Mavericks capture mystique of Vheissu
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Helping him create these looks was a versatile touring rig that featured Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures supplied by Squeek Lights. Positioning five of the 440W LED fixtures across the deck behind the band, he used them to light the artists from ground level angles, suggestive of the “underworld” tones of the ancient Vheissu legend.
“When we started to discuss lighting for this tour, we wanted to change the vibe up a bit, because of the unique nature of Vheissu,” said Sasso. “Riley Breckenridge, the band’s drummer, had posed the idea of having lights come up from the deck. I basically ran with this concept, because it fit the mood of the show, which features the all the songs from the Vheissu album, plus three B-side numbers and four additional tunes. My vision was to capture these dark and moody moments by keeping the lighting minimalistic and not have too much rain down on the band from above.”
With one Maverick MK2 Spot behind each band member, except the drummer, who was positioned between two of the fixtures, and one unit on each end of upstage deck, Sasso was able to create an open clam shell of backlighting that spread out from the stage deck to fill the room. This created a deeply textured perspective that seemed to put the band in the middle of a vortex, reinforcing the mythical underworld theme.
Drawing on the Maverick MK2 Spot’s wide zoom range and 3-facet prism, Sasso seamlessly changed the scope of his back lighting, giving his show different looks throughout the 90-minute concert. At times, he drew his backlighting in tight to create redolent silhouettes of individual band members.
Sasso also opened up his rig, using the high output Maverick MK2 Spots to create aerial effects, crossing patterns, and intense audience lighting.
(Jim Evans)
