CONCERTS Copyright Lighting &Sound America April 2009 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html 50 • April 2009 • Lighting &Sound America Copyright Lighting &Sound America April 2009 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html The Pussycat Dolls’ new tour provides show-business glamour on several levels Written and Photographed By: Louise Stickland exy, streamlined, slick: That’s the high production values, is an on-tour The structure was fabricated in Pussycat Dolls show, which element that production/tour manager the U.K. by Wakefield-based wowed Europe—the group’s second Bryan “Froggy” Cross is adamant Litestructures; the tour also made headline tour of the territory— about maintaining. use of Litestructures’ production while promoting the new album, A total of 45 Doll Domination crew rehearsal facility. The company also Doll Domination . members took to the road in Europe, built a 49.2' wide by 33' deep and 8' The entertaining, high-energy including 10 from the U.S. This report tall structure to fit onto touring house performance fuses effortless dance is based on the European tour; the stages. Other stage features included routines with a pumping mix of Pussycat Dolls are currently in the five scissor lifts from Litestructures’ musical genres—pop, rock, hip-hop, U.S., opening for Britney Spears. rental stock, the tops of which were cabaret—taking the girl-band After that, the group will return to this specially made to accommodate a set phenomenon to new production show for dates in Australia and Asia. of motorbikes and dancing pole props. heights. Attracting a wide-ranging, Warner and Cross have worked arguably 80% female, demographic, Cued for surprise together on numerous projects, and the PCD show embraces the concepts Cross and the Pittsburgh-based there’s a great creative synergy of independence, character, and lighting designer Scott Warner between them. Both have worked at sassiness—it’s unashamedly co-designed the set, which consists many different levels of the industry— good-looking and assertive. of double-decked walkways, with as stagehands and designers and A warm, friendly atmosphere was three sets of custom staircases made engineers—so they also know how to the first thing to hit me when walking of small aluminum frames and make their creations practical, into the Manchester Evening New s polycarbonate makrolon tops for workable, and tourable. Arena–despite the sub-zero transparency, allowing a submerged Warner has worked with PCD for temperatures outside—and this, bottom section of the center-stage two-and-a-half years. He has carte along with a good sense of fun and LED screen to show through. blanche as far as the lighting design www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • April 2009 • 51 CONCERTS is concerned, with a basic Always keen to embrace new the dynamics, and enabled the units requirement being to produce a large, technology, Warner wanted to try out to be spread out on many different action-packed show that keeps Robe’s new Digital Series on this tour, planes, adding serious perspective plenty of visual surprises coming right so HSL purchased six Robe and depth. Each over-stage Octopod until the final number. DigitalSpot 7000 digital moving lights, was loaded with six Robe ColorSpot The internally lit PCD aluminum 36 REDWash 3•192 LED wash lights, 2500E ATs, three Robe REDBlinder globe—flown at center stage— and 12 REDBlinder 2•96s to add to 2•96s, and three Martin Professional following along with the “Doll the company’ already extensive Robe Atomic strobes. Domination” theme—was one of inventory. The DigitalSpot 7000 The front truss features five Warner’s concepts, together with an combines a digital projector and two Vari*Lite VL3000 fixtures mounted on idiosyncratic trussing design based RGBW LED modules. The special brackets, with the pan and tilt on octopods; he also specified the REDWash—RED stands for “Robe functions disabled, allowing their use use of spheres to bring structural emitted diodes”—provides a rectan - as followspots. Warner controls the integrity to the space and to avoid a gular light field with manual control of intensity and other parameters from feeling of uniformity and straightness. beam spreads. REDBlinder is an LED his grandMA full-size console—all the All lighting, trussing, and rigging version of the eight-lite Molefay. spot operators have to do is point. He (for lighting and PA) equipment, “It was a logical move for us,” says wanted these units placed on the along with a 13-way Kinesys Oates. “These