USA - Pearl Jam recently wrapped up a sold-out, two-month sweep of North American arenas in support of its tenth and latest studio album, Lightning Bolt. The outing marked the Seattle-based rock band's first official return to the tour circuit since 2010, and, as it did then, the group carried a full L-AcousticsS K1 system supplied by Rat Sound Systems.

Rat Sound's relationship with Pearl Jam goes back to the band's debut album, Ten (1991), when it opened for one of Rat's other longtime accounts, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Since then, the company has served as the group's primary live production provider.

According to Rat Sound's Kevin McKenzie, who has served as Pearl Jam's system tech for the past decade, the PA deployed at each stop typically featured 14 K1 plus six Kara down-fills per side with adjacent hangs of a dozen K1-SB. Additional left and right side hangs

Sweden - Rocking Around the Christmas Tree ...so the lyrics go. And that's exactly how the Swedes will party at Trädgår'n in Göteborg this winter season.

Lighting designer Henrik 'Henke' Hjälm, who is also production and technical manager at Trädgår'n, was so impressed with SGM's SixPack LED blinder, demonstrated to him by SGM Sweden's Mikael Uddh, that he did not hesitate to add 12 units for the show Rock Around The Christmas Tree - from Elvis to Guns N Roses". This is playing for 15 sold out nights, and will be seen by almost 8,000 people during its run.

"I wanted to step away from the traditional 'blinder effects' for the rock parts of the show and use more stunning colour effects ... as well as brutal blinding in both warm and cold colours," explains Hjälm about his task to create the ideal setting for some

Canada - Justin Timberlake kicked off his 20/20 Experience world tour in Montreal a grandMA2 full-size was a key player. True to its name, the tour is "an experience rather than a show," says lighting designer Nick Whitehouse. "It's very visual with lots of projection and lighting and a lot of new technology. We got pretty creative with everything and had fun putting it all together."

The tour is in support of Timberlake's third studio album. The singer will play dates in North America, Europe, Australia and South America.

Whitehouse programmed the tour on a grandMA2 full-size with Jason Gangi, who is also the lighting director. "I like using grandMA2 best," Whitehouse says.

"We did seven weeks of rehearsals," Whitehouse reports. "The gear really got a workout - 20 hours a day." On the tour "the whole rig is hidde

The Netherlands - Integrated Systems Events reports that Dr Dirk Schlesinger, the global lead for manufacturing industries of Cisco Consulting Services, will present the Opening Keynote Address of ISE 2014.

Titled Kick-Starting the Market for Building Automation, Schlesinger's speech will give attendees an exclusive insight into how a new cross-industry initiative set up by Cisco, ABB, Bosch and LG will transform the world of 'smart' building technology by offering a common standard for data exchange across multiple appliances and disciplines.

"In October 2013, Cisco, ABB, Bosch and LG signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of a common, open and discrimination-free platform to unite diverse services such as lighting control, energy management, security, healthcare and, not least, audiovisual entertainment and communication," Schlesinge

UK - XL Video is supplying a high powered projection system, Pandora's Box mapping and media server control, cameras and PPU to the current #willpower tour by will.i.am, which originated in the US and is currently in Europe.

The tour's all-white stage and production design was created by will.i.am and is heavily video orientated with minimal lighting. The tech savvy artist is involved with all aspects of his visual presentation - overseen by production manager Neil Porter - as well as bringing his innovative musicology and techniques to the stage.

The set features three large inflatable heads - a larger central one which moves on and offstage throughout the show - flanked by two smaller ones. All three have a DJ set up on top and were constructed by All Access, together with three roll-down projection screens upstage of the heads.

The projection system design was crea

France - Puy du Fou has used a large number of Clay Paky fixtures to light its flagship live show - Cinéscénie. Principal lighting designer, Koert Vermuelen, deployed Clay Paky's Alpha Beam 1500s and Sharpys to create the sensational light show, which ran throughout the season.

This year, the historical theme park celebrates its 25th anniversary and Cinéscénie heads up a programme of live productions at the cultural attraction, which first opened in the heart of the Vendée region of Western France in 1989.

This summer, the show, which lasts 1hr 40 min, has reached over 10m spectators and is described as the largest night-time show on earth. Taking place every Friday and Saturday, the show featured 1,200 actors, 300 animals, 24,000 costumes, 1,000 fireworks, 3,000 projectors, and a 23-hectare stage.

