Paul Maloof says he’s the kind of person who loves a challenge. He’s also always open to new experiences. Good thing, because he’s getting his share of both with indie icons Say Anything on their 27-city Is A Real Boy 20th Anniversary Tour. Although they’ve recorded nine albums, in addition to appearing in films and on network TV shows over the past two decades, the popular six-member band has never carried their own LD with them on tour. For his part, Maloof, though admiring their music, was not very familiar with Say Anything’s songs.
“From the get-go, I knew that this was going to be a show of firsts for all of us,” said Maloof. “I started building a show file based on the album track listing and was not very confident it was going to be successful. I decided to take on the challenge of busking the show. It seems to have been the right choice.” Right choice? Oh yes, fans who are packing venues like The House of Blues in Dallas, The Filmore in Philadelphia, and MGM Fenway in Boston would readily agree with that. Maloof’s flowing 90-minute busked show is seamlessly matching music that USA Today described as “a manic masterpiece of rebellion.”
Helping Maloof keep pace with the band’s ebullient sound are the CHAUVET Professional Maverick MK Pyxis and Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures supplied by JDI Productions. Explaining his choice of fixtures, Maloof noted: “Say Anything has a very streamlined stage set up. So, with the various size venues, they are performing at, I wanted to create looks that are able to saturate stages as much as possible. I try to keep the wash looks as wide and overlapping as much as possible with the beams layering between mid and downstage. The CHAUVET Professional fixtures in my floor package are helping me create this look regardless of the stage. I chose the Pyxis to utilize the separation of the beam and the outer wash ring as well as its macro effects.
“As for the FX-Bs, I have two of them on eight-foot pipes, one on each of the six-foot pipes, and one on each side of the band’s backline. The FX-B’s versatility to fill up space using fan tilts has always been something that is appealing to me. It gives me the ability to make large looks with just a few fixtures.” Maloof is creating a palpable sense of movement throughout the show through his carefully selected color combinations, marrying different hues to reflect the mood of each evocative song. “I made a conscious effort not to use open white aside from the opening song and the occasional white flicker effect,” he explained. “I mainly use a two-color look, but there are times when I will add a third color to create a little punch.”
Throughout the show, Maloof’s design unfolds, serving ups different looks as the concert progresses. Sometimes, he advances the narrative through a simple change in beam position. At others, he relied on color changes and dimmer effects. Regardless of how it’s accomplished, the goal is always to tell a story. The “story” in the case of Say Anything and Paul Maloof has quite a surprise ending. After all, who would ever imagine that a band who never traveled with a LD and a LD who wasn’t all that familiar with a band’s music could ever harmonize so well together.
Further information from CHAUVET Professional: www.chauvetprofessional.com
