USA - Electricity was in the air (quite literally) on 11 July, as fans made their way to Ruoff Music Centre in Noblesville to attend the second show in the I Prevail-Halestorm co-headline 24-city summer tour. The display of light overhead matched the mood. All this was the result of a violent storm blowing across the Midwest that delayed the start of the show by 90 minutes.
When fans finally made their way into the 24,000-capacity amphitheatre, just north of Indianapolis, the vibe was just as kinetic, and the lightshow on stage gave Mother Nature’s lightning a run for its money. A dynamic design by Chris Denholm featured 40 Chauvet Professional Color Strike M motorised strobe-washes from PGP.
Denholm worked on his design with Mathes Kuhn who designed the Halestorm floor package and co-programmed their show with Rodger Pugh, Anthony Tran who did most of the video edits, and Jeff Maker, LD for I Prevail.
“Chris’s design called for a vertical framing of I Prevail’s video wall that comes to multiple points on the main flown rig,” said Maker. “We spaced them out but kept them in close proximity to each other. This allowed me to lay video content over the colour plates for an organic look with the video walls.”
The I Prevail video backdrop was a potent attention-grabber, featuring large screens over a riser with descending staircases onto the stage splitting it into two stories. Behind the riser was another screen, projecting a video of a hooded figure along with smoke and fire.
“Steve Menoian, the band’s lead guitarist, and drummer Gabe Helguera conceptualised and edited every piece of content in the show,” said Maker. “They absolutely nailed it. The content laid a wonderful visual foundation for me to build looks and moments on, so we could help tell the story of each song. Happily marrying lights with this video content was critical. I didn’t want them at odds with one another. They had to be harmoniously balanced.”
Adroitly using his Color Strike M fixtures, Maker is achieving this balance every night on the tour, which ended 17 August at the Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort in Las Vegas. Relying on the fixture as both a strobe and a wash, he uses it to extend the look and feel of the video content throughout the stage, delivering what he describes as “a powerful one-two punch of synergy”.
“The Color Strike M is fantastic for washing out the stage evenly with bright and beautiful vibrant colours,” said Maker. “We had them in 74-channel mode so we could easily use the beam strips and colour plates in a plethora of ways. Its brightness, colour mixing, and pixel versatility really stand out. Plus, the beam strips add that extra punch and sizzle to specific moments. I also wanted a fixture that could keep up with the brightness of a lot of video panels. So, the Color Strike M was an easy decision.
“I Prevail deliver a high-energy, blistering blend of hard rock and metal with both hard and melodic melodies. They have a strong connection with their fans and the fans respond with that same energy. I wanted to match that intensity with a bright and engaging environment, so the band and the fans would all feel as one entity.”
Although the looks in this co-headline tour came off seamlessly, there were some challenges transitioning the stage, as I Prevail and Halestorm alternated closing from show to show.
“I think the biggest challenge is the changeovers since there are so many moving pieces,” said Maker. “There are a lot of riser decks, stairs, ladders, and video panels in I Prevail’s set. Each amphitheatre’s personality or wing space or truck docks can sometimes add to the challenge, but we had an all-star touring stage crew that handled it quickly, professionally, and smoothly.”
Maker singles out Jim Runge (I Prevail tour manager), Nick Engle (I Prevail PM), Brandon Spitzer (lighting crew chief), Max Klein (lighting tech), Katie Boyles (dimmer tech), Cam Anderson (lighting tech), Alberto Avila (video crew chief), Wade Davis (video tech), Joey DiLeo (Halestorm PM), Chad Higgins and Colin Cousins for their help in making the show go smoothly and riding the storm.
