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Jeff Ravitz, LD for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Wrecking Ball Tour photo by Steve Jennings

Jeff Ravitz, LD for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Jeff Ravitz, longtime LD for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, got a surprise call in late 2011: The Boss would once again be hitting the road with the 2012/2013 Wrecking Ball tour, with a new five-piece horn section attempting to fill the void left by The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, who died June 18, 2012. Ravitz and fellow Intensity Advisors designer Kristie Roldan were in New Jersey most of February for rehearsals. The tour launched in Atlanta after pre-tour gigs at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and Austin’s South by Southwest Festival.

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Mumford & Sons

XL Video Supplies Mumford & Sons Tour

LOS ANGELES – Following their successful UK arena tour in fall/winter 2012, Mumford & Sons headed to the US for a short East Coast tour. The ‘Tour Of Two Halves’ world tour features more than 2,500 of XL Video’s new FX-200 LED spheres together with Pixled F-11 LED screens, HD cameras/PPU and crew.

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At the Grammys, Elton John and Ed Sheeran perform

Lighting the Grammy Awards

There are two things that you need to know about lighting the Grammy Awards, the 55th annual edition of which was telecast on CBS Feb. 10 from the cavernous Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. First, even though the venue holds nearly 20,000 when seating can be extended to include the floor (it’s less than half that for basketball and hockey — it’s a big floor), and the first 20 rows on that floor hold the crème de la crème of the music industry, the show isn’t about them. Rather, it’s about the 28.37 million or so pairs of eyeballs that the show drew this year, some of which will buy recordings that they might not otherwise have. The camera adds ten pounds and 10 million units of sales. On a less pecuniary level, it’s also about presenting a record industry as robust, creative and vital despite concerns about losses to piracy, a bad economy and growing consumer ennui.

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Rent What? Offers Tips on Customizing Venues with Pipe and Drape

DOMINGUEZ HILLS, CA – Rent What?, a rental drapery supplier, has outlined a few examples of how its clients have been able to adapt less-than-suitable venues and spaces to their needs using pipe and drape solutions. Partner Megan Duckett cites examples including an occasion when the Dalai Lama was visiting California, and the client needed to establish a peaceful setting for meditation within the Long Beach Convention Center.

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David Rosenberg, Jennifer Tankleff and Richard Parks

iWeiss Rebrands, Expands, Partners Up

Sure, you know iWeiss.

Or do you?

Don’t confuse it with I. Weiss, the century-old supplier of soft goods to Broadway productions. Building on that legacy, the company continues to embrace that market while expanding into others. This includes putting their rigging expertise to work on different projects, and their foray into products like the ViaWinch.

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Robert Juliat's Lucy

Robert Juliat Lucy Followspots Join SDSU Theatre

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State University’s School of Theatre, TV & Film has acquired three Robert Juliat Lucy followspots for the Don Powell Theatre on campus.  The new followspots will debut in April on “A Little Night Music,” the last production of the school’s season.

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'Lift' - photo Darren Bell

ETC Source Four LEDs Elevate ‘Lift’

LONDON – LD Andrew Voller used ETC Source Four LED Lustr+ luminaires to light ‘Lift’, a play running at the Soho Theatre, which explores the thoughts of eight strangers who happen to end up on the same elevator. Voller was first introduced to the Source Four LED spotlight by the Layers of Light presentation at ETC’s PLASA 2012 tradeshow booth in September.

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marquee upgrade, before and after.

LEDtronics Upgrades LA Coliseum Marquee

LOS ANGELES – LEDtronics founder/president Pervaiz Lodhi noticed that the Los Angeles Coliseum and the Sports Arena marquee was deteriorating in quality and brightness. Wanting to give back to the community, Lodhi brought the sign back from disrepair: he replaced the burnt out fluorescent T12 tube lights with LED T8 lamps, for an overall reduction in energy but with an increase in eye-catching glances from motorists driving by.

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LD/Programmer Steve Richards

LD/Programmer Steve Richards

PLSN: Steve, tell us what you’ve been up to lately.

Steve Richards: I just finished the U.S. leg of the Gotye tour. I was also the lighting director for Lady Antebellum. That was a long run, but it was a lot of fun. And I’ve also been working for U.K. artist Cher Lloyd. She was on X Factor a couple of years ago. She’s got a single out now, and I’ve been doing some promo stuff with her.

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