LIVERPOOL, U.K. — Adlib supplied lighting and sound production for a recent tour by The Maccabees. Adlib’s Andy Rowe operated a lighting design created by Ian Tomlinson. The rig varied from a floor-based specials package that was used in conjunction with the house systems at each venue to a full rig supplied by Adlib for the Brixton and Manchester Academy shows.
Flexibility was the basic requirement, so the design included a minimalist selection of fixtures that could easily be moved and fitted in as and where the spaces onstage appeared and allowed.
The floor rig included eight JTE PixelPAR 90s, five Martin Professional MAC 550s, five MAC 250 Washes, five Martin Atomic strobes and seven floor-mounting PARs.
The PixelPARs were rigged on tank trap stands so they could be positioned to highlight the gray backdrop from a slightly offstage side position.
The idea was to have a large wall of lights at the back of the stage pointing forward at the band, in the process creating moody silhouettes, with the beams also shooting past the band out into the audience.
For Brixton and Manchester, the backdrop PixelPAR count was upped and the cloth was framed with these fixtures for additional impact. The Adlib crew of Tim Spillman and Dave Eldridge also brought in front and back trusses, with an additional eight MAC 550s, four 4-way linear Moles and three Atomic strobes on the back.
Another five MAC 550s and four linear 4-lites were on the front truss for a bit of audience blinding.
Rowe operated the shows using a Road Hog console. One of the reasons he chose this was for its easy fixture change and exchange facility, which enabled him to quickly and easily patch the house lighting into the board each day.
“It was an enormously fun tour — nice people, good music, great shows,” said Rowe, whose biggest challenge each day was to get the rig looking similar despite a varying selection of stage spaces.
For more information, please visit www.adlibsolutions.co.uk.