The brief from Puy du Fou as

South Africa - Robe moving lights were right at the hub of the lighting action for the 2013 Crown Gospel Awards, staged at the Durban International Conference Centre (ICC), South Africa, and broadcast - live for the first time - by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), recognizing the best of South Africa's vibrant gospel music scene.

Lighting was designed by Ryan Dunbar from the Durban branch of Gearhouse South Africa, the country's largest technical production rental facility. It was his first time lighting the event for which he was also the set designer, and in another first, he decided to use 80% LED sources for the lighting rig.

These included 18 x Robe DLF Wash fixtures, six DLS Profiles, 30 x LEDWash 600s and 70 x LEDForce PRs.

He also used 24 of Robe's new Pointe multi-purpose moving lights for beam effects, which helped create the spectacular 'big room

UK - Rounding off a successful 20 month world tour with a headlining show at London's O2 Arena can be both exhilarating and stressful; for Two Door Cinema Club's show designer Squib it was more of the former and less of the latter, thanks to some shrewd choices.

"With a single show at the Blackpool Empress Ballroom as a warm up, the O2 presented me with all sorts of questions. This was the first time I'd done a show on this scale, certainly with video, and it was nice to have someone to turn to and say, what do you think about doing this?" Squib is nothing if not modest about his own abilities, the mentor to whom he refers, Alex Leinster of Chaos Visual UK, had only been introduced to him a few days before. "It was obvious to me straight away that Squib had some fresh and interesting ideas," said Leinster. "Fully formed, it only required us to marshal th

USA - PLASA Focus: Nashville 2014 is set for success with organizer PLASA Events confirming new exhibitors and seminar speakers. The event is taking place on 18-19 February 2014, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

The latest exhibitors to sign up include AC Lighting, Apollo Design Technology, Doug Fleenor Design, ETC, LSC America, Philips Entertainment Lighting, Show Sage and Link. They will share the show floor with other industry leaders including; Aeson, ETC, Bandit Lites, Group One, Chauvet Professional, Lightronics, Elation Professional, Creative Stage Lighting, and Applied Electronics, to name a few.

Three new sessions have been added to the PLASA Focus: Nashville 2014 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops running alongside the event.

Ben Jumper, the owner of Soundcheck, will present After the Flood

UK - Theatre consultant, manager, producer and founding member of the ABTT Ian Albery, has been awarded a Fellowship of the Association. Individuals are appointed Fellow if they "have rendered signal service to the technical aspects of the art of the theatre".

In recognising his outstanding contribution to theatre - including work as both production and technical managers and service as vice-chairman of the ABTT, as well as an executive member of the Society of West End Theatre - Nimax Theatre chief executive, Nica Burns, praised the former chief executive of Sadler's Wells Theatre, acknowledging the importance of Albery in her own career.

The list of ABTT Fellows now reads as follows: David Adams, Ian Albery, Jason Barnes, Fred Bentham (deceased), Richard Brett, William Dudley, Tim Foster, Roger Fox, Roderick Ham, Chris Higgs, Ethel Langstreth (deceased), Iain Macki

Russia - Luc Lafortune held a lecture of great cultural interest, called Art and Poetry in Stage Lighting, on 5 December 2013 in Saint Petersburg. This exclusive event was held on the modern 'New Stage' in the Alexandrinsky Theatre by the theatre's managerial staff itself, with the cooperation of TDM Stage Equipment and Clay Paky. The event media partners were the Evening Petersburg newspaper, the main Russian media and state television.

Lafortune is considered one of the most creative lighting designers of the last 30 years. He is the author of several prestigious lighting design projects, including the shows of the Cirque du Soleil, the Turkmenistan Independence Day celebrations, the musical The House of the Dancing Water, and Peter Gabriel's Growing up tour.

In Saint Petersburg, in front of an audience of professionals, Lafortune spoke about his

Uruguay - Uruguayan rock and ska band La Vela Puerca played two shows at the Teatro de Verano Ramón Collazo Theatre in Montevideo, with lighting directed by Sebastián Cybulski using Robe Robin LEDWash 600 and ColorSpot 1200E moving lights.

For this show, called Uno para todos, Sebastián worked with Gastón Aladefh as assistant LD, adapting an original design from a live performance DVD shoot in Buenos Aires ... and this time adding the Robe fixtures.

The 16 x ColorSpot 1200E ATs and 16 x Robin LEDWash 600s were rigged on two back trusses and all the lighting equipment for the performances was provided by locally based rental company Alejandro Ottonello Iluminación.

