FLANDERS, Belgium – The sound of growling guitars and drum solos has resonated throughout Muziekodroom ever since the industrial-style Belgian venue opened in 2007. That was until the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt over a year ago. Artists are once again performing inside the 850-capacity venue. Before that could happen, however, there was an “entertainment bridge” that brought music back to this iconic spot in a safe fashion. For weeks prior to opening the doors of their establishment, Muziekodroom management sponsored Het Zomerkwartier a series of outdoor concerts held in front of their still-closed building.
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The Muziekodroom turned to their longtime trusted resource, SSL Rent to set up the open-air stage for Het Zomerkwartier and provide technical support. Placing an emphasis on flexibility, and wanting to deliver enough lighting output even for shows held before the sun went down, SSL rent and designer Sean Willekens specified a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures that included 12 Maverick MK2 Spot, 18 Rogue R2 Wash and six STRIKE P38 fixtures.
“After more than a year of quarantine, freedom was finally back in sight – and not a moment too soon: everyone was hungry for parties and live music,” said Willekens. “Thanks to the flexibility of our rig, we were able to achieve a wide range of looks with a comparatively narrow selection of fixtures to give a festival feeling to our shows. We also needed to be versatile enough to reflect the personalities and music of the different bands who performed here, a diverse group that included Bazart, The Subs, 2MANDYDJS, Zwangere Guy and Charlotte de Witte take to the stage.”
To craft a number of varied looks on stage ranging from saturated colored wash to tight pin spot spots, Willekens positioned the Maverick MK2 Spot and MK2 Wash fixtures from centrally located above-stage trussing. Using the 13º – 37º zoom range of the Maverick MK2 Spot units, the SSL Rent crew were able to award an element of theatricality and depth to the performers by placing emphasis on individual musicians while being able to give the impression of movement with mid-air aerials.
The wash fixtures also allowed Willekens to douse the stage in a rich array of supporting colors, while creating a visual counterpoint to the spot units. Complementing the backdrop of wash illumination was the roster of Strike P38 warm white fixtures. These were often used to introduce punchy and energetic bursts of light to penetrate through the blanket of wash effects.
Saying that he was “very proud of the end results” created with his outdoor rig, Willekens believes Het Zomerkwartier was a great way to reintroduce live music to Muziekodroom as Belgium eased out of the lockdown.
