DBN supplied lighting, rigging and lighting design services to six major events at the MIF, following on from their very successful work with the first MIF in 2007. Jack Thompson, technical director of the festival said: "I try to use locally based companies for the Manchester International Festival and DBN were my first port of call for all lighting and power needs. They have an excellent range of top quality equipment and a highly skilled and efficient crew."
MIF 2009's opening event at the Velodrome featured a concert by Kraftwerk and Steve Reich, for which DBN's Nick Todd was their project manager and designer. Kraftwerk specified their own rig which was supplied and installed by DBN. They then designed and rigged a completely separate system on the same stage for Steve Reich. A large generic rig was provided to light the audience, and Clay Paky Alpha Wash 575 THs rigged from trusses running the length of the venue were utilised for lighting the cycle track for a team of cyclists appearing during Kraftwerk's rendition of Tour de France, as well as general atmosphere and audience lighting.
The Great Indoors was a weekend event of some 15 newly commissioned performances for 3 - 11 year olds in various rooms, nooks and crannies of Manchester's Town Hall. DBN supplied all lighting and rigging services for the event with Pete Robinson liaising with the artists and interpreting their needs in advance and James Collingwood heading up the on-site team tasked with installing it all & making it work.
For Elbow's performance with the Halle Orchestra at the Lowry Centre's Bridgewater Hall, DBN supplied additional lighting to the band's Cate Carter in the form of SGM Palco LED washlights and Molefays.
Just after the MIF, DBN were in action down the road in Liverpool, supplying all lighting and rigging requirements to producers Walk The Plank for the three-day Music on the Waterfront festival. This was staged by Liverpool City Council as part of their summer On The Waterfront events season at Liverpool's Pier Head.
The action took place on a Star Events stage.The lighting design was completed by DBN's Pete Robinson, operated by Pete Isherwood and included a series of hinged trusses that curved around the roof, enabling the space and available headroom to be maximised.
The over-stage rig included 32 Clay Paky Alpha range moving lights, Studio Due CS4s, 12 bars of six Source 4 PARs and a selection of profiles and fresnels. The audience was illuminated with i-Pix BB4 LED wash lights chosen for their powerful output and IP rating. All lighting was controlled via an Avolites Pearl Expert desk.
(Jim Evans)
