The Smashing Pumpkins + Marilyn Manson co-headlining tour was out this summer with the Pumpkins set designed and directed by Lawrence Upton and Manson’s set designed and directed by Jon Eddy. PLSN spoke with Craig Gaff, lighting designer and director at UV Lighting, about the Pumpkins side. UV Lighting, based out of Chicago, is Gaff and Upton’s design and consulting company. The tour’s lighting provider was DPS Inc.
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Mary J. Blige Sings, and VIP Guests Imbibe, at the Foot of the Statue of Liberty
The Budweiser Made in America Festival, presented in Philadelphia over Labor Day weekend, is sponsored by Anheuser–Busch and produced in partnership with Live Nation. This year, the pre-festival kicked off the with the first ever event in Budweiser’s Monument Series, which was a free, private concert on Liberty Island by nine-time Grammy Award winner, Mary J. Blige.
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Filmwerks Turns to ModTruss for Broadcast Staging Solution
For the eighth consecutive year, the ModTruss product line has been selected for stage construction at the US Open Tennis Championship. This year, eight broadcast stages were built for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) using ModTruss’ Truss Series and its components. ModTruss continues to be the US Open’s product of choice for broadcast staging due to unique and challenging set positions as a result of spatial restrictions.
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NASHVILLE – Multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter is currently touring the country with songs her from her newest album, Midnight. Bandit Lites is supporting lighting design firm Pulse Lighting and LD Preston Hoffman. The setup includes four truss towers, each with three GLP X4s, two Robe Pointes and two Cuepix Blinders from Elation.
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Quantum Special Effects says its Multi-Sensory FX can replicate any flavor, from the latest soft drink brand to food combinations. It is then dispersed via a range of mechanics, visual and non-visual, including smoke-filled bubbles, mist, rain and snow. Pictured here are the company’s smoke-filled bubbles, developed for Katie Melua’s tour.
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The new Prodigy color engine from SeaChanger is engineered to provide color mixing for fixtures using a white LED light source. Prodigy gives users the same high color rendering and extensive palette achieved with traditional tungsten fixtures, while incorporating the energy efficiency of compatible LED technology. The new Prodigy also features a slimmer housing design and silent, fan-free operation with color changes in less than 0.3 seconds.
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The LU500 open frame AC/DC power supply is new from SL Power Electronics, a division of SL Industries. At 500 watts, the LU500 is well suited for LED and architectural lighting that requires a small form factor, high efficiency and wide input range. SL Power will be showcasing the new LU500 during the LDI trade show in Las Vegas, Oct. 23-25, in booth number 438.
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“Odd Couple” LDs Jason Bullock and Robb Jibson on the Fall Out Boy/Wiz Khalifa Tour
Chicago-based Robb Jibson is the LD of punk pop group Fall Out Boy. He caters to cue lists and joneses for his Jands Vista lighting console. New York City-based Jason Bullock is the LD for rapper Wiz Khalifa. He prefers to slam though faders and chooses the Chamsys. When both artists toured together for the “Boys of Zummer” tour, it begged the question: Can two LDs, on competing brands of consoles, come together to create one cohesive production for two radically different musical artists, without driving each other crazy?
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It’s too bad the name Industrial Light & Magic had already been taken by some obscure film producer named George Lucas. Otherwise, the terms would perfectly capture the work of Heather Shaw and her firm Vita Motus Design Studio. As she defines it, Vita Motus (vee-ta moe-tus) is Latin for “life vibration,” loosely connoting being attuned to and going with the flow. She describes her company’s designs as futuristic, with a focus on conceptual experience and immersive multimedia sculptures. Vita Motus fuses cutting-edge technology and pop culture into an entirely new world of its own.
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When speaking of the earliest days of what we now call “live event touring,” those who lived it often refer to it as “the Wild West.” That makes Chris Lamb, who is still never without boots and a cowboy hat, one of the original cowboys.
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I have gravitated a long way from lighting pop stars live on stage, but the goal is still the same. Make the money look good. There is nothing more exciting than when the stage manager chirps over the walkie-talkie and says, “The show is yours, Mahoney.” I flip on my headset, make sure the spot operators are ready for their first cue, check backstage to make sure dimmer beach and pyro are both ready. After I get “okays” from all departments, I say, “Houselights GO!” The crowd gets loud, the lights go out and we all hit our first cues. “BAM!” We are off and running for the next 90 minutes.
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