Smith and Gare's clean, silhouetted design evoked a 'club' vibe, and was based around a 3D, trapezoid-shaped custom LED set piece provided by Eness that was positioned in the centre of the stage. The B-EYEs, supplied by Alive Technologies, were part of the floor package around the piece.
"We used the B-EYEs in the Shapes mode, with the on-board macros and effects giving us a fantastic way to open the show and the battery-powered menu system making them easy to prep - it's a nice feature that Clay Paky has been doing for some time." says Smith. "I was particularly impressed with the B-EYEs' kaleidoscopic effects, which I've never seen from any other moving light. I even had people from the crowd come up and comment on the B-EYEs, specifically."
Over the course of the 15-date tour, the band played at a variety of venues, including two nights at Sydney's Enmore Theatre and three nights at Melbourne's (now defunct) Palace Theatre, which are both 2500-capacity, and a headline show on the 15,000-capacity Mix Up stage at this year's Splendour in the Grass festival.
"The B-EYEs really came into their own at the festival," continues Smith. "They had no trouble competing with the 40+ fixtures on stage, or 60+ other moving lights in the space. It's fantastic how bright they are."
Due to the ranging sizes and types of tour venues, it was important that the B-EYEs were portable.
"Although the B-EYE is quite a large fixture, they are light and easy to move around. They were also extremely reliable; we had no problems with them over the 15 shows," says Smith. "On top of that, they're a very versatile fixture - in simple beam/wash mode they go from a super tight column of light to a massive wide wash look in an instant. I'm really looking forward to using them on upcoming shows - they will be a favourite here for a long time."
(Jim Evans)
