LONDON – Clay Paky is thrilled to be celebrating its 40-year milestone at Plasa 2016 and welcomes visitors to the Clay Paky Universe, inside the Ambersphere Solutions area, inviting you to get up close and personal with its broad portfolio of trailblazing creative tools.
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LONDON – It’s mid-afternoon on Saturday, Sept. 10, and Stageco’s crew are present in a damp and virtually empty Wembley Stadium as Billy Joel sound checks with his band. A living jukebox, Joel plods through classic after classic, none of which are his own. “Ground control to Major Tom,” announces the singer with a Bowie impression so on the money that even the most cynical head is turned.
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In 2015, the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles became the focus of a hostile bidding war that pitted the Nederlander Organization against Live Nation, AEG’s Goldenvoice and others for exclusive management rights. Offers and counter offers flowed as deadlines for the 2016 season grew closer. A deal was finally reached allowing the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and management company SMG to create an “open door” policy for all promoters.
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When you ask Russell Armentrout about how he came to work for Performance Lighting over 28 years ago, he laughs and says, “I was in the right place at the wrong time.” At the time, he was involved in music, but as a drummer, not a lighting designer. When Armentrout joined Pete’s Lights, the company itself was only a few years old. The owner/founders, Douglas and Robert Peterson, formed the well-respected company in July 1985, boasting among their early clients tours with George Thorogood, George Benson and REO Speedwagon. Armentrout came up through the ranks at Pete’s Lights, today known as Performance Lighting, working as a lighting designer and senior crew chief. Today, he is president of the company. PLSN caught up with him recently to discuss his career in the industry and the core of what keeps Performance Lighting’s clients coming back.
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PHILADELPHIA – The festivities for the 2016 Democratic National Convention extended well beyond Wells Fargo Center, with lighting transforming some of the city’s many landmarks. Starlite Productions was tasked with creating a patriotic ambiance for two of them with the help of Clay Paky Mythos lighting fixtures. The company was commissioned by The Lighting Practice to light 30th Street Station, Amtrak’s main railroad station in Philadelphia. The Lighting Practice and Center City District also commissioned Starlite to illuminate the iconic, clock tower perched atop City Hall.
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LONDON – With four sell-out shows, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe treated fans with a number of well-known hits and newer releases at London’s Royal Opera House. As one would expect from the Pet Shop Boys, the first-class set and spectacular production design by Es Devlin didn’t disappoint, providing the audience with a visual feast worthy of the highbrow location.
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UK – The Sherlocks are an Indie band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Consisting of two sets of brothers, they have already made significant waves in the music industry, having performed at both the Leeds and Reading Festivals along with playing the world’s largest music festival, SXSW, in Texas. The band is currently embarking on a UK tour, visiting venues up and down the country.
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HOUSTON – Full service production company GVPmedia, Inc. utilized the multi-functionality of Elation Professional’s Platinum FLX™ moving head on the AAU Junior Olympic Games Celebration of Athletes, The opening ceremony style event was held at the M.O. Campbell Center in Houston on July 31st and GVP produced the entire show from start to finish including designing the entire set, developing the run of show, and creating custom videos and content.
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For the last two years, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with the Rock in Rio festival in different roles, giving me a unique perspective on the festival both in the U.S. and Portugal. In May 2015, I managed the front of house control system for the Palco Mundo (World Stage) in Las Vegas and assisted incoming LDs with everything from setting up their consoles, connecting them to the main data distribution system, providing timecode connections, programming support, etc., etc. I even punted for a couple of the bands that traveled without an LD.
The first moving LED wash lights appeared on the scene about a dozen years ago. Upstaging lighting took a couple hundred Martin MAC 300s and had them retrofitted with RGB “Skittles” LEDs on the front, replacing the arc light source. LD Leroy Bennett requested such a fixture be made. Within a couple years, GLP came up with their series of Impression LED moving wash lights. Because these lights had no base and seemed to be able to just flip over in any direction at an incredibly fast rate, LDs started to refer to them as “pancake” style fixtures. These fixtures have undergone transformations and modifications, and it didn’t take long for them to start selling like hotcakes. Today, every major manufacturer offers at least one fixture that fits within this category. Each fixture has at least one unique aspect or feature that separates them from the rest. Look here for who’s offering what this year.
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“Danny O’Bryen is a visionary with a promoter’s mind,” says Mark Haney, video director and Parnelli Board of Advisors member. “He saw video as a way forward and a way to bring more value to the ticket buyer. He saw that this was the future and is really one of the biggest innovators in our field.” O’Bryen of Screenworks will receive the 2016 Parnelli Visionary Award Oct. 22, at the Parnelli Awards gala in Las Vegas. He’s the ninth live event professional to receive this annual award for career achievement, and the first from the video side of the industry.
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Here’s a look at the regional finalists in the 2016 Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year award.
There are many ways to judge the vitality of our industry — ticket sales, manufacturer’s bottom line, new hires. But from where we’re sitting, it seems especially telling that, for the first time in a long time, there are so many new companies being honored for their service in their region. Not that these are “new” companies per se — heck, one has been around since 1983. But it’s a dynamic, interesting bunch, and we’re pleased to present them to here. Let’s meet the regional winners!
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