I took the summer off from lighting any shows to concentrate on the magazine and be available to see all the shows coming through my city.
I have caught up with so many old lighting designer colleagues as well as meeting a few new board operators that have tons of talent. I really wish I had enough time to catch up with everyone out on the road.
This month, we are not messing around with live production coverage. We get into the design process Dan Hadley had to go through with the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl’s busted paw (page 30). The throne Dave rides on, since he can’t run around the stage with a cast, is plain awesome. The fact that they could build such a thing in a short period of time shows major kudos to everyone who helped with the transition in show production.
I’m here to announce that the first real co-headline tour I’ve ever seen is out on the road. I’m talking about two separate bands (22 band members in all) on one stage, playing each other’s songs (Chicago and EW&F, page 38). Then we catch up with Lady A (page 40), Steely Dan (page 44) and their respective design teams out lighting those tours.
I’m not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to nightclubs…until recently. I read up on a lot of the latest stuff, and there are some amazing productions going into new venues, but I don’t feel the need to rehash stories other folks have covered. So I chose to dive into how existing clubs have upped their game recently. We all know you have to keep up with the technology and reinvent your look or your club will become stale and the crowds will go away.
I imagine a good percentage of our readers have popped into or done a gig at the old Avalon Theater/Nightclub by Hollywood & Vine in L.A. (page 45). I’ve played there many times with bands, but it never looked like this when I was there. I found another club with a retractable roof so they become open air (page 46). They just happen to have 5,000 LED sources in the place as well. Debi Moen found a guy in Austin who is a whiz at redesigning the ambience in clubs, and we chat about how he does it (page 72).
D.T.S. has been making lights in Italy for quite some time. But their meek presence in the U.S. is about to change I believe. I saw this fixture at this year’s PL+S in Frankfurt, and I have been chomping at the bit to show it to you. While everyone else is working on a hard edge/wash light hybrid fixture, this company has their own idea about a hybrid fixture. I won’t spoil the Road Test (page 62), but let’s just say that this company thought of something outside the box, that I haven’t seen before. Check out the “Wonder” and see if something like a “Double Concentric Zoom Feature” may be something you could dig using.
As for the Parnelli Awards, PLSN readers have already voted for the Hometown Hero finalists (page 54). Now it’s up to you readers to choose your fave. Two of these companies are very dear to me, as they have both gone well beyond the call of duty in helping me out in the past. That vote may just come down to a coin flip.
Besides the Hometown Heroes, we are proud to announce that voting is now open for all the categories represented in the Parnelli Awards. It’s time for our readers to be heard. This is always a little tough, as I have to choose friends over the actual coolest shows I’ve seen. It’s pretty simple, but you will need to be a subscriber to PLSN in order to vote. If you haven’t already done so, just go to parnelliawards.com/vote before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Reach Nook at nook@plsn.com.
