Rogues reflect spirit of Hmong band
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Performing in their native language, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based group connected to the appreciative crowd, most of whom were part of Hmong families that fled to the US in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and related conflicts in Southeast Asia. His unfamiliarity with the band’s language notwithstanding, Ottenbacher had no trouble reflecting their performance in light with a compact, versatile rig anchored by Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures.
“This was a very enjoyable project for me,” says Ottenbacher. “I have worked with Yellow Diamond Records, the band’s label, before, and they are very good people. Plus, the band’s passion was contagious. It was just very exciting to cross into a new culture and try to capture the feeling of a show in light.”
Helping Ottenbacher reflect the mood of the band’s performance were the eight Rogue R2 Wash fixtures he flew over mid-stage. “There was a very close connection between Sudden Rush and the Hmong audience,” he explains. “We wanted to support this sense of intimacy by washing the band and the crowd in the same warm, inviting colours. The colour mixing of the Rogues gave us the flexibility to keep the show varied by introducing different colours, all while staying in the same warm family.”
Also adding variety to the show were the four Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures in Ottenbacher’s rig. He positioned these units on downstage truss and flew them about 2’ higher than his wash fixtures. Having the linear Rogue FX-B positioned above the wash units allowed him to draw more attention to the eye-candy looks created with that fixture’s five independently controlled moving heads. The height differential also added a sense of depth to the venue’s relatively small stage.
To add punch to his lightshow, Ottenbacher flew eight Legend 230SR Beams on two rows of upstage truss.
(Jim Evans)
