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NEWS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Rascal Flatts Tours with Bigger Rig, Complex Set
The set included a 32-foot high, MiTrix-clad staircase and a large rectangular thrust.
Andy Knighton, LD for Rascal Flatts, is
in his sixth year of working with the Grammy
award-winning country band, and over
that time he’s seen the tour grow from one
truck to a convoy of 22 semis loaded with
gear. The current tour, Bob that Head, is using
lighting supplied by Bandit Lites and
an interactive set created by All Access
Staging, lit by LEDs from Elation Lighting
and Acclaim Lighting.
For the tour, Knighton chose to use primarily
Vari*Lite products, including 48 VL3500
Washes and 60 VL3000 Spots, Color Kinetics
Color Blasts and Lycian M2 truss spots, all
controlled by two grandMAs and four grand-
MA NSPs from MA Lighting.
There are also about 1,000 color-changing
LED fixtures from Elation Professional and
Acclaim Lighting, and a set design from All
Access that brings the band’s three performers
into close contact with the crowd. “They
basically had a T thrust on their last set, and
this year they wanted one that would extend
even further out into the audience,” said project
manager Mike Bell of All Access Staging.
Working with set designer Bruce Rodgers
of Tribe Inc. and Knighton of Bandit Lites, All
Access created “one of the most complicated
sets I’ve worked on,” said Bell. It has a 32-foot
high spiral staircase that measures 14 feet
in diameter and is surrounded by Barco Mi-
Trix LEDs. That silo-like structure serves as a
silo-like focal point for the 48-foot-by-68-foot
main stage, which incorporates a runwaystyle
rectangular thrust that wraps around
four spectator egresses to provide audience
access.
The set also features a variety of staircases
following the silo’s curved contours. Five elevated
risers serve as platforms for the instrumental
players, while numerous stairways,
ramps and bridges, also lit by color-changing
LEDs, connect the various sections and levels
of the set.
A total 730 Acclaim X-Cubes RGB LED
fixtures are used along the perimeters of the
thrust and those of the risers where the instrumental
players are positioned. Spaced one
foot apart on the elevated risers, they “draw
attention to the risers and the backline guys,”
said Bell. X-Cubes and MiTrix are also used to
highlight three diamond-shaped decks that
sit on top of two elevated audience egress
bridges and on the front of the main stage
and a fourth square-shaped deck at the front
of the thrust.
The top surface of the entire thrust is
outlined with Acclaim X-Tubes on each side.
More than 125 of these linear RGB LED strips
are placed end-to-end so that they appear as
an uninterrupted “running light” along the
sides of the thrust “to really give it a runway
look,” said Bell.
The set also uses more than 100 39-inch
Octostrip LEDs from Acclaim’s sister company
Elation Professional. They illuminate
the treads of the many stairways on the set,
including the two staircases that lead down
from the 32-foot silo to the main stage, four
additional “screamer” staircases that surround
the main stage and eight sets of stairs that
lead up and down from the elevated decks
on the thrust.
Bandit’s Knighton, who said the Vari*Lite
gear had the “horsepower” needed for the live
IMAG cameras, also collaborated with Tribe,
Inc.’s Rodgers on the show. The video plays a
central visual role, but imposed some restrictions
on the placement of fixtures. Knighton
and the crew were able to work out the kinks
to create the final design now seen on tour.
Knighton credited the crew for keeping
things rolling, giving kudos to Marcus Wade,
crew chief; Adam McIntosh, master electrician;
Scot Sepe, “who is responsible for the
Massive RGB network and sole provider for
support acts;” Stephanie Lough, floor manager,
who “is in charge of the build, and adds
a sense of character to the whole thing;” and
Trevor Ahlstrand, who Knighton called “probably
one of the single most amazing programmers
in the business.”
“A special mention should go to the management
of Turner, Nichols & Associates for
assembling the team that continues to make
Rascal Flatts such an incredible live event,”
said Bandit vice president Michael Golden.
LEDs Play Key Role
in 311 Tour Rig
The band 311 (pronounced threeeleven),
an alternative punk-funk/
reggae-rap group which gets its name
from the police code for a skinny dipping
incident involving a former band
member, recently wrapped up their
summer tour, fully clad in lighting from
a large circular rig. LED lighting, including
16 Infinity Wash XLs and 36 ParLite
LEDs from Coemar, played a key role.
Distributed by Inner Circle Distribution
(ICD), the Coemar gear was
used by LD/lighting director/programmer
Joe Paradise to tone the
60-foot truss that ran through the
circular rig, and to complement the
general illumination from the rig. “I
use the ParLites as truss toners, and
the Infinities for general upstage
and mid stage wash,” Paradise said.
“I’m also using hazebase base hazers,
mounted in the circle to give
atmosphere downstage.”
Coemar’s Infinity Wash XL lights
feature a CMY-S color mixing system
with saturation mode, full range dimming,
black out, synchronized or random
strobe effects and an electronic
strobo zap. The Coemar ParLite LED
lights also offer full range dimming,
synchronized or random strobe effects
and a full range of color generated
by a convergent RGB color system.
The ParLite LEDs each have 36 1-watt
luxeon units with a declared LED life of
100,000 hours.
“They provide good color, great
output and excellent zoom features,”
Paradise said. “And their patterns
can’t be beat.” As for the hazebase
hazers, “I had seen them in ICD’s shop
and they were fantastic,” he said..
“You can place them wherever you
wish to. They afford really precise
control of output and fan speed, and
use very little fluid.”
LEDs Bring Avalon
Club Walls to Life
TORONTO — ACS used 82 Chauvet LEDsplash
Jr. wash lights to fulfill a club owner’s
vision of “living walls” that could change hues
at any time. The lights are wall-mounted behind
diffusing domes in two distinct sections
of the club. Chauvet ShowXpress software
controls them via DMX.
ACS owner Carlos Costa said he selected
the Chauvet units for the install because of
their compact size, and reliability. “They are
simply the best for this application, providing
the most efficient and brightest output,”
he said.
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At Avalon, lighting proves more flexible than paint.
12 PLSN SEPTEMBER 2008