Sebastián comments, "All the lights were in excellent condition. Together with the Solís Theatre in Montevideo, Alejandro Ottonello Iluminación has been a pioneer in bringing good quality Europe

Brazil - The cost of taking traditional exhibition space prevents some manufacturers from exploring the Brazilian market, so the APRS is offering a base on the floor of the AES, Brazil ((May 13-15, Sao Paulo) exhibition that allows a company rep to visit the show to scope the event and the market without taking space.

For just £1000, UK manufacturers wishing to visit the show but who prefer not to take exhibition space can utilise the meeting room and translation facilities of the Great British Audio Embassy and have their brand logos displayed in a British Brand Gallery, share in the networking events organized with the UKTI in Sao Paulo and participate in the bi-lingual brochure to be available on the booth.

The APRS, working with PLASA and the MIA, have helped a number of UK manufacturers to put a toe into the water of the Brazilian market.

Peter Filleul, the APRS E

The Netherlands - Christie has achieved best-in-class 1-chip DLP brightness with the new Christie Q Series that debuts at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam from 4-6 February. The Christie Q Series 1-chip DLP platform has brightness options ranging from 8500 to 10,000 lumens and XGA, WXGA and WUXGA resolutions.

For rental staging applications including concerts, conventions and other events where visuals are a vital component, end users will see the Q Series' difference when blending and warping images from multiple projectors onto flat, curved, hexagonal, or spherical surfaces.

Usable in either single or dual-lamp mode, Christie Q Series is equipped with eClarity -advanced image processing that significantly enhances images by providing greater control over image sharpness, gloss and shading.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - Elation Professional will show a spread of new products at ISE in Amsterdam next month on Stand 11-H45.

On display will be two low wattage yet high-output moving head luminaires, the Platinum Wash 16R Pro and the Rayzor Beam 2R, both powered by Platinum lamp technology. In Elation's line of innovative LED lighting, the multi-functional Protron LED Strobe, as well as a pair of dynamic white LED luminaires, the DW Fresnel and DW Profile, will also be on display.

Platinum Wash 16R Pro: Featuring the new 1,500-hour Platinum MSD 16R lamp from Philips (330W, 16,000 lumens), this versatile moving head functions as both a beam and wash luminaire. It is loaded with features such as CMY color mixing plus fixed colors, 6.5-48° motorized zoom, beam shaper, shutter/dimmer and has an EWDMX receiver built in. Compact yet powerful, output is comparable to 1,000 watt unit

USA / The Netherlands - Meyer Sound has announced the self-powered Lyon linear sound reinforcement system, the newest addition to the Leo Family of linear loudspeaker systems. Incorporating the technology of the Leo Family in a lighter and more compact package, Lyon extends the advantages of highly linear self-powered systems to a broader range of venues and applications. Lyon will make its debut at the ISE trade show in Amsterdam.

"With the Leo system, we have shown how a system that stays linear across all frequencies and at very high sound levels can provide a whole new listening experience for everything from the New York Philharmonic to Bassnectar," says John Meyer, Meyer Sound's CEO and co-founder. "By combining this high level of linearity with a more flexible package, Lyon will open up many more opportunities for listeners to experience the performance adv

The Netherlands - ATEÏS will be introducing switch mode, next to its matrix mode, for its IDA8 modular public address and voice alarm system at this year's ISE on stand M-190 hall 7.

The third generation controller, which can be built up into a zoned installation by adding slave units over copper and/or fibre optic connections, is well established in the PA/VA market and features on recent high-profile projects such as the Signal Iduna Park football stadium in Dortmund and Zurich railway station.

PA/VA installations for sports stadia and transport termini continue to grow in scale so all areas can be covered to ensure passengers and staff receive messages and information relevant to them. Switch mode has been added to the IDA8 family to make this possible and to increase the IDA8 system flexibility whilst providing more cost effective installations.

Both features, Matrix an

Germany - PR Lighting is planning a major launch at this year's Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt for Spot and Beam versions of its new XR 1000 moving head.

The fully automated system, housing an Osram HTI 1000 W/PS 1000W metal halide lamp, will receive its world debut.

Housed in an IP20, high temperature engineered plastic chassis, the fixture boasts several advantages over competitive models. For example it is brighter than a conventional 1200W discharge lamp, and with a weight of just 31kg it is both lighter, and smaller, than its market rivals, says the company.

Highlights of the powerful feature-set are seven rotating gobos and seven fixed gobos; a three-fact prism, soft frost and fire effect wheel, and a linear zoom with range of 9°-47°.

Other features include: 2800K-6500K linearly adjustable colour temperature; smooth CYM colour mixing system, plus CTO with m

The Netherlands - Pexip will demonstrate their revolutionary Pexip Infinity multipoint videoconferencing software when the company exhibits for the first time at Integrated Systems Europe 2014. Pexip will host several partner focused events, participate in industry led discussions and announce new real-world deployments of Pexip Infinity.

Simen Teigre, CEO at Pexip said, "Coming from an IT background, Pexip will be demonstrating how AV companies can take advantage of conferencing in a virtualized world."

Pexip Infinity is a "ground-breaking concept in videoconferencing through its virtualized, scalable and distributed architecture". It simply enables corporations to deploy enterprise-wide HD videoconferencing in as little as ten minutes, and to any device.

Pexip Infinity virtualized software can be deployed on VMware or Microsoft Hyper-V and features gene

The Netherlands - At ISE 2014, Advantech will join force with VuWall Technology to showcase VuWall2DS on the AVS-540. VuWall2DS has been developed to make it easy for users to create dynamic and appealing video wall content through views transitions, taking full advantage of the latest developments on the Matrox Mura MPX based video wall controllers. Transparency, translation, rotation and alpha blending can now be seamlessly combined to create spectacular effects between views on any size of video wall.

"VuWall2DS has been developed with the same attention to user experience as the other products of the VuWall2 software suite. The Vuwall2 platform has been nominated for the 2014 InAvate Technology awards and has enjoyed a fantastic level of adoption since its first release in June 2013'' says Paul Vander Plaetse, president of VuWall technology.

Advantech premium video wa

UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds 2014 launches today with free registration and a new website. The leading event for entertainment technology in the north of England will be held on 29 - 30 April, 2014, at the Royal Armouries at Clarence Dock, only a short distance from the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire.

With a fully sold out floorplan the annual event looks set to continue its success story. Long-standing exhibitors returning include; AC Entertainment, Adam Hall, AED Distribution, Artistic License, Avolites, Bose, Chauvet, Clay Paky, d&b audiotechnik, ETC, Hawthorn, J&C Joel, Martin Audio, Martin Professional, Midas, Nexo, Philips Lighting, Robe, Sennheiser, White Light and Yamaha. New exhibitors include; Actus Industries, Citronic, Coda Audio, ELC, Line 6, Sound Directions, Source Distribution, Universal Stars and Warehouse Sound amongst many others. Chauvet Professional are also con

The Netherlands - The organisers of CUE2014, which took place from 13 to 15 January in Ahoy Rotterdam, can look back on a very successful 14th edition. At the biannual exhibition for event, installation and entertainment technology, 125 exhibitors presented a wide range of technical facilities for indoor and outdoor stages to 5,515 visitors.

The exhibition distinguished itself through its professional look and relaxed atmosphere. Besides maintaining familiar links between peers, new partnerships were also forged. Innovations were liked and lectures were well-attended.

Enrico Daamen, chairman of the CUE Board comments, "The organising team of Ahoy Rotterdam has introduced innovative elements that had a positive impact on the exhibition. For example, CUE broadened its product range, which resulted in a new influx of visitors interested in the entire spectrum of stage techno

UK/USA - Allen & Heath will launch the Xone:23, a 2-channel DJ mixer at NAMM 2014. The new mixer is "packed with pro features that would normally be found in the booth of a top-rated club", including an enhanced version of the legendary Xone filter with resonance control, VCA faders, three band total kill EQ, illuminated switches, crossfader curve selector, with styling inspired by the flagship Xone:DB4.

At the heart of the mixer is the analogue Voltage Control Filter (VCF) system offering Low-Pass and High-Pass filters, frequency sweep and 'mild to wild' resonance control. There is also an FX loop to connect to third party FX units, which route back in through the filter system.

The two stereo channels feature independent level controls for each input enabling up to four stereo sources to be simultaneously routed to the mix, as well as the dedicated send and return

UK / The Netherlands - i-Power (UK) Limited is a new company founded by four directors who have a combined knowledge of 120 years in the audio and electronics systems market: Janet Dean, Ray Morrison, Peter Alberry-King and Kevin Tester of Penton UK have long experience of marketing and distribution and a vast array of worldwide contacts.

Janet Dean explains: "Back in 2009 we had identified the potential for an internet protocol (IP) product range to service a new and expanding market place within the Audio industry. During our investigation of IP-based technology we had many starts and stops, but eventually we identified a UK manufacturer who met the high specification and product portfolio we had been looking for and were interested to explore the possibility of a mutual business opportunity between us."

The partnership began in 2013 and has allowed i-Power (UK) Lt

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