“If you put out quality music, you’re always going to be in a good place.” Romeo Santos told an interviewer. This summer, the Bronx-born “King of Bachata” was indeed in a very good place musically, and the sold-out crowd at O2 Arena couldn’t have been happier, as he transformed the iconic venue into a vibrant Latin music club with his stellar performance. The show was the only London stop in Santos’ Vol. 3 World Tour. Adding to the dynamic vibe that resonated throughout the arena was a collection of 84 CHAUVET Professional fixtures.
Bigabox Productions managed (and supplied full) production for the show. “We called upon our friends at Encore Audio London and DMX Productions for audio, lighting and rigging support and solutions,” said Bigabox’s Dean Graves, who served as Production Manager. “The team of experts was complimented by the services of Pyro Master extraordinaire, John Wilson. Lighting Designer, Chris Nyfield designed the original show, which was modified for O2 by Assistant PM Tom Cull. It was a very memorable show,” “Everything flowed smoothly together, but making this all happen in a timely fashion was not without its challenges.”
Time was clearly tight, as the production team, had only four weeks from instruction to delivery, but it was not the only challenge they faced. The show was originally intended for a stadium, but then had to be scaled for an arena.
No one was thinking of any of these issues, however, once the stage came alive with a swirl of movement and color that took the big crowd on a magical ride in support of Santos’ captivating sound. Like the music of this gifted artist, the lighting covered a wide range of emotions from intense strobing and edgy angles, to gentle washes and subtle specials. Helping to define the set and endow it with a structural backdrop were 26 COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorized tiling battens, that outlined risers.
Contributing to the diverse visual panorama were 16 Color STRIKE M fixtures positioned between the set’s video screens. “These fixtures filled a variety of roles,” said Graves. “They were used to wash the crowd with warm white and colored strobes. Also reaching out to the crowd were the kit’s 14 Maverick Storm 4 fixtures and 14 Rouge Outcast BeamWash 1 units. Flown above the upstage deck and under the large IMAG screens, these units projected wide gobos across the arena. At other times during the show, the versatile fixtures were used to direct tight beams over the crowd.
Crowd lighting was very important in this show, noted Graves, given the strong connection Romeo Santos has with his fans. And on this summer Sunday night, he and they were both in a very good place.
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