Jon Smith has worked with Bowling for Soup for the last five years, but took the reigns as lighting designer for the first time on this tour. "My idea was to create a pub on stage, an idea that the band really liked," he said. "We used lighting effects and had customized beer barrels that shot out flames. It was a unique set that made for an intimate pub feel." Jon worked with set builder Mair Burgess to put the set together, using local businesses and suppliers to create the touring show.
Although the band hails from the US, they have always made a bigger splash in the UK. After a farewell tour of the UK two years ago, the band decided to have 'another round' after more than 20 years together. The tour started in Glasgow on 1 February and ran for 15 dates.
Jon chose to use the Elation ACL 360 Bar moving head batten in the setup, Elation's 360-degree rotation, narrow-beam LED effect light. "It creates a real variety of different looks," he said. "I liked the idea of using it for static uplighting and downlighting colour for the pub, to light up the beer barrels for example, and then used movement when a song would start."
The Elation lighting package also included eight Platinum Spot 15R Pro and 8 Platinum Beam 5R Extreme moving heads. Initially, Jon says he wasn't sure the beams would work for the show but the powerful fixtures added a strong visual element from both a truss and floor position. "The beam fixtures were great. The prism on them looked great and I liked the different looks I could get using spot and beam fixtures together," he said.
Mounted behind the band and used to light the crowd or for chase effects were Elation Cuepix Blinder WW2 white LED blinders with Cuepix Blinder WW4 lights added on certain shows for extra punch. Housing 2 and 4 100W warm white 3,200K COB LEDs respectively, both the Cuepix Blinder WW2 and Cuepix Blinder WW4 give a bright, high-density output that mimics the look of an incandescent source.
Lighting supply for the tour was by live event equipment hire company MusicMann of Walsall, who Jon has used many times before and who also handled trucking duties on the Bowling for Soup tour.
(Jim Evans)
