DALLAS – For Counting Crows’ co-headlining performances with Matchbox Twenty on their “A Brief History of Everything” 2017 tour, LD Mike Zielinski created a suspension-bridge-like backdrop for the band across the width of the stage, anchored with 25 Chauvet Professional Strike 1 fixtures. The fixtures were bright enough to deliver an impact even when Counting Crows performed before sunset.
“It’s going on 18 years now that I’ve been designing for Counting Crows, and this was an entirely new concept, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for some time,” said Zielinski. “The bridge represents the band’s Bay-area roots as well as the spirit of its music. On a more practical level, the bridge design also gave me something to punch through the daylight at outdoor venues.”
With Counting Crows performing first on the co-headlining jaunt (last year, Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas performed ahead of Counting Crows; this year they swapped slots), dealing with daylight issues was necessary on the tour, which kicked off in July and concluded in October.
Zielinski’s bridge consisted of five 13-foot towers (actually 10-foot sections of HUD truss sitting on top of three-foot-high rolling risers). Joining these towers were illuminated U-shaped arches that dipped to six feet above the stage deck at their lowest point. A single Strike 1 was positioned on top of each tower, and five of the 230W LED fixtures were evenly spaced along each arch.
The bright output of the Strike 1 fixtures, along with their flexibility, were essential to helping Zielinski and his team (crew chief David George and techs Eric Smith, Anthony Fiorello, Abbey Wright and Jorge create a consistent look for the band on the tour, especially for the shows with ambient light.
“Coming up with a design concept that works just as well when the sun is blasting the stage and the band needs 100 percent sunblock, as it does when the show is in complete darkness, is a challenge,” said Zielinski. “The Strike 1 definitely played a huge role in helping us provide an impactful design during both extremes. They gave us brightness and much more.
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