. The design brief for the show was that it should be ‘minimal and space like’, and the visual brief was to bring together the stars through the signs of the Zodiac. The show was to have been operated by the artiste’s lighting engineer, Mumbai-based Abhishek Roy. “Using this brief, I wanted to design a rig that would have a lot of colour wash, and spots that would focus on key moments from various positions,” said the LD. “I settled on specifying 16 Spot fixtures, 24 Wash fixtures, 10 Profile Spots, eight Par Cans and fou
China - The One Yeah Pop Up+ Festival took place on 16-17 March in Xi’an, gathering China's pioneers in electronic music and rap, as well as Chinese traditional style, cool street ball and B-box. After deep consideration and careful selecting, the organiser chose NEXT-proaudio, which was supplied by Real Music Acoustics, local distributor of the Portuguese manufacturer. “The electronic music sound effects were controlled fantastically and the sound pressure with the LA212x line array was really amazing allowing all the audience to have a fantastic music experience,” comments Richie Wang, CEO of Real-Music. The system comprises more than 120 NEXT-pro audio speakers. The main hang adopts Next-Proaudio 's flagship product line array series, 15 LA212x per side, and 18 LAs418G per side stacked in front of the stage. Another nine LA212x per side for out-fill. 12
Mexico - Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Mexico 2019 took over Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack for two days of electronic dance music, multi-media art, and a charged carnival atmosphere. The flagship event for EDM-event promoters Insomniac, which takes place annually in Las Vegas as well as various other locations globally, drew over 120,000 participants and featured sets from many luminaries of the dance music scene including Alesso, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Kaskade, and Paul Van Dyk. In addition to its record-breaking attendance and stacked artist line-up, the festival also marked its fourth year of collaboration with Calgary, Alberta-based sound system manufacturer PK Sound, which provided the immense deployment for the kineticFIELD main stage. “We first became involved with Insomniac events at EDC Las Vegas 2015 when we provided
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) provided the Welsh National Opera with a new surtitling system utilising AlphaPIX2 by Prolights LED video panels. Welsh National Opera (WNO) was founded 75 years ago by a group of people from South Wales as an opera company that represented Wales as the ‘land of song’. With over 120 performances a year, the company now tours across Wales, England and internationally, with the aim to open up the world of opera to everyone. A key part of this is with the use of surtitles. Ian Jones, head of lighting and sound for WNO explains: “Surtitling has become a very important part of an opera performance. It provides an easy way for the audience to follow the libretto whilst enjoying the music and dramatic performance.” Ian was looking to upgrade the existing surtitling system; and after speaking with Chris Beardwell, tech
UK - Classical Spectacular, one of the UK’s most popular classical music showcases, returned to the Royal Albert Hall over the weekend to celebrate its 30th anniversary at the venue, backed by a major production featuring an indoor firework display, rifles and cannons. Lighting designer Durham Marenghi selected a variety of Claypaky fixtures for the Raymond Gubbay production. “Each season I create a different truss architecture to keep the show fresh for repeat customers,” says Marenghi who has worked on the production for 30 years. “In addition to being visually entertaining, the structure must create the correct positions for lighting the orchestra, choir, military bands, and solo singers without glare, so they can read their music.” Marenghi specified 16 x Claypaky Sharpy, 48 x Claypaky Sharpy Wash, 12 x Claypaky Scenius Spot, four Claypaky Scenius
China - Top Chinese names from their respective fields were appointed to stage the large-scale lighting and fireworks art performance A Warm Welcome to Friends from Afar. Director Zhang Yimou, stage designer Sha XiaoLan, sound engineer Jin Shaogang and music producer Laozai, supported by sound specialist EZPro, delivered the spectacular performance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Qingdao. The summit was chaired by the president of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, who welcomed leaders from SCO member countries around the world. EZPro handled the setup, commissioning and operation of the sound system, meeting the challenges of design and build in the show area that was adjacent to the sea. EZPro sound engineer and international project manager, Zheng Lungang, explains: “The system was installed for two months of typical seas
