Saint Patrick’s Day happens once a year… or does it? For Flogging Molly fans, a St. Paddy’s Day party breaks out every time the seven-member Irish-American band walks on the stage, regardless of what the calendar says. This spirit is joyfully evident on their current 21-city Road To Rebellion tour, which kicked off February 16 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and closes March 17 at the downtown Las Vegas Events Center.
Kicking off their show with “Drunken Lullabies,” and roaring through crowd favorites like “Another Bag of Bricks,” “Devils Dance Floor,” and “Whistles and Wind,” all the way to closing things out with “If I Ever Leave This World Alive” and “Seven Deadly Sins,” the iconic band is happily turning every venue into a pub party. As one critic put it when reviewing the tour’s second show, “whether it’s your first time or fiftieth, Flogging Molly makes it impossible not to clap your hands and sing along to every word.”
Keeping pace with all the hand clapping and sing-alongs is a colorful and lively Peter Therrien lightshow that features a 100-percent CHAUVET Professional floor package supplied by JDI Productions. “I do build a page for every song with Flogging, but nothing is timecoded, as it’s all about spontaneity and freshness,” said Therrien who ran his show on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console. “As far as my color selection goes, it’s based on the feeling I have for the band’s music. So, for instance, when I hear ‘Drunken Lullabies’ it’s always white. I’ve tried blue and amber in the past, but it just feels wrong. The color choice has to be in the moment.”
Helping Therrien create this party rainbow are eight Maverick MK1 Spot fixtures, eight Color STRIKE M motorized strobe-washes, 14 Rogue R1 BeamWash units, 12 ÉPIX Bar Tour strips and one Ovation 2805FV batten. Adding brightness, geometric forms and audience lighting to the mix are 12 Nexus Aw 7×7 panels. This rig was positioned on four 8-foot I-stand truss structures, and two 5’ wheeled trusses. Therrien hung two Color STRIK M units on the face of each tower. “I like to use the plates as a wash behind the band,” he explained. “Also, love the incredible plate effects for eye candy. I’ll also use the white tubes as a powerful hit effect during various parts of the set.”
Creating a continuous field of light during the show are the Maverick MK1 Spot fixture, two of which are positioned on each of the two wheeled trusses, while the remainder are arranged on the floor behind the drum riser. Therien credits these fixtures with enhancing the presence of his floor package. “Their gobos really add the atmosphere, and their output is very important” he said. “Their beam really makes the stage look massive.”
Therrien, who is also lighting the tour’s supporting act, Amigo The Devil, designed the rig so it can readily be resized to fit different venues. “The JDI team did a great job helping me prep the tour so we have a flexible and reliable rig as we play 21 cities in 31 days,” he said. “We’re also getting great cooperation from local stagehands. I adjust things every night because every venue is different.” Different? Yes, but once the music starts, each venue resonates with the same party vibe. This band and its LD wouldn’t have any other way.
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