After two decades, six Grammy Awards, 80 million record sales, and more than 300 live concerts, the Black Eyed Peas haven’t lost a step, either in their exuberant hip-hop infused sound, or their get-up-and-dance stage presence. Both were on full display in August at the Lokerse Feesten in Lokeren, Belgium, when the band electrified a packed house with a boisterous 16-song set that included iconic hits as well as tunes from their newest album, “Translation.”
Supporting the California-based quartet every pulsating step of the way at the festival was a lively and colorful Alain Corthout-designed light show powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M Stadium Console supplied by Phlippo, Belgium.
Like the music of the band it supported, the light show flowed with a smooth, seamless rhythm, transitioning from soft moments to intense crescendos, always in sync with the performance on stage. Corthout, who designed the show with Capture software, created this panorama with the help of a two-truck rig that included three large square in-motion video screens, each surrounded by 10 hybrid fixtures.
By changing the height and angle of these overhead screens, the design team created a series of markedly different looks on stage, a perfect way to reflect the dynamism of the music. Rows of high output fixtures on truss that descended as they got closer to the back of the stage, added emotional power to the design, while ever-present audience lighting underscored the connection between the band and crowd.
Mario Lopez ran the Lokerse Feesten rig, just as he did for the 26 other festival and corporate shows on the tour as it moves on to other cities around the world. “Mario is doing excellent work,” said Corthout. “He and I chose the MQ250M, because we had a lot of fly shows, so we needed a compact desk.”
The design team has encountered a variety of fixtures on floor packages and festival rigs over the course of the tour. This is where the MQ250M versatility comes in handy, according to Corthout. “There is no need for complex morphing thanks to our console’s Copy Head Programming function,” he explained. “As for me, when I created the show back in the studio, the MQ250M worked seamlessly with Capture, as it always does.
“A big advantage of ChamSys is that it allows you to program super fast,” Corthout continued. “This has been invaluable on this tour in helping us respond to things like unexpected changes in video content. I am also a big fan of the Execute Window.”
A ChamSys user since 2008, Corthout appreciates how the company has been responsive to feedback from end users. “The people at ChamSys have always been good about listening and incorporating feedback,” he said, noting that this approach to product development results in consoles that are “fast and easy” to use. And with a free flowing band like Black Eyed Peas, fast and easy are two good attributes indeed.
Photo Credit: Picturesk
