The band's initial brief for the tour lighting included a request for a 'classic' rock 'n' roll appearance to the stage that was not full of modern clichés and something that specifically didn't resemble any of the standard 'LED looks' that are the trend of the moment. His challenge was to produce something different within those parameters.
He took the bold move of deciding not to use any moving lights overhead, and no LED panels. The no LED panels idea was re-thought for the festival section of the tour where they needed a specials package. For this, he created a moving set piece with Martin LC panels, back-lit with Jarags and MAC 3K Profiles. This was then integrated into the full production shows which included the BB7s on the tour.
The BB7s played a major role in creating the overall stage visuality and ambience. They were rigged across three over-stage trusses braced by scaff' bars to get the fixtures in exactly the right places for even coverage of the whole stage.
To add some quirkiness, for the first three songs, cloth tubes of varying lengths were attached beneath the BB7s, forming internally lit cylinders. These were then ditched via magnetic kabukis, and thereafter, the BBs were used to their full potential as stage washing fixtures.
"They were exactly the right lamp for the all functions and effects I wanted," says Aue.
(Jim Evans)
