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A Chat with Don Earl

LD Andrew Cass unleashed improvised looks for Emancipator's live show.

Emancipator’s Live Show at Red Rocks

Emancipator Ensemble, the live music project of Portland-based producer and DJ, Doug Appling, pulled off an ambitious feat, their first headliner show at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The August 27 show included co-headliner The Opiuo Band, with supporting acts RJD2 and Machinedrum also showcasing EDM beats on the live stage.

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Ben Rodman of Infinity Productions created the DMX-controlled 'crossed sabres' scenic element. Photo courtesy Bill Wippert-Buffalo Sabres.

Crossfade Design Sharpens Buffalo Sabre’s Looks

The demand by audiences for more entertainment value for their buck has opened a whole new industry for live entertainment designers, that of sports. Following the example generated during the Predators/Penguin playoffs, the National Hockey League (NHL) is advocating all their teams to step up entertainment production surrounding their teams’ games.

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Chad Peters and Butch Allen used a colorful palette. All photos by Steve Jennings

Paramore 2017 ‘After Laughter’ Tour

Paramore released their fifth album, After Laughter, in May and launched their 2017 tour the same month, with a performance at the KROQ Weenie Roast and Fiesta followed by a jaunt through Europe and the U.K. in June and July. North American dates followed, running from late July through late October.

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The show is a mix of timecode and manually-triggered lights. Pictured here, GLP impression X4 Wash fixtures can be seen lighting the stage. All photos by Kevin M. Mitchell

Mary J Blige ‘Strength of a Woman’ Tour

LD Ryan Williams Brings Arena-Style Lighting to Theater-Sized Show

Ryan Williams launched an arena-style look made for a theater tour — and at the Mary J. Blige Sept. 13 show in St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox 4,500-seat theater, he did it impressively. “The Fox is an intimate space, but believe me, we have been in even smaller venues,” William says. “We rig for where we’re at. Overall, this tour rig is a little modest compared to her normal arena tours, but it packs a bit of a punch.”

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The corporate event encompassed glowing LED spheres, lighting, video, pyro and automated rigging. Photos by Suzanne Teresa

Weaving a Unique Experience at Nu Skin Live

EVI and Lightswitch “Divide and Conquer” an Enormous Production Challenge

The premier anti-aging company Nu Skin has grown from its humble beginnings in Provo, UT in 1984. The company now distributes its products in 54 markets worldwide through a network of close to 1.2 million independent distributors. Every two years, the NYSE-listed company holds a four-day event with a dynamic mix of philanthropy, business sessions, recognition and entertainment.

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The company started out as Bay Fireworks, and aerial shell displays are still an important part of their business.

Pyro Engineering

Fireworks Company Now Offers Broad Array of Pyro, Lasers and Special Effects

We recently sat down with Dennis Brady, the CEO of Pyro Engineering, an effects company with main headquarters located in Bethpage, NY, a New York City suburb on Long Island. He introduced us to a company that has been blowing up explosives for more than 30 years and providing other thrilling effects in recent years.

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4Wall OC and 4Wall PA provided the lighting and video for the 2017 NHL All-Star Party

4Wall Entertainment – On the Move

Lighting Rental Company Expands into New Markets and Video, Acquiring Tools and Talent

With rapid growth more than doubling its number of facilities around the U.S. in just a two-year span, Las Vegas-based 4Wall Entertainment is clearly a company on the move — both geographically, and in terms of the expanding array of services it can offer to clients. But those in charge are saying that the growth is more a reflection of the needs of its thousands of clients rather than just growth for growth’s sake.

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The B stage flies in the air. All Access Staging supported this tour. Photos by Elliot Ingham

Fall Out Boy ‘Mania’ Tour

Robb Jibson Designs Band’s Largest-Scale Production to Date.

Rock band Fall Out Boy recently embarked on their arena sized Mania tour, kicking off with the first show in Cleveland on Oct. 20. The North American tour leg runs through Nov. 18 before heading overseas, with shows planned in early 2018 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The new tour, in support of the new album of the same name (due out in January), features hip hop act Blackbear and actor-rapper Jaden Smith.

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Photo by Colin McConnell

Lighting Michigan Central Station for Detroit’s Homecoming

At 104 years old, Detroit’s iconic Michigan Central Station has been viewed as a reflection of Detroit’s rise and fall and subsequent rebirth, as it has sat unoccupied since the late 1980’s. It was once the central hub of transportation into and out of the city, but its location, the rise of other forms of transportation, and the decline in Detroit’s population ended up being the station’s downfall. Since its closure, there has been much speculation about what is to done with the space. Recently, talk about redevelopment has accelerated.

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