BUFFALO, NY — After performing 135 live shows last year before 1.3 million fans, it might seem that Trace Adkins is kicking it back a bit in 2009, with a mere 55-date tour promoting his latest album, Trace Adkins’ X (Ten). But with venues for the current tour ranging from arenas to clubs, lighting supplier Bandit Lites and LD Jeff Lava of 44 Designs Inc. faced plenty of changes in lighting requirements. To adapt, Bandit Lites is supplying both a comprehensive main lighting rig and a B-rig. In addition, some local production is required when the B-rig is used during the smaller shows.
With only a week to reprogram the tour for the variety of show configurations, Lava collaborated with 2008 tour designer Steve Owens of S01 Designs to reprogram the show on one of 44 Designs’ two Jands Vista S3 consoles, assisted by programmer Darien Koop. He’ll also be using that one console for all tour dates, in venues large and small.
“I am using the Vista’s generic fixture model frequently because I don’t have time to completely re-program shows,” Lava said. “This feature alone is going to save dozens of hours of programming time throughout the tour. I can use my show in a casino venue with its own lighting rig, festivals where the rig is supplied, or any size venue from a club up to an arena. Also, the console’s visually based timeline editor has really helped with this process, saving a lot of ‘tweaking’ time.”
The Jands Vista S3 is compatible with both native Mac and PC platforms and available in a variety of DMX channel packages, and the control surface acts as an extension to a computer. That also gives Lava the ability to program the show offline.
The main rig includes Martin MAC 2000 wash and spot fixtures, Martin Atomic 3000 strobes, High End Studio Beam luminaires, 8/4 lights and 19° Leko fixtures. A Barco Mitrix 12-foot-by-16-foot video wall and Maxedia media server provide content for songs throughout the set. The video cues are triggered from the Vista, which gives Lava direct control over the ultimate look of the show.
“There is no doubt that the Vista has helped all of us manage the show’s lighting and video production, saving us a lot of time, money and drama,” Lava said. “The Vista allows my team to spend more time on the creativity and less on the technical side, which lets us better meet our clients’ deadlines and needs.”
Also supporting the 2009 tour are Benny Durham, production manager; Mark Steinwachs, crew chief; and lighting technicians Allan Hamilton and Rob Calvin. Brent Barrett of rental equipment supplier Bandit Lites Inc. is also handling the daily needs of the tour.
