Avolites Gets Rocked with Def Leppard

Photo: courtesy of Avolites.

Lighting Product Stories Published: 10 January 2009
An Avolites Diamond 4 Vision console is rocking its way around the world with maverick heavy metal band Def Leppard on their current "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" tour. They have just finished a 2 month UK and European section.

Def Leppard were one of the most successful top selling rock bands throughout the 1980s, selling over 65 million albums worldwide, including over 35 million in the US alone. They still tour to packed arenas 8 months of the year putting the same enthusiasm and vitality to their performance and production as ever.

Tokyo based lighting designer Kenji Ohashi has worked with Def Leppard for the last 6 years, and has used Avolites control right since the start of his professional career at leading Japanese rental company, Lighting Big 1.

In that time, he's programmed and run virtually every type of Avo console, and particularly likes the D4 for its power, ease of use, flexibility and functionality.

He operates Def Leppard’s high energy, hard rocking show very much hands on and 'live' so again, Avolites is the perfect choice of console. "I can get to everything I need immediately and quickly," he comments, “This is absolutely vital”.

LD Kenji Ohashi (L) and lighting crew chief Seth Conlin (R) with the Diamond 4.

Photo: courtesy of Avolites.

Although he's tried other desks along the way, he affirms "Avolites is definitely my first choice of console every time".

Ohashi works closely with lighting crew chief Seth Conlin from Nashville based US rental company, Premier Global Productions. All kit for the UK section of the tour was supplied by west London based Entec Sound & Light.

It's exactly the same rig as they are using in the US, arranged across a master grid of trussing with gently sloping down side wings.

The D4 is controlling a total of 88 Martin Professional MAC 2K luminaires - 56 Washes and 32 Profiles, plus a selection of conventionals including 8 and 4 lite Moles with scrollers for ‘blinder overkill’, single PARs with scrollers, 9 strings of ACLs and over 60 PARs. There are also Atomic strobes with scrollers in the rig and on the floor, plus 6 Coemar SuperCycs.

Stylistically, Ohashi is basically replicating classic ‘Big Rock Show’ elements form the heydays of the new wave of British heavy metal in the 1980s with a modern rig, simultaneously adding his own contemporary twists. It’s not an overly large rig, but he makes it look massive and the perfect compliment to Def Leppard’s many anthemic moments with head-banging stompers like, “Armageddon It”, “Sugar”, “Hysteria”, etc.,

There are plenty of strong single colour looks, lots of white and plenty of movement, cemented together in a heady cocktail of awesome beam looks, whilst ensuring that the band are also well lit and clearly seen. He spent considerable time studying archive video footage in the quest to create a unique contemporary-retro lighting texture for their ongoing work.

 

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