Belgium - As trampoline parks jump in popularity, proprietors seek new ways to stand out in an increasingly crowded market. For the owners of JumpSky, creating this point of distinction involved adding bright colour-mixing Chauvet DJ SlimPAR fixtures, installed by Wim Zwarts of DiverZe. “Our client wanted to create a better atmosphere in the trampoline park by enhancing the sound and light,” says Zwarts. “Being a former indoor tennis court, there were only general discharge lamps in the park, which limited the kind of looks they could create. I met with the client to present a total sound-and-light solution. From the lighting standpoint, the ability to create colourful, vibrant looks was a top priority.” To achieve this goal, Zwarts installed 76 SlimPAR Pro H USB and 26 SlimPAR T12 USB fixtures throughout the trampoline park. Flown on truss above the tram
Singapore - To create an enchanting ballroom experience for weddings and special events at their luxury hotel in Marina Bay, Pan Pacific Singapore hired Mynalight to design a dynamic LED ceiling installation using Martin by Harman VC-Dot 1 strips. Pan Pacific Hotels Group operates upscale hotels, resorts and serviced suites throughout Asia Pacific and North America for the redesigned 800-capacity ballroom Pan Pacific Singapore wanted to create an immersive and customizable lighting experience for thematic weddings and events. Pan Pacific Singapore hired Mynalight to design and deploy a LED lighting installation in the ballroom ceiling that could complement the elegant colour schemes, table settings and flower arrangements of the hotel’s wedding themes. "Lighting the ballroom for Pan Pacific Singapore was an ambitious project, which we approached in our uniquely coll
USA - Progressive rockers Tauk began their national Let It Be tour on 31 January at the Portland House of Music, running through a June appearance at Michigan’s Electric Forest Festival. Supporting the band’s long, winding riffs, as they take audiences on a mind-expanding journey, is a bright, and distinctly original, Scott Light lightshow anchored by Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Beam fixtures. Positioned on truss columns ranging from 1.5ft to 6.5ft in height, the 10 Rogue R1 Beam units in Light’s rig create an intricate matrix of overlapping beams across the stage. Shot in different directions and from varying heights, light from the 132W fixtures creates alternating areas of intense brightness and dark space, an effect that reinforces the shifting reality spirit of the band’s sci-fi inspired sound. This effect is amplified by the Rogue R1 Beam
Europe - French-Israeli singer-songwriter Amir is currently making his way through France and Belgium as part of his latest 2019 European live tour. Backing up the artist on FOH duties is engineer Ivan Herceg, with David Chancereul on monitors; both using SSL Live consoles. Supplied by Dushow, the set up includes an SSL L500 handling monitors, with Herceg opting for the smaller SSL L200, as it has performed so well for him on previous outings. Amir's tour is playing across sizeable arenas and Herceg is happy the L200 is more than up to the job. “I love these 36 faders, and have found the L200 very good for me overall,” he explains. “So I can tour with the L200 easily, and it sounds fantastic.” Herceg says it’s not only the overall smoothness of sound and presence of the instruments in the mix, but also that 'in your face' feel that he seems to be able t
Belgium - Rock band Triggerfinger played four highly energised, sold-out shows at the Roma concert hall in Antwerp, marking the European live performance debut of Robe’s new SuperSpikie moving light. The band’s lighting designer is Erwin van Lokeren and the lighting and audio equipment was supplied by rental specialist Splendit. The SuperSpikies were part of their most recent investment in Robe technologies, and these were the first of the small luminaires to be delivered in Europe, supplied by Benelux distributor, Controllux. Last year Erwin started working for Triggerfinger who have been a constant presence on the Benelux rock scene since 1998. They decided to play these five showcases at the Roma rather that one large gig in one of the cities arenas. Roma is a well-known arts and cultural hotspot in the vibrant Borgerhout area of Antwerp, originally built as a
USA - With seven locations across Chicagoland, The Chapel has given new direction to its worship services with dLive digital mixing systems from Allen & Heath. Now outfitted with a dLive S7000 control surface at front of house and a C3500 for monitors, one of the church’s largest properties in Grayslake forges connections with the aid of Allen & Heath’s proprietary gigaACE networking cards. The system additionally relies upon Allen & Heath’s DX168 expanders, which are used for audio patching and video control of simulcasts between locations. “Simulcasts regularly originate from one of our two biggest campuses each week,” says Caleb Loeppky, The Chapel’s production director. “While our streaming platform allows us to send multiple audio channels, it wasn’t until we made the DX168 expander part of the equation that we realised its full potent
Saudi Arabia - AV equipment supplier Production Technology (Protec) has reported that, thanks to recent purchases, it now offers the same brands and services from its new warehouse in Riyadh that it does from its Dubai HQ. The company has already been involved in a string of major events, including Formula E. Saudi Arabia, one of the first major international sporting events ever staged in the country. For this project, Protec’s audio team chose a range of L-Acoustics to cover an extensive area across six grandstand viewing areas, two hospitality areas, the podium, a gaming area and the e-village stage. Video turned to Barco’s S3 and Luminex networking to livestream to 140 screens across the venue which required 19km of fibre to ensure 4K video with less than one frame of delay. Lighting used their new SGM P-10 and Claypaky lights for the E-Motion club and hospital
USA - Reflect, an award-winning provider of retail digital signage programmes and long-time digital partner to Levi Strauss & Co, has teamed up with D3 and BrightSign to create a striking visual experience at the recently opened Levi’s flagship store in Times Square. At nearly 17,000sq.ft, it is the largest Levi’s flagship store in the world. The multi-level location employs AV treatments that create striking visual interest throughout the store. Originally established in 1853, Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world’s largest apparel companies with 500 stores worldwide, and products available in over 100 countries. When tasked with creating a modern environment that was not only welcoming, but also told the story of the brand, Levi’s turned to Reflect. Reflect - which also oversaw the digital design and integration of the San Francisco Levi’s store -
UK - Each year the Strictly Come Dancing Live show gets that bit more glitzy and that bit more glamourous. Now in its 12th year, the live production of the TV show has gone from strength to strength, playing arenas around the country. Each year the show specification is revisited and refreshed with each set piece and prop given a re-evaluation. This year, one of the recipients of a revamp were the chandeliers. Production manager Andy Gibbs reports: “We had maintained the chandeliers for 11 years, bringing them out of storage annually to add that extra dressing to the set look. Our tour director is Craig Revel Horwood and during the initial discussions about this year’s show, he was keen to include fountains and waterfalls. Clearly, with 1,200 panels of wooden dancefloor that gets loaded in and out and carefully laid at every venue, this was never going to
USA - Production lighting designer Andi Watson recently undertook one of his most challenging projects thanks to a collaboration with LA-based mixed-media artist Doug Aitken. Conceived by Doug Aitken Workshop, the mirrored art installation, Mirage Detroit, has transformed the 100-year-old Savings Bank in Detroit into a mesmerising adventure for visitors, due in part to the judicious use of customised GLP fixtures, which are used exclusively to light the space. The LD says the collaboration came about largely by chance. “I had been working on another project in Detroit with the Library Street Collective team who were in the early stages of putting together Mirage Detroit with Doug. Several things fell into place and Anthony and JJ from LSC suggested to Doug that he and I should talk about the lighting component of the piece.” The concept, in whi
USA - Georgia Tech fields a mean team of Yellow Jackets baseball players that has posted numerous NCAA Division I conference championships. The team practices and plays all of its home games at Russ Chandler Stadium, a 4,000-plus seat stadium originally built in 1930 and massively renovated in 2002. Like everything on the Georgia Tech campus, Russ Chandler Stadium is nestled deep inside Atlanta’s Midtown area. Gainesville-based AV company dB Integrations recently gave Georgia Tech two Danley-based sound systems for Russ Chandler Stadium: one for game day that includes a beefy Danley SH96HO loudspeaker and an even beefier Danley BC415 subwoofer and one for practices that uses a more modest Danley OS80 weatherised loudspeaker. “The Yellow Jackets had a dated sound reinforcement system mounted on a 25ft tower behind centre field,” explains Ronnie Stanford, director
USA - When the annual Calle Ocho Street Festival took place recently in Miami’s Little Venice it was headlined by Colombian singer, songwriter and producer, Fonseca. For the past six years, the Grammy nominated artist has been given full visual support by lighting and AV specialists 4 Sound Group. The locally-based company annually provides the full technical infrastructure for this one-day street carnival, frequently calling on its inventory of PR Lighting fixtures. Around 8,000 people turned up this year to see the so-called ‘King of the Carnival’ perform, and 4 Sound Group’s lighting designer, Juan Miguel Sanchez, gave him a dynamic stage set that befitted the occasion. They deployed 16 PR Lighting Phantom 440, a versatile hybrid Beam, Wash and Spot combined, programming in all three modes to make full use of the Osram Sirius HRI 440W lamp and advanced optic
Denmark - In early 2019, the Odense Theatre, in collaboration with The Funen Opera and Odense Symphony Orchestra, staged the country’s largest ever musical production. Featuring a 70-member orchestra and a star-studded cast, the investment by production company AV Center in a Yamaha Rivage PM10 digital mixing system was one of the key factors that made the show possible. Performed during January and February at Odeon in Odense - a modern venue with a main hall that seats audiences of over 1700 - Leonora Christina is a musical extravaganza telling the 17th century story of one of Denmark’s greatest political intrigues. Directed by Peter Langdal, it includes “all the plot elements of love, power and treason essential for a great musical production”. The performances featured high profile Danish actors Xenia Lach-Nielsen and Troels Lyby in the lead roles of
UK - Adlib supplied a Coda sound system, video equipment and crew to the recent UK leg of punk folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner’s on-going world tour. Adlib worked closely with production designer Ali Pike, FOH engineer Luke Buckbee and Johnny Stephenson on monitors. Taking on the full production designer role was an exciting prospect for Ali Pike who initially chatted with Frank about what he wanted video-wise, and had a very clear overall perspective of what she wanted to create. The focus was to bring something fresh and different to the visual mix. Assisting Ali to get all the kit and the effects she wanted on the road was Adlib’s Matt Hopwood. The white backdrop for the lighting and video projections was 18 ft high, and Panasonic RZ21K laser projectors were selected for their power and relatively compact size. These were fitted with short throw lense
Belgium - Fisheye, Painting with Light, PRG Belgium and WIcreations - four of the technical partners involved in the 40-45 Spektakel Musical production - have been featured in a behind-the-scenes film. 40-45 Spektakel Musical is being staged at the Pop-Up Theatre in Puurs by Studio 100. The short film, available for free on YouTube, was shot during the set up and first weeks of the production and features clips from the show as well as exclusive interviews with director Frank van Laecke, technical director Bart Caels from B-Art Production Design, creative lighting expert and video designer Luc Peumans, innovative entertainment engineering specialist Hans Willems, Fish
Italy - Dionysus Rising is a new opera by Roberto David Rusconi, and part of the vibrant OPER.A 20.21 programme from the Haydn Foundation of Bolzano and Trento. The production brings modern context to the myth of Dionysus, the ancient Greek God of wine, fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre, and is set in a rehabilitation centre for patients suffering from mental health issues. Roberto David Rusconi is the 2019 Artist in Residence for the Haydn Foundation and is well known for his wide-ranging portfolio of immersive musical experiences for opera, theatre, and dance, as well as extensive work in music for film and TV. The Dionysus Rising music uses a small orchestra together with live voices and playback. To convey this ambitious immersive soundscape and complex scoring clearly and intelligibly to the audience, Rusconi turned to L-Acoustics'
