Agriculture and tradition still reign at the 17-day fair, as evidenced by its many livestock displays and historic replicas, as well as the classic New England cuisine like Vermont Cheddars and Massachusetts clam fritters that it treats over 1.3m visitors to every year.
However, even as it reaches the century mark, the Big E is also serving up sizzling contemporary entertainment with big name acts like George Thorogood and Grammy-nominated electro house DJ Morgan Page appearing on its two stages. Adding to the excitement on one of those stages was a sizzling Spencer Lavoie designed lightshow that featured a collection of Rogue fixtures and PVP S7 LED video panels from Chauvet Professional.
Lavoie used eight Rogue R2 Spots, eight Rogue R2 Beams and 22 Rogue R1 Washes, as well as 58 PVP S7 panels, two Amhaze II and two Hurricane 1800 Flex foggers in his Court of Honours Stage rig that was as versatile as its was powerful. Anchoring the centre of the stage were two razor sharp PVP S7 video walls programmed by VJ Tristan Rudat. The larger wall, which was positioned centre stage behind the DJ booth, measured 12 panels wide by four panels wide. In front of the DJ booth was a smaller five panels wide by two panels high video wall.
Serving as a constant visual focal point for the stage, the video walls displayed an array of images, often tied tightly into the moving lights on the rig to create a fluid image that instantly captured attention.
"We relayed a live camera loop through Resolume so a camera feed was one option we had with the video walls," said Lavoie. "We also had a plethora of both custom and stock footage and clips that we manipulated in Resolume. The images were created in programmes like Photoshop and Blender and fed to the panels by the Chauvet VIP Driver. Our lighting director Vin Pugliese, laser tech Thai Guy and production lead Dave Betournay all worked miracles blending the lights and lasers with the videos to create a seamless show."
Aside from being cohesive, Lavoie's lightshow also had to be astoundingly flexible to accommodate and support the diverse mix of acts who appeared on the Court of Honours stage during the almost three-week event. In addition to keeping pace with the dub steps of DJ Morgan Page, the lighting rig had to support the mellow sounds of classic country rockers Pure Prairie League, the pop stylings of pianist Stephen Bishop, the nostalgic music of the Cowsills and much more.
"Versatility was key," said Lavoie. "Our rig had to do justice to a wide range of artists. Plus we were given only a ten-hour window to rig, program and set show - and we had limited power available. The Rogues were indispensable, because they are so versatile, while also being easy to program and drawing low power. They are our go-to fixture."
(Jim Evans)
