Bandit also supplied the original Once In A Lifetime (OIAL) tour in 2005 as well as the OIAL country tour in 2006, all project managed by Bandit Lites' Lester Cobrin.
For this Rewind tour, the lighting design was completely reworked by Bandit's production designer, Dizzy Gosnell from their San Francisco office, which included the addition of a moving truss system. This enabled the rig to be moved into different shapes for all the acts. Although there was a specific running order, they were all effectively headliners.
"Making each artist look different was the biggest task for me," says lighting director and console operator Pete Watts, adding, "they also presented a huge diversity in music and style which had to reflect in the lighting."
In tribute to the fashion and spirit of the 1970's, the rig contained a heavy concentration of PAR cans - over 150 in total. "We wanted a bit of a vintage feel but with a few modern twists," explains Watts.
Bandit supplied an upstage drapes truss, hung with four vertical white banners that were used as a semi-theatrical cyc effect. For Showaddywaddy, this was washed in different colours, and for Cassidy, it was textured with gobos.
In front of that were the two sets of moving trusses - four trusses in total which shared their central point positions. These started off straight, and then moved into an arch shape for Cassidy, before being configured as a double scissor effect for both Essex and The Osmonds.
The four moving trusses were each loaded up with bars of six PARs, Martin Professional MAC 500s and High End StudioColor fixtures, strings of ACLs and some Moles - primarily used for audience illumination for Essex and The Osmonds.
The front truss was 48ft wide and fully double-loaded with bars of 6 PARs. The floor featured additional StudioColor fixtures and strings of ACLs, but was mainly kept clear for the busy changeover schedule.
Watts operated the show using an Avolites Sapphire 2000 console, which he describes as "perfect for the job". Bandit also supplied Lycian 2K FOH followspots and three crew consisting of Steve Rusling (Crew Chief), Martin Garnish (dimmers) and Tom Crosbie (Lighting Technician).
(Jim Evans)
