The LD happily obliged. Turning up the Chauvet Professional Vesuvio RGBA foggers in the rig, he shot plumes of LED coloured fog high in the air over and all around the stage. "Audiences really love this effect," said Creedon. "Screams of joy, wide eyes, and open mouths are very common in the crowd when we turn them on, but the band gets just as caught up in the excitement."
Creedon and Lighting designer Sooner Routhier used four Vesuvio RGBA units in their Canaan Smith rig. The fixtures, which illuminate water-based fog with shafts of LED light, were positioned on four lighting carts arranged across the stage.
"Normally we position one cart just to the right of the drum riser and another cart to the right of that one. Then we mirror that configuration on the left side of the stage," said Creedon. "We find that this positioning provides a really good spread. The fog isn't too far left or right, but in the middle of the action for maximum effect. The Vesuvios really give us that 'cryo' effect, but at a fraction of the cost and hassle. Canaan loves big looks and a dramatic lighting show, and the Vesuvios really help to enhance that look."
Routhier and Creedon limit the number of times they use the Vesuvio fixtures during the show to increase the visual impact of the fog when it does display. "We want to avoid overusing them, because it's more effective that way," said Creedon. "We will fire them off right when Canaan gets on stage, then at most shows, we won't use them again until the last two songs of the set. I go nuts with them at the end though!"
(Jim Evans)
