Mick, a respected and well established UK based LD who works with a number of high profile international artists, specified Robe moving lights after using Robe on shows for the Moody Blues earlier in the summer. For the Opeth tour, lighting was supplied by Leeds, UK, based lighting rental company, Zig Zag.
The fixture list included 10 x Robe 600E Spots, 10 x LEDWash 600s, 18 x LEDBeam 100s, LEDForce and 18 RGBW LED PARs, together with strobes and Moles, distributed across four upstage vertical towers, a rear truss and the floor.
Opeth's lighting needs to be moody, dramatic, dark, a bit sinister and definitely edgy.
Imaginative video - produced by Mick, featuring a mix of edited album artwork by Travis Smith, as well as new and original footage - ran through most of the set in this case via a series of mesh video panels, fusing harmoniously with the lighting and stage action in what's often dubbed a "visual spectacular".
"The BMFL is an amazing unit and I try to use these fixtures on as much of my work as possible," Mick comments, adding that in his option, the Robe brand has gone from "strength to strength" in recent years and is currently his first choice of moving light fixture.
He likes the little LEDBeam 100s for their "great" colour, pan-and-tilt speed and overall look.
Mick programmed and controlled all the OPETH tour lighting via an Avo Pearl Expert console running Titan, and Zig Zag's Paddy Sollitt ran the media server. Zig Zag are "a pleasure to work with" states Mick adding that Paddy is a "class designer and highly knowledgeable tech".
(Jim Evans)
