"It is a nice lighting rig, but the LED screen is visually the whole show," said Pete's Big TVs President Peter Daniel.
The 22-city Progressive U.S. Tour features a 12.5ft high by 48ft wide LED screen made up of 230 Elation EPV15 flex LED panels. Daniel was instrumental in the manufacturing of the 15mm flex panels. Seeking higher resolution, Daniel approached Elation about cutting the size of the 19mm flex panels to just under half a square metre. Thus, the EPV15 flex was born with 1024 pixels. Pete's Big TVs has purchased 600 panels to add to its rental inventory.
"It was a smart purchase," Daniel said. "Everyone on the tour is happy with them."
At 15 lbs. each, compared to 105 lbs. for an older brand of LED panels, the EVP15 flex panels are easier for stagehands to carry and assemble. This also enables a faster and safer load-in and load-out as these smaller-sized panels do not block other equipment. The panels also pack tighter in trucks, thus saving on space.
The flexibility of the panels allow them to be hung on a truss designed with curvatures, allowing the screen to go concave and convex. But they don't have to be flexed. This particular set design didn't call for that and so the panels lock in to hang straight. They're IP rated for outdoor use as well as indoors, and are high resolution for TV events along with the usual concerts and corporate shows.
Pete's Big TVs will again provide the screens for Styx's fall tour when they perform their 'album shows' featuring 1977's Grand Illusion and 1978's Pieces of Eight in their entirety. Pete's will also provide the panels for Andrea Bocelli's Central Park concert in September and an upcoming BET show, Black Girls Rock.
The Styx lighting team includes LD Jeff Ravitz, lighting director Libby Gray, programmer Stan Green and content creator Andy Clark. On the YES team are LD Scott 'Yogi' Badeau and content creator Steve Jones. LED/Catalyst tech for both bands is Rob Villalobos.
(Jim Evans)
