Fleetwood Mac entertained the high rollers of the MGM Grand Casino in a special New Year's Eve VIP Party in the casino's Grand Garden Arena. The event's Show Designer of eight years, Benny Kirkham, claimed this season's show as "The biggest ever - massive - and more challenging this time".
Only an hour after Fleetwood Mac's regularly scheduled concert for the public on 30 December, Benny Kirkham and his crew began loading in at midnight to set up the VIP High Rollers party and concert where he supplemented the regular concert set-up with a whole new environment, and the Robe rig.
After 19 hours of prep, doors opened at 7 pm for MGM's VIP New Year's Eve party featuring a 70 minute live performance by Fleetwood Mac.
"The VIP party had to stand on its own. It was exclusive to the high rollers at the hotel. You couldn't buy a ticket," Kirkham said.
The party environment featured four separate performance areas with a suspended DJ and dancer platform, an extra articulated circular truss, and a separate production stage that broke into two. The arena floor was walled in and wrapped in mapped video projection and the space filled with round tables for the guests.
The party itself had 500 lights in its' own rig - of those, Kirkham specified 180 x Robe Pointes, along with 40 x LEDWash 1200s and 40 x LEDWash 600s.
Over at Mandalay Bay Resort Events Centre, there was another special New Year's Eve performance by Maroon 5, who performed two nights, 30 and 31 December,, also using Robe fixtures. Lighting Designer Bill Sheldon chose 40 Robe Robin Pointes and 56 x LEDWash 1200s for his special NYE design.
This was Sheldon's first time using the Pointe. "I was impressed that the Pointe could produce the tight beam effects that I use on many of my productions, and also with the extended focus and zoom ranges I did not find in any other product of its class," Sheldon said.
Most of the Pointes were placed on the six 30-foot vertical towers located upstage between the video screens. He explained, "I mainly used the Pointes as an effect unit, but also found that they make a nice spot unit that produces nice gobo images in such a small fixture. Also, they are the best mirror ball light money can buy."
(Jim Evans)
