Lighting designer Jason 'Blends' Ayala of ProSho (New York) supported each group with a lightshow that fit its individual sound like a visual glove at the recent Motown Legends Show in White Plains. He accomplished this feat using a single rig anchored by a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
"It was the same stage, the same event, but musically it was two very different shows," said Ayala. "The Jacksons were thumping high energy all the way. The Temptations, on the other hand, were more mellow with a slow, sexy velvety kind of style. We used the same fixtures for each group, but we drew on different features to create different kinds of looks."
For the Jacksons, which is made up of original group members Tito, Jackie, Marlon and Jermaine Jackson, Ayala relied on sweeping the stage and audience with bright, boldly-coloured beams that ranged from pencil thin to wide cannon shots to convey the feeling of the music and choreography.
"I flew four Rogue R1 Beams on upstage truss to hit the Jacksons with beams on songs like I Want You Back, The Love You Save and on some of the Michael Jackson songs they did," he said. "Then on some of the darker moody pieces, we would turn down the upstage fixtures and shoot beams over the crowd."
Opening for the Jacksons, the Temptations Review, which featured band member Dennis Edwards, called for a different kind of lightshow, one that was slower with gradual changes and warm, saturated colour washes. Ayala's challenge in creating this lightshow was complicated by absence of haze.
"I would have liked to have been able to use haze to accent the mood of his show, but the group would not allow it," he said. To "compensate" for the lack of haze, Ayala relied on the zooming capabilities and colour rendering of the Q-Wash 419Z-LED moving yoke wash.
"The 419Z was my best friend for the Temptations show,'' said the LD. "I zoomed that fixture out to the max up to 45° to get more colour coverage, which made up for not having haze. I also used the macro features and zone control to create some very nice looks. Plus, I alternated the colours of the fixtures to create a split colour effect."
Although Ayala focused on different fixtures and different performance features for the two acts, he did use his entire rig throughout the concert. This rig consisted of eight Rogue R1 Beams, 12 Legend 330 SR Spot and 22 Q-Wash 419Z-LED moving washes. With the exception of six units that were used in the upstage floor package, most of the Q-Washes were flown on downstage truss.
(Jim Evans)
