Lighting Cos
Morpheus Lights and Local Companies
Venue
Various (Tour)
Crew
Lighting Designer: Jeff Ravitz
Lighting Programmer/Director: Libby Gray
Tour Manager: George Packer
Assistant Tour Manager: Jason Powell
Production Managers: Brian Wong, Jeff Heintz
Video Content: Libby Gray
Gear
1 grandMA2 Light console
120 PAR 64 ACLs
10 Source Four Ellipsoidals
6 Cyc Striplights
2 9-Light Fixtures
4 Morpheus Romnis
8 Chauvet ColorDash Quad 12 Battens (Built into set wall)
6 FOH followspots
2 DF-50 Hazers
4 Eurolite LDS-20 video curtains (built into set wall)
1 Madrix video software running on laptop
Tour Details:
Styx continued with its successful strategy of touring with other bands and relying on locally supplied gear. The 2018 tour ran from mid-April to late October. The next set of shows runs from Dec. 27 through March 2019, with more shows planned for next summer.
Designer Insights by Steve Jennings:
Jeff Ravitz
Lighting Designer
“Several years ago, Styx decided to organize their touring schedule into two types. They would book full-scale production summertime co-headline tours with another band of their stature and era. REO Speedwagon has been a winning partner on the bill, as well as Foreigner and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, to name a few. And in the “off season” they would appear on their own in theaters, small arenas, large clubs, and numerous corporate private events.
“To make this version of touring work economically, I was asked to design a lighting system that could be provided in each city by a local vendor. The key was to specify equipment that would be available in any region so the show would be guaranteed of nightly consistency. This was back in 2000. No LED’s yet, and movers would be too expensive and certainly would never be the same models or available in every city in the days before consoles could clone. So, the backbone of the system consisted of PAR64 back washes in 4 colors, front specials provided by ellipsoidals, ACLs to provide a bit of added accenting and beamage, cyclights for either an upstage cyc or various backdrops throughout the years, and a couple of 9-light units for audience coverage. Finally, we carried some small custom drum uplights made by Morpheus Lights with parts from the Lowell Omni floodlight. The tour carried an Avo Diamond 3 with a full show’s worth of programmed cues. This also assured that the show, which included Styx’s many hit singles and their trademark stage moves, would always be lit flawlessly.
“As the years passed, new elements were introduced. New risers and set elements were added. A tried and true rock & roll feature that Styx used was a large amp wall on either side of the drums, which were built into a cross-stage runway that provided the stage with a multi-level look and an additional playground for the band’s choreography. Libby Gray, our talented touring LD, researched a video product that could be integrated into the amp walls.
“The Eurolite LDS-20 video curtain is a medium resolution LED for which Libby created an entire show’s worth of content to add color, graphics, and animation to the show. And this year, we added the Chauvet ColorDash Quad 12 Battens into the set wall to add a dynamic, bright and colorful accent to the set that is affordable and physically low-profile to keep the “local” tour rolling down the road with maximum efficiency and high production values. It’s all based on solid, time-tested rock ’n roll lighting that creates a big look, accents the music and keeps the energy level high.
“Occasionally the local vendor will substitute LED PARs for the PAR64s, but the PAR show has gotten so many positive (and unsolicited) compliments by concert-goers and fans as being a tight, well-cued and rich looking accompaniment to the performance by the band that was the 1977 Gallup Poll winner as ‘the most popular touring band in America’—and they’re still going strong!”
More photos by Steve Jennings:
