USA / Europe - After a four-year hiatus, The Killers returned to action last year with a new album, Battle Born. This year the tour continues and the band are playing live shows across Europe, the USA, Canada and South America. With a lighting rig full of Martin Professional luminaires, ahead of its official launch, the company's latest MAC Viper AirFX fixture is giving the shows added visual bite.

The tour's lighting and video designer Steven Douglas has been working with The Killers for over eight years. Juxtaposing the band members' onstage proximity with their desire for an 'open' look - plus the fact that there are several different possible versions of each song - presents both challenges and opportunities for the lighting design.

"The lighting is quite strong, it's not very pop," says Steven. "They wanted a wide open, Springsteen-esque kind of stag

Norway - Amas Producksjon is the latest distributor to join the Adamson team. They announced their new partnership while at Prolight+Sound this year. The Norwegian company started as a booking agent in the early 90's but quickly grew to include equipment rental, and in 2004 they began sales and distribution of top brands in the pro audio world.

Amas specialises in turn-key pro audio solutions in both the sales and rental markets. These services include everything from rental to full sound design, installation and 24hr service to their clients in installation and live touring markets.

CEO Morten Paulsen says, "Our main focus is always to create good complete, turn-key solutions for our customers, combining different products to suit each customer's specific need." The addition of Adamson products to their 'line card' paired with Powersoft Audio amplifiers will give th

UK - Creative Technology (CT) will be the first customer to take delivery of the new 8mm Outdoor LED product launched at Pro Light and Sound by Barco's specialist LED division LiveDots.

The new 8mm product is lightweight, low profile and silent in operation due to its fan-less design. With full outdoor brightness and high contrast to ensure optimal operation in direct sunlight, the product has been specifically developed by LiveDots in consultation with CT to service the companies growing portfolio of high profile sports events.

The C8 investment follows CT's successful introduction of the C5 and specially developed C16 as its mainstream indoor LED platform in early 2012. The C5 has established itself as the High Resolution product others are judged against and CT expect the C8 to be similarly successful. The new product is expected to arrive at CT in May and will immediately

UK - Two Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing systems and a total of 12 new ME-1 personal mixers were used by PA company, APR, to manage monitors for a large gospel event recently held at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Called Sing Inspiration!, the two day festival organised by iGospel, an inspirational music project providing vocal and music tutoring, songwriting, audio production and event management training predominantly for children. The 2013 event featured a London-based 500-strong mass choir and various other mass soul and gospel choirs from across the UK, Europe and USA, all backed by the renowned igmusic band, with special guest appearances by Jaz Ellington (star of BBC's The Voice), Israel J Allen, and MOBO award-winning gospel star, Rachel Kerr.

Taunton based PA rental company, APR Audio, provided the audio system, selecting an iLive-144 system handling g

South Africa - In celebration of Afrikaans punk rock band Fokofpolisiekar's 10th anniversary, Emperors Palace in Johannesburg played host to FaKing - "120 minutes of mind-blowing musical experience" by the multi-award winning rock bands Fokofpolisiekar and FaKing, formed by Fokofpolisiekar's Hunter Kennedy and Jaco 'Snakehead' Venter.

The show was held on 16 March at the Centre Court of the 'Vegas of Africa'. One of South Africa's leading rental companies, Sound Stylists was commissioned to provide a full turnkey solution for this epic event, and provided a Coda Audio Airline LA12 system to make sure this explosive performance was heard to full effect. The Centre Court's low roof - approximately 4m in height - and a drop-off at around 30m from the stage offered a few technical challenges for event.

"The usual solution for this would be the use of delay to

South Africa - Latest buzz on the musical theatre wires is that the newly opened Jersey Boys at the Teatro, Montecasino in Johannesburg is "absolutely unmissable". Fresh from its Singapore tour- where the show played to rapt audiences at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore - the show opened in South Africa on 3 April 2013 for a 10-week run.

A variety of rental companies from USA, Europe, Australia and South Africa quoted on technical supply for the production and the lighting equipment and staffing contract was awarded to South African theatre rental company, Gearhouse Splitbeam for the Asian and South African legs of the tour. The sound, LED, automation and rigging packages were all brought in from the USA.

Splitbeam's managing director, Alistair Kilbee took on the role of technical director and along with Splitbeam operators, Clement Makama, Simon Mashebane and

The Netherlands - At ProLight+Sound, Frankfurt, Duran Audio BV announced its schedule for their AXYS Acoustic Modelling & Product Training Events. Duran Audio offers free training on its range of Intellivox products, as well as on acoustic modelling, basic electro-acoustics and system design. This year's training events will be held at Duran Audio's R&D centre in Zaltbommel, The Netherlands on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 May 2013 and also at InfoComm, Orlando, Florida on Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 June 2013.

Although the courses are primarily targeted for consultants and contractors involved in designing and installing AXYS systems they also offer those people who wish to learn more about acoustic modelling and system design a real insight into the technology of beam steering and beam shaping products and the advantages derived through their use.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Ashly Audio, maker of powerful, high-performance, cost-effective signal processors and amplifiers, have licensed Dante digital media networking solution from Audinate.

"Ashly Audio is known in the industry as a leader in networked power amplification and signal processing, addressing multiple professional audio applications," says director of sales at Audinate, Dave Anderson. "We are pleased that Ashly has recognized Dante as the most interoperable networking solution available, and look forward to a range of products as they come to market."

President of Ashly Audio, Mark Wentling, comments: "Ashly is excited to be able to offer our customers yet another option in digital connectivity for our DSP processors and DSP enabled power amplifiers. Dante from Audinate currently brings the best in flexible, yet robust digital audio transport, to the pro-

Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB has announced that Imlight LL Company, with offices in Moscow and Kirov, has been named distributor for W-DMX products in Russia.

Imlight is a steadily growing manufacturer and distributor of professional sound, light and stage equipment with over 20 years' experience. Services include manufacturing of professional sound, light and electronic equipment, movable stage pavilions, aluminium truss constructions, stage mechanics and clothing of the stage; distribution of professional light and sound equipment; design, delivery, installation, commissioning, and technical support; and architectural illumination.

The partnership is a strategic move for Wireless Solution, having recently invested heavily in a new approval for Russia, being the first company outside Russia that has import approval to Russia as well as an import license, with Russia p

UK - Capital Sound has been appointed the audio supplier for the Main Stage at the AEG-Barclaycard British Summer Time Concerts in London's Hyde Park. Taking place between 5 and 14 July, two headline shows by the Rolling Stones and one by Bon Jovi have already been confirmed, with further high profile acts to be announced.

It is the first year that AEG has promoted the shows and that Capital Sound has been asked to undertake this high profile role. The company is understandably delighted by the appointment.

"We are very pleased to have been asked by AEG to provide the sound for the Hyde Park main stage, utilising the Martin Audio MLA system and DiGiCo consoles," says Capital Sound project manager Martin Connolly. "Following extensive listening tests, the system was chosen thanks to its exceptional controllability and audio quality. We know it will perform extrem

USA - Axxis, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, has developed a versatile presentation and reveal set using Martin EC Series LED video panels as its main visual element. The set, made up of a curved LED wall turntable and LED columns, can be used for a variety of purposes, including product, speaker or band reveals and was inspired by the Axxis design team, led by Stewart Davis.

The system was conceived in early December as Stewart was flying back from a client visit in Tampa. "Their directive was to 'push the design envelope' and at 30,000ft, inspiration hit," explains Davis.

As the circle on a coffee-stained napkin morphed into a turntable, Stewart then imagined placing an LED wall on the turntable and curving it. "Then we thought, what if we flanked the turntable with more LED and put it on traveller track to have even more reveal and endless walk-on opportunities

UK - Entertainment industry training centre Backstage Academy has announced a new two-year BA Visual Production course, which will launch at its Wakefield facility in January 2014 (subject to validation).

Developed in conjunction with a range of industry partners including d3 and Fix8, the course is the first of its kind dedicated to the emerging convergence of visuals and lighting. It's designed to meet the demand for skilled visual professionals that can take a project through from the concept and design stage to the final application, using the right tools for the job.

Based on a workflow developed by d3, the course will teach students the personal skills needed to work successfully in the visual production industry worldwide, equip them with the ability to interpret a client's creative scope, supply a design response, understand how far technology can be stretched to meet

Finland - Genelec is reaffirming its environmentally conscious philosophy by dedicating itself to a renewed long-term green initiative, which will see the introduction of new products and revised, more energy-efficient versions of the existing product line, in addition to other company policies.

Genelec management has always strived to adhere to efficient manufacturing and shipping methods, and in fact the very concept of active monitors is at its core more energy-efficient than passive monitor/amplifier combination setups. Environmental consciousness is also a large part of the culture of Genelec's homeland Finland, with the country commonly ranking among the world's greenest.

Will Eggleston, Genelec marketing director, stated: "We believe people do care about the future of the planet, and Genelec has given serious thought about how we can more substantially participate

UK - With Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway challenge standing at two all, the series decider on Saturday 6 April saw the pair climb a Tower of Terror at ITV's London South Bank Studios. Giving an added edge to the challenge, the 50ft tower, designed and built by Unusual Rigging, was suspended 120ft above the ground.

Describing the tower, Unusual's technical director Robin Elias said, "The challenge for us was to design a safety system that would allow them to perform a daring and exciting challenge without taking anything away from the feat itself. We were responsible for the safety management of the event, and specifically the safety management of working - or in this case, playing - at height."

Working to a brief from producer John Adams, Unusual had just three days to come up with the structure that would challenge the boys to the limit: two 50ft square

UK - Busy UK technical production specialist and rental company Pearce Hire has invested in 36 of Robe's LEDWash 1200 fixtures which have been added to its hire stock.

It's the first Robe purchase for the Peterborough, Cambridgeshire based company that provides lighting, audio, power, rigging, staging and draping to numerous events embracing multiple sectors.

Pearce Hire project manager Dan Shelton explains: "We needed an LED moving wash light and tested and compared several brands . . . in the process discovering that Robe stood out above all of the rest in every aspect - brightness, beam spread, colours, speed, zoom, etc."

Apart from that, he explains, the decision to go with Robe was also in response to an ever-increasing amount of specs now requesting the brand. He reckons that the LEDWash 1200 is 'rider friendly' for the majority of Pearce Hire's production pr

Slovakia - With roots going back to 1776, Slovenské Národné Divadlo (the Slovak National Theatre, or SND) in Bratislava has witnessed over 300 years of drama, in all senses of the word. Its current building, the City Theatre, was constructed in 1886. A recent technical upgrade has seen a state-of-the-art Yamaha CL series system installed, allowing maximum flexibility for its performances.

The current SND company was established at the City Theatre in 1920. The 611-seat venue is now known as the SNT Historic Building, to differentiate it from an additional venue opened in 2007. Locally it is referred to as the 'Old Opera', as nowadays it mainly hosts opera and ballet. After long and trouble-free service, the theatre's Yamaha PM5D-RH digital console has moved on to new owners and a CL series system installed in its place.

Supplied and installed by Mediatech Centra

UK - The new Harlequin Standfast vinyl floor has provided a new "world class" stage at the £1.2m refurbishment of Birmingham.

After 30 years and more than 1,000 performances since its last refurbishment, the main stage at the Birmingham Hippodrome was in desperate need of repair with splits, cracks and uneven surfaces. Versatile, durable and slip resistant - as well as being the closest match to the original flooring - the hard-wearing and heavy duty Harlequin Stanfast fitted the bill.

"We aim to provide something that is world class and that has to be world class in every aspect, front of house and on stage," said Stuart Griffiths, Birmingham Hippodrome chief executive. "We have to provide the best working conditions for performers, musicians and technicians."

Following the removal of the original floor and the repair and levelling of the

Canada - There's nothing like the malfunction of an aging rigging system in front of an audience to step up the pace of a replacement-just as it did at CEGEP de Drummondville, a technical college in Drummondville, Quebec.

The college had budgeted for a replacement "within the next five years," said Geoff Stock, project manager with J.R. Clancy, Inc. "While the president was doing a presentation in the auditorium, one of the hydraulic hoists slipped, and the pipe crept in behind him."

Suddenly the replacement rose to the top of the agenda. The hydraulic system was condemned overnight, said Pierre Lemieux, principal with Trizart Alliance, the theatre consultancy firm selected for the job. "Within two weeks, the contract was awarded," he said. "We had good support from Clancy's local installers. Everything moved very rapidly."

Trizart spe

Canada - At the 2013 JUNO Awards, Canada will celebrate its music industry achievements with more than 170 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers from Solotech, a Montreal-based full-production supplier. Hosted by Michael Bublé, this year's awards will be held on April 21 at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, and broadcast live by Canada's CTV Television Network.

This year's award programmes are presented on three stages in the 7,000-plus capacity arena, including two performance stages at the ends of the ice hockey oval and a centre presentation stage. Solotech's system design calls for a total of 112 Mica line array loudspeakers flown in 12 arrays of between eight and 10 cabinets each. Supplementing the main arrays are floor centr- fill arrays of six each Mina line array loudspeakers, with additional UPA-1P loudspeakers and UPJunior VariO loudspeakers providing f

USA - Built nearly seven decades ago, Miami Beach's Variety Theatre - later known as the Paris Theatre - achieved a certain amount of fame in the '80s when Big Time Productions used the space as a photo/film studio to shoot album covers and music videos for top artists like Madonna and U2.

Today, world-renowned musicians and celebrities are once again pouring into the South Beach hotspot - now dubbed 'Bamboo Miami' - but this time for its swanky nightlife. Bucharest-based Bamboo Group, a successful European club owner and promoter, took over the landmark venue last year and renovated it into a lavish nightclub that both faithfully preserves its classic Art Deco ornamentation and dresses it up with a mega-dose of modern ambience.

As part of the renovation, Bamboo Group brought in Audio Formula of Miami to supply a full L-Acoustics loudspeaker system to sonically reinforce the s

USA - As the reigning CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year award-winner Miranda Lambert's Locked and Reloaded Tour set out across North America, it was her fourth headlining tour to date and her largest ever produced. So when the production meetings began, lighting designer Chris Lisle was asked to create a dynamic design to complement the fiery personality of one of the hottest acts in Country Music today. To accomplish this, Lisle turned to tour vendor Bandit Lites who supplied him with 45 high-powered VL3000 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite.

"I started working with Miranda in 2005 and the show has definitely grown over all the previous tours which has allowed me to have a great toy box with more lighting tools at my disposal," began Lisle. "Creatively my main goal is to always compliment her performance with the visuals and she is a very active

Panama - One of Latin America's hottest destinations just got even hotter. In the heart of Panama, the new Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis rises up to a spectacular 66 stories, promising to deliver rock star service in an environment of urban chic design - all infused with the passion and irreverence of rock 'n' roll.

Some of the millions of investment dollars have been spent on a fabulous discotheque on the 11th floor, complete with a sound system worthy of the Hard Rock's reputation. Designed and installed by Grupo Eska Panama, the system features Nexo products throughout: Geo S12 line array modules and RS18 sub bass for the main system, and lots of PS cabinets throughout the venue.

The principal dance floor system uses four horizontal arrays of three Geo S1230s, and four RS18 subs running in cardioid mode. The rest of the club audio system is managed in six zones, using in

UK - If you are a technician, teacher or student and interested in obtaining new or improving on your existing skills then the 2013 technical training courses provided by Stage Electrics may be suitable for you.

Stage Electrics has been successfully delivering training for a wide range of technical entertainment disciplines nationwide for over 10 years.

New courses include Getting to Grips with Sound- a one day course aimed at professionals within the education sector providing an understanding of the fundamentals of sound and audio reproduction. In addition training topics include courses and workshops on lighting design, moving lights, pyrotechnic safety awareness and working at height (ladders and tallescopes) and accredited PASMA training.

Bespoke and individually tailored informal courses held at the customers venue, particularly on stage lighting, form an essent

Greece - Nikos Vertis is one of Greece's most popular performers and when he decided to invest in an audio and lighting rig for his performances, DiGiCo's SD5 digital mixing console was top of his wish list.

"Nikos and his Front of House engineer, Akis Eleftheriadis, first saw the SD5 at its ProLight+Sound launch last year," explains Pandelis Kariotis, general manager of Kariotis Audio & Lighting, DiGiCo's Greek distributor.

"Nikos was fascinated by the flexibility and capability of the console. He wanted to buy a product that is world-class, but he's very demanding and wanted to test the desk out in live conditions so that he could prove to himself that it was everything we were claiming."

Pandelis arranged with DiGiCo for a demo console to be made available for one of Nikos's performances in Athens, so that it could be tested under like conditions.

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