Lighting director Ethan Weber accepted the challenge of operating the lightshow, and has chosen two grandMA full-size consoles, with lighting associate Alex Murphy selecting two grandMA lights to run the stage and structure LED fixtures. There are a total of 10 MA NSP (Network Signal Processors) for lighting control.
Weber says: "The grandMA is a reliable and enjoyable console to programme and run. The worldwide support I've gotten from MA Lighting has always been great, no matter what size show I've been on. It's also comforting to know that there's a large network of users that I can call, all of whom are more than willing to share their knowledge and tricks."
Two grandMA full-sizes, one run in Full-Tracking-Backup-Mode, are controlling the moving and conventional lights. They are assisted by eight MA NSPs for DMX processing, and the fixture list includes 196 PRG Bad Boys, 156 Martin Atomic Strobes, eight BigLites 4.5, eight Novalight Nova-Flower 2Ks, generic channels and fog machines. Another grandMA light with a grandMA light as backup and two MA NSPs are used for LED control. This grandMA light also triggers an M-Box media server used for pixel mapping.
The U2 360° tour will visit 14 cities across Europe including Barcelona, Milan, Paris, Nice, Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin, Gothenburg, Gelsenkirchen, Chorzow, Zagreb, London, Sheffield and Glasgow before finishing at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
For full coverage of U2's current tour see the August/September issue of Lighting&Sound magazine.
(Jim Evans)
