MASONTOWN, WV – Baltimore psychedelic funk band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong hosted and headlined their annual Domefest at Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, WV from May 16-18, 2019. Over 2,000 music lovers attended the event and celebrated the festival’s 10th birthday. Lighting designer Manny Newman turned to 4Wall DC for the event’s largest lighting package to date. Manny has been Pigeons’ LD since 2015, and this was his 4th Domefest. His lighting design for the festival centered around the band’s touring rig but made some additions to make it even more eye-catching.
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“We added a mid stage truss for dimension and a scrimmed circle truss for the ‘mothership’ look,” he explained. “The look was inspired by the band Phish’s lighting designer Chris Kuroda.”
4Wall provided a moving lights package of Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Wash and Chauvet Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures. The Pyxis moving lights were added to the rig specifically for Domefest, and the LD couldn’t have been happier with their contributions to his design.
“The Pyxis lights were used on our circle truss and I love how unique they are,” explained the LD. “Being a beam and wash fixture, I was able to create some fantastic looks. I had a couple of scrim positions programmed which looked amazing with the pixel-mapping effects.”
On the upstage truss, Manny hung four quick grid ladders which allowed him to hang three R1 Wash fixtures per ladder. Eight Chauvet Rogue R1 Spots were used for the ground package, with six living upstage and four midstage.
With Pigeons heading out on a summer tour after Domefest, Manny needed a long term solution for the band’s many stops. After discussing different options with his 4Wall sales rep Scott Church, he decided to take advantage of 4Wall’s e-commerce sites UsedLighting.com and NewLighting.com. Manny and the band invested in twelve used Chauvet R1 Washes and an Ultratec Radiance Hazer along with twelve brand-new Chauvet R1 Spots.
“When I received the used fixtures, they looked and functioned perfectly,” explained the LD. “For the price, you won’t find a better fixture.”
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong has garnered a large following as a result of their consistent touring, playing as many as 200 shows a year.
“I have been with them since September 2015 and what a long, strange trip it’s been,” said the LD. “I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming shows in 2019 knowing 4Wall has our back. Everyone there is so nice, super chill and most importantly, professional.”
Photos by Brady Cooling
