Norway - In Tønsberg, 60 miles from Oslo, the magnificent Foynhagen has grown into one of Norway’s most important venues for concerts during the summer time. This year they presented a very impressive line-up of acts, from Röyksopp, Seigmen, Young Neils, Bo Kaspers Orkester, Cezinando, The Waterboys, Lars Winnerbäck, DumDum Boys and Åge Aleksandersen & Sambandet, among others, in a five-month run of concerts. In previous years the event has been faced with the challenge of excessive noise pollution outside the venue, with the implementation of various delay systems being used, in an attempt to achieve coverage while keeping leakage to a minimum. This year, the promoter was introduced to the force of MLA Compact. Inspired by the solution in Hyde Park at British Summer Time, where maximum off-site levels are restricted to 75 dB(A), Spekter AS, the Lillestrøm-
Latvia - In July, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the independent republic was celebrated with an event featuring a choir of 16,5000 voices. Purpose-built in 1955 the Mežaparks Great Bandstand where the event was staged is an open-air venue of unexpected dimensions. Not unlike a Roman amphitheatre, except that the curved stepped crucible is where the 16,000 plus performers are arrayed, facing onto an audience of up to 30,000. With so many voices and the presentational environment, promoter Girts Majors of Positivus Event turned to audio provider UBS to design an audio solution. “The implementation of a d&b audiotechnik system was a key component in making this event truly memorable,” says Edmunds Verners Zazerskis, MD of UBS. “UBS was founded in 1998 and we have been providing sound for different choir song festivals for many years; Nordic; Baltic
UK - After two years of building works, the revamped front of house spaces at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden opened to the public this autumn. As part of the renovation, a number of exhibitions and displays now enhance the new spaces and offer visitors the opportunity to learn more about the Royal Opera House and the art forms it supports as well as showcasing the ROH's past and present to inspire every day audiences. Unusual Rigging were brought on board to help devise a way of installing a number of scrims over the escalator leading to the newly refurbished spaces on Level 5. Sarah Tatham, exhibitions manager at the Royal Opera house explains: "We approached Leon Ingram, Unusual's rigging project manager, in March 2018 to discuss the best way to hang the scrims. A principally artistic endeavour, the scrims required a technically complex hang and design. Un
UK - London’s Tobacco Dock venue was the place to get the inside track as BBC Introducing staged its annual three-day discovery festival in November. Now in its second year, the BBC Introducing Live event again benefitted from a strong musical partnership with Yamaha. Attracting around 15,000 musicians and industry people to east London, BBC Introducing Live aims to discover unsigned and upcoming artists, as well as helping young people to gain knowledge about the music business. Presented by well-known artists, DJs, managers and A&R people, the wide-ranging programme included over 100 masterclasses and interactive sessions, practical workshops and Q&A sessions, as well as performance opportunities for all levels of talent from amateur rappers to Deadmau5. In addition to providing extensive technical support for the performance and seminar areas, Yamaha show
UK - Back in the mists of time, dinosaurs roamed and ruled the world . . . and now with the arena spectacular Walking with Dinosaurs, they are doing so again (see production report in LSi November). This time the mist, or rather haze and low fog, is courtesy of MDG with three ATMe haze generators and three ICE FOG Compack HP low fog generators supplied by Sonalyst, the South Wales-based production company looking after the UK and European tour of this show. Sonalyst was already aiming to expand its investment in some serious haze and fog equipment when Walking with Dinosaurs LD John Rayment approached them with his requirements for the tour which called
World - Shania Twain is hitting the road with her Shania Now tour. Twain has wowed audiences in North America and Europe this summer and autumn with her fast and ever-changing stage show. The constant motion and changing looks on stage are aided and abetted by Ayrton’s MagicPanel-602 fixtures. Creative director and lighting designer Rob Sinclair, and lighting director Michael Straun were specific in what they needed to achieve the stunning visuals for this show which are based around five large, automated LED video cubes with dancer platforms placed on top. Sinclair stated, “Shania wanted a fast-paced show where the appearance of the stage and people constantly changed, with the band, the video cubes and the dancers in constant motion. We needed to find some square-faced lights to complement the square video cubes, and the MagicPanels were the perfect answe
South Korea - For the past 13 years, Incheon, has hosted the Pentaport Rock Festival, held in the city’s Pentaport Park for three days each summer. Produced by Yescom Entertainment, it is one of the country’s biggest live music events and covers a wide variety of musical genres. This year, it featured the industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails, the moody electronica of Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, the shifting nuances of My Bloody Valentine, and rocking performances from local favourites including Jaurim and Daybreak. For all of the diverse styles, the L-Acoustics K1 and K2 system, supplied by local rental company Seoul Sound, delivered consistency of SPL and tonal balance across the main KB Kookmin Starshop Stage’sextensive field. When Yescom Entertainment’s An Heung Chan accepted the role of production manager for the festival, he was both honoured and excited
Poland - The church of St Brygida (St Bridget) in Gdańsk recently hosted a televised concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s appointment. An Alcons Audio pro-ribbon audio system was the solution to tame the church’s difficult acoustics. St Brygida is a large, brick-built church, famed for its amber altar and its 1980s role as a sanctuary for the leaders of the Solidarność (Solidarity) trade union, when Poland was under martial law. Staged to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Polish national Karol Józef Wojtyła being chosen as Pope John Paul II in August 1978 - the first non-Italian Pope for 455 years - the concert featured Cappella Gedanensis, a vocal and instrumental ensemble which performs traditional music from the region around Gdańsk and represents the city all over the world. The group’s performances often include well-known s
USA - Wu-Tang Clan celebrated their 25th anniversary with a sold-out concert 240 miles to the north of Staten Island at the Tsongas Centre in Lowell. The show featured a Freddy Thompson lighting design that featured over 60 Chauvet Professional fixtures, supplied by JDI Productions, Inc. Thompson’s show did more than provide eye-popping visuals to match the various moods on stage; it also created a light bridge that connected the Wu-Tang Clan to their devoted audience. “There’s a strong bond between this group and their fans,” he explains. “The start of the show was pretty intense. The crowd was all about seeing the group making their appearance on stage. So, naturally we focused a lot on audience lighting.” Thompson used 16 Rogue R3 Wash, 16 Maverick MK1 Hybrid, 12 Rogue R2 Wash, 16 Legend 230SR Beam, and four STRIKE 4 fixtures to create his looks on stage
Europe - Lighting designer Pryderi Baskerville is working with creative director Sean Evans, production designer Jeremy Lloyd from Wonder Works, video director Richard Turner, production manager Chris Kansy and production director Andrew Zweck to deliver for Roger Waters’ live productions. Pryderi has worked for Waters since 2013 and as LD / lighting director / lighting programmer since 2016. The Us+Them world touring cycle (see LSi September 2018 for production report) started in May 2017 and runs until December this year. Pryderi specified 97 x Robe BMFL WashBeams for the stadium version of the shows and 57 x BMFL Spots and 8 x BMFL Blades for the arena gigs.
USA - The Queen of Country Pop’s Shania Now 2018 tour is using a large complement of Claypaky Mythos2 and Scenius Unico fixtures to enhance the show’s dazzling visual palette. ACT Lighting is the exclusive distributor of Claypaky lighting in North America. Shania Now takes multi-Grammy winner Shania Twain across North America and to South America and Europe this fall before culminating in a swing through Oceania prior to Christmas. Twain has sold over 100m records making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and among the best-selling music artists of all time. Last year she released her fifth studio album and her first in 15 years, entitled Now. The production features 48 Claypaky Mythos2 and 80 Scenius Unico fixtures. “The Unicos are the main workhorse of the lighting rig: They provide key light, back light and floor l
Denmark - Copenhagen’s magnificent Østre Gasværk Teater in the city’s Østerbro district is housed in a former gas holder once part of the old Eastern Gasworks complex, built in 1878 and designed by Martin Nyrop, also the architect of Copenhagen City Hall. The venue has functioned as a performance space since the 1970s, however in the last year an extensive technical refit and major rigging upgrade has involved the installation of a completely new free-standing steel grid internal structure, together with a Kinesys automation system – featuring the latest Kinesys Apex chain hoists and DigiHoist control. The theatre started off presenting alternative dance works and hosting concerts and fashion shows as well as gripping dramas. Over the years the production requirements have become steadily more complex and ambitious. In 2016, the Østre Gasværk Theatre
Europe - ER Productions has been working with the Chemical Brothers for a number of years, creating laser visuals worthy of the duo’s heady electronic shows. This year saw the pair appear at various festivals and venues across Europe and ER was on board for the ride once again, and this time bringing some exciting SFX into the mix. Chemical Brothers Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have spent nearly 30 years bringing big beat tunes to their fan base of dance and rock fans. The 2018 Chems live tour began in June, at Rockhal, Luxemburg, in June, and concludes at Corona Capital, Mexico City, this month. The show design was to be a combination of mesmerising visuals, and ER Productions worked with production manager, James Baseley, stage manager Toby Dennis, touring lighting designer, Thomas Deschandel, and show designers, Marcus Lyall and Adam Smith to deliver another phenome
Belgium - A designer boutique hotel in the heart of Ghent is finding value in Dante Audio IP networking from Audinate for the business and entertainment needs of its guests. Designed and integrated by Belgian systems integration firm Round Group Audiovisual Engineering, the Dante network delivers high-quality background music in the hotel's atmospheric 1898 The Post cocktail lounge, as well as delivering pristine audio to all points, including audio support for presentations, meetings and events in a large multi-function room. 1898 The Post is a new venture from Zannier Hotels in Ghent that opened this past summer. Located in the upper two floors of Ghent’s old post office building, the hotel offers 38 guest rooms and public spaces that complement the building’s late 19th century architecture. Round Group was hired to provide a “very high-end sound system” for The C
UK - Franki McDade is the lighting designer behind the show that has been supporting Swedish duo First Aid Kit’s world tour, which kicked off in January when their Ruins album dropped. The tour has just completed its latest UK leg, with lighting and video equipment supplied by Colour Sound Experiment. Colour Sound has provided lighting and crew for previous tours with the band, this being their largest and most comprehensive to date in terms of production. Colour Sound’s Haydn Cruickshank (H) comments: “I have known Franki since she first started her professional career – she worked hard and was an extremely good and conscientious lighting technician. She’s always had a great flair for imagination, so it’s fantastic to see her creative star rising and evolving. We were really happy to be working with her on this in the UK and Europe.” In ter
India - Munro Acoustics recently outfitted The Urban Foundry’s new location in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar neighbourhood with an end-to-end Harman audio system. With several locations in Mumbai and Pune in India’s Maharashtra state, The Urban Foundry is a bar and eatery with an industrial aesthetic that incorporates brick, metal and glass materials. The Foundry’s new location features a performance area for live music, but the highly reflective surfaces in the restaurant made it difficult to control the sound. In order to solve this challenge, management hired acoustic consultancy firm Munro Acoustics to design and install an end-to-end Harman Professional audio system comprised of JBL loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers and a Soundcraft mixer. “We wanted our new location in Pune to be different from the others, so we added a performance space for live music,” said Ki
Ireland - With a burgeoning Irish music scene and ever-increasing demand for rider-friendly consoles, Murt Whelan, owner of named Murt Whelan Sound, invested in DiGiCo. He chose an SD12 as his first console from the brand. But later also added an SD10. “Investing in DiGiCo has worked very well for us,” says Whelan. “Ever since we took delivery the SD12, it’s been our busiest console and has been pretty much constantly out on hire, either for shows we’re working on or for dry hire to other rental companies. It’s been out with Irish bands Gavin James Walking on Cars and Picture This, on the Féile Classical Festival, Independence Festival in Cork and for the Trinity Summer Series in Dublin.” As the only SD12 in Ireland, the console has proved exceptionally popular prompting Whelan to take delivery of a SD10 at the beginning of September. He cont
UK - Event production specialists Light Fantastic Production Services partnered with Limited Edition Event Design to provide the main stage and a complete after party installation for the world premiere of Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody at the SSE Wembley Arena. LFPS created a bespoke circular stage finished in gold mirror to complement the premiere’s signature purple carpet. The stage was a focal point for the evening, hosting live interviews with the movie’s cast and crew along with members of Queen. For the star-studded aftershow, LFPS transformed Wembley Stadium’s Three Lions Bar into a rock'n'oll themed party space for 1,000 guests. To help build the look, the team used Portman’s newly released P2 Hexaline fixtures in the lobby. A curved gallery, lined with individually lit costumes and large-scale production stills from the movie was formed
Canada - Looking at the 50,000sq.ft complex that is Metalworks just west of downtown Toronto in Mississauga, it’s hard to imagine that it came from relatively modest roots. Starting out as a private studio, the company has now grown into a multi-faceted operation that includes a large commercial studio, production school, and live sound provider with a major investment in L-Acoustics loudspeaker systems, including its most recent addition of a full K2 system. In 2005, Metalworks Studios bought out a pair of live sound companies and launched Metalworks Production Group (MPG), a full-service production house. One of the companies that it purchased was already an L-Acoustics rental network partner, making MPG an L-Acoustics house from the very beginning. “We started with approximately 50 V-DOSC and 100 dV-DOSC right out of the gate,” says Metalworks owner Gil Moore, who i
Europe - Brit Award winning singer-songwriter Jorja Smith is currently enjoying the success - both commercially and creatively - of her debut album, Lost & Found. Blackburn UK based technical production specialist HSL supplied lighting equipment and crew for her recent UK and European tour, working closely with Boston based lighting designer Tyler Trofatter and lighting director / operator on the road - for this section of the tour - Matthew Kemp. Tyler started working with the artist earlier in the year when they sought a US-based LD to look after the live show aesthetics and stage presentation. In the US they were using 4Wall Entertainment as the lighting vendor, and their account handler Bob Suchocki first connected Tyler with HSL when they needed a specials package for a summer show at Somerset House in London. That all went very well, so when this
UK - Art and artistry appear fundamental to a live performance by Bon Iver. For lighting designer Michael Brown this is reflected in the reliance on white light, shade and contrast. With that in mind, when the band asked production manager James Dean to prospect for an IMAG system, he sought more than just good technology. “Although it’s not the first time we’ve used video for the live show (we have had video walls for content before now) it is the first time we’ve thought about using a full camera package for IMAG. We knew we would be playing bigger rooms and we wanted the audience to have the best experience possible. One of the great things Video Design offered that many others didn’t was a range of robotic cameras. Not having camera operators intruding on stage is important to the band and their stage performance.” Dean took a four camera PPU from Video
USA - Completed in July of 2018, Flint Baptist Church’s modern, 1650-seat facility features Allen & Heath consoles at FOH and broadcast with ME-1 Personal Mixers for its band and praise singers. The rapidly growing church, located in Flint, Texas, blends contemporary and traditional worship styles with a large choir, band and praise team leading its services. Flint Baptist’s new audio and video systems were installed by Broadcast Works of Tyler, Texas. Wade Summerford, Flint Baptist’s technology/media director says: “We’re seeing many new church members each week and this growth is what threw us into the planning process. Then, I went to a conference last October and got to put my hands on a dLive and test drive it. I saw the dLive’s flexibility and usability. I can throw a volunteer on our S7000 Surface, give them a crash course and, in five minutes, they c
UK - Live events creative solutions specialist, Production Bureau (Pb) has invested in 20 Spotlight FresneLED 200 warm white universal dimming luminaires for use on client events during the busy autumn season. Production Bureau has been providing technical solutions, installations, AV equipment and services to the live events and exhibitions & display sectors for over 30 years, with projects ranging from international conferences to small-scale roadshows. Dave Morgan, Pb's technical resources manager, required a versatile and low-energy LED Fresnel that could be used across various types of shows and events, so contacted Bob Allen in the UK lighting sales team of professional equipment re-seller AC-ET. Morgan comments: "At Pb we are continuously investing in new technologies to ensure we remain at the forefront of the industry, so we can deliver the best poss
USA - The North American premiere of the musical Tinga Tinga Tales in October featured seven Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures. These lights, along with 13 Maverick MK2 Wash units and eight COLORado 2-Quad Zooms, supplied by WorldStage, were part of a Herrick Goldman lighting design for the show at Manhattan’s New Victory Theatre “The MK2 Spots provided the strong beams of the chromatic rainbow when the children in the audience discover how the Chameleon character gets his colours,” said Goldman, who positioned the 440W moving LED fixtures on the second electric. “They enabled us to shift Chameleon’s moods rapidly, which helped tell his magical tale. The MK2 Spots also played heavily in Tortoise’s Rasta rap, with a call and response with the audience. Overall, the spots help to highlight performers in a variety of dramatic ways.” Gol
