The Stage

Colouring it in

Published Monday 30 November 2009 at 16:00

Liverpool-based Adlib has supplied lighting and sound production for a recent tour by UK indie band the Maccabees.

Adlib’s Andy Rowe operated a lighting design created by Ian Tomlinson, which consisted of a floor-based ‘specials’ package that was used in conjunction with the house systems at each venue, complete with a full rig supplied by ADLIB for the Brixton and Manchester Academy shows.

Otto Kroyman looked after the sound elements for ADLIB, acting as systems technician and minding both band engineers, Joel Gregg at FOH and Andy Egerton on monitors. With lighting, flexibility was said to the basic requirement, so the design included a minimalist selection of fixtures that could easily be moved and fitted in as and where the spaces on stage allowed.

The floor rig included eight JTE PixelPAR 90s, five Martin Professional MAC 550s, five MAC 250 Washes, five Martin Atomic strobes and seven floor-mounting PARs. The PixelPARs were rigged on tank trap stands so they could be positioned to highlight the grey backdrop from a slightly offstage side position. The idea was to have a large wall of lights at the back of the stage pointing forward at the band, in the process creating interesting and moody silhouettes, with the beams also shooting past the band out into the audience, diffusing the energy and vibes of the music all around the venue. Rowe operated the shows using a Road Hog console.

www.adlibsolutions.co.uk