OSLO – Though the Clay Paky Sharpy was not around in the 1990s, it was used to recreate the lighting scanner look of that era in the “We Love the ’90s” concerts across Norway. LD Philip Lindhfelt chose the fixtures for the sold-out tour.
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OSLO – Clay Paky Sharpys have dazzled crowds across Norway during a series of mammoth ‘We Love the ’90s’ concerts. This year, German group Scooter headlined, alongside ’90s stalwarts Haddaway, E-Type, and the Vengaboys.
LD Philip Lindhfelt racked up the Sharpys at the rear of the stage and used them to beam directly onto the audience, which provided some 1990s scanner-style, mid-air displays.
Playing to packed houses in arenas in the Norwegian cities of Stavanger, Bergen, Alesund and Oslo, ‘We Love the 90s’ was a sold-out event. Lindhfelt used the Sharpy before but never quite like this, as he explains: “I used them primarily as an effects fixture. Bands such as Scooter are quite progressive in terms of their music. I needed a fixture that was fast to respond. While the speed and the brightness of the Sharpy make it an ideal fixture for an event like this they also allowed me to recreate the effect of the old fashioned scanner that LDs used back in 90s club-land, but with a modern twist!”
Lindhfelt made considerable use of the Sharpy’s comprehensive feature set. “I used the Sharpy a lot for big mid air effects and retro scanner looks but I also used them for effects down on the stage. I found that with the frost and the prism I could also achieve wide gobo projection, which is brilliant.”
Lindhfelt, who used a quantity of lasers in the show, was also impressed by the Sharpy’s brightness. “With so many lasers I was amazed to find that the Sharpy is be almost as bright, that’s pretty unusual,” he laughs. “The Sharpy’s perfectly parallel, laser-like beam and super smooth, speedy pan and tilt action have been welcome on this show.”
Sharpy’s 14 different colors and 17 gobos allowed Lindhfelt to alter the mood, pace and atmosphere of the concert.
The ‘We Love the 90s’ tour sold out in every city with the bands playing to more than 26,000 music fans in Oslo alone. Pio Nahum, chief commercial officer for Clay Paky, says, “We are, as ever, delighted to see the Sharpy being used so creatively, in so many diverse ways, and on such a huge sell out show. The bands may well all have been popular in the 90s but there’s obviously nothing 1990s about the lighting!”
