Mothra Attacks!

In 1973, a gig at the Pocono State Fair in Pennsylvania offered a regional lighting company a wonderful summer break from daily four-hour load-ins and load-outs and endless driving. It was like a paid vacation. What could be better than a week of easy work and an eclectic mix of great acts from Bob Hope and Sammy Davis, Jr. to rock and even The Jackson Five?

It was to be one day of setup, and then a week of coasting along on a rig of 60 PAR cans, some smoke and four Strong Super Trouper carbon-arc spotlights (That was a fairly high-end rig in 1973). Even Marc Brickman, then partner in Philadelphia-based MacAvoy’s lighting—later famous for his work with Pink Floyd, Springsteen and Blue Man Group—viewed it as a time to relax just a bit.

The first night featured Bob Hope, an orchestra and singers. It was easy work for an 18-year-old novice like me. Running one of the Super Troupers was a blast. I was all set with my steady, practiced aim, asbestos gloves and a box of carbon rods by my side.

But we had a surprise in store for us that first night, one that no one could have anticipated. No sooner had twilight hit when the moths came out—not one, not a few, but thousands and thousands of moths. The Troupers were all outdoors without as much as a screen to protect against the onslaught! The moths were drawn to the bright 5000K color temperature arcs like, well, like moths to a flame. One by one the spotlights dimmed to black as layer upon layer of moth guts fried on the rear reflectors. There was nothing we could do.

The producer and the promoter were not happy with the “effect.” We shut down in rotation, one by one, and had a runner bring us towels, shirts and any other piece of cloth that was lying around. We shut the arcs down, let them cool a bit, and then we rubbed the layers of fried moth gunk off of the mirror. After we reassembled and re-struck the arcs we were ready to go. We quickly found a workable 20-minute rotation that kept at least two of the spotlights in use while we worked on the others. That let us complete the show successfully.

The next day we screened and fortified our positions in preparation of the next onslaught. But oddly, the moths never returned for another go-around.

Bob Hope had performed in war zones and other military settings across the globe, but never had he faced the terror of the moth attacks. But I don’t think he even noticed the “irregular” quality of the light.

Tony Tissot, Morgan Hill, CA, www.4dbsound.com