A major challenge on this was the contrast in venues, which range from Wembley one night to Folkestone's Leas Cliff Hall the next. Marks explains how he had had to plan to loose 75% of the equipment at certain gigs, but for it to still look like 'their show'. Before the start of the tour, he spent a week in Bandit UK's visualization suite at their HQ in Bedford, mapping and programming the show using Martin Show Designer. This gave him a real head start going into the hectic schedule.
The Quo arena rig consists of three trusses. The front one contains 30 Pars - for three colour washes - Congo, Lee 137 pale lavender and half CTO - the very pastel shades to pick out the front line. The band have not used follow spots for years. Also on the front are six Martin MAC 600s and six Source Fours to key-light the downstage mic points, which include original Quo stars Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. There also six 4-lites for audience lighting. The mid truss features eight MAC 600s and 12 MAC 500s and three strings of ACLs, plus three Source Fours to key-light the upstage drum and keyboard positions.
The back truss is shaped into a gentle curve - achieved with Bandit's custom angle pieces - and wraps the rear of the stage, complete with two vertical trussing 'legs' - one per side. For the arena shows the rear truss features 36 Pars, 12 MAC 500s and two strings of ACLs. On the floor are the five custom upright truss towers, fabricated by Total Fabrications from over-sized pre-rigged truss, and containing the scenic Marshall cabinets. These are actually 13 disembowelled real Marshall cabinets, each now fitted with two Par 36 DWE bulbs and a red architectural strip light.
(Lee Baldock)
