Designer Watch

When the lights go down in the venue, and Journey takes the stage, LD Kevin “Deuce” Christopher is ready to rock with their hits and ballads on their North American tour, which runs to December. The hit TV show Glee and the new film Rock of Ages have fueled the fire of interest in the band, with songs “Don’t Stop Believin’” and more bringing in fans of all ages to the shows. Deuce has worked with Journey on seven tours now since 2004.

PLSN Designer Watch by Debi Moen –
Boston is bringing back memories in concert this summer on their U.S./Canada tour with “More Than a Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” “Long Time,” “Amanda” and other classic. Though one song advises “Don’t Look Back,” LD Gregg Maltby can’t help but do so. He’s been with the band since 1995, and this is his sixth tour with them.

PLSN DESIGNER Watch – by Debi Moen –
Back in 1976, when Cosmo Wilson saw his first Aerosmith show, the shiny silver PAR Cans and the power of the music burned in his brain. It looked like rock. It screamed rock. He saw them every chance he got. So when Aerosmith summoned Wilson to present designs for their Global Warming 2012 tour, Wilson reeled through the years and went retro in his design.

LD Robert W. “Bob” Peterson and lighting director Chris Stuba are shining the lights on the 50th anniversary world tour of The Beach Boys. To call this tour “long awaited” would be an understatement — it’s been 45 years since the surviving founding members of the Beach Boys last toured together.

Prince’s Revolution Reunites for a Night

It was déjà vu all over again for LD Leroy Bennett. He reprised a role he played back in 1984 by returning to the First Avenue in Minneapolis to light the stage again for Prince’s backing band, The Revolution. The iconic club had set the scene for the film and soundtrack album, Purple Rain. Now the band was coming together for one night this past February to celebrate drummer “Bobby Z” Rivkin, who survived a near-fatal heart attack a year ago. Funds raised were donated to mypurpleheart.org and the American Heart Association.

A “Super Simple” Petty Set

Jim Lenahan, longtime LD for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, describes the 2012 tour as a “super simple scaled-down look this year. We’re basically turning arenas into a proscenium theatre look with classic red velour swags, legs and travelers.”

An LD with Heart

On Feb. 19, Dale Doucette was just days away from the start of Heart’s 2012 tour as their lighting and set designer. But he had his own event to run. On this night, he was in charge of a separate benefit concert that he conceptualized and organized to benefit Vermont’s Wilmington Memorial Hall, damaged in the floods of Tropical Storm Irene last August.

Production designer, LD and “ambience coordinator” Charlie “Cosmo” Wilson rocked the boat with Foreigner’s recent outdoor gig — on the deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. The ship was decommissioned in 1992 and is now a museum permanently docked in San Diego.

What was special about the New Year’s Eve show? A punter would say, “The pyro, the confetti cannons, the balloon drop!” A production person, meanwhile, might answer, “Oh, it was the usual: pyro, confetti cannons, the balloon drop…”

Although Paul Simon’s So Beautiful or So What tour continues on into the New Year, LD Rich Locklin and lighting director Steve Fallon are already designing Simon’s 2012 run, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his Graceland album. Musicians who backed him on the album, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, will be involved.

Mr. Eckerman, in the Conservatory, with the Console

In the man-made city of Las Vegas — where the sun rises and sets with SMPTE timecode at Caesars, and landscapes look like stage sets — you can count on experiencing the real change of seasons in one place: The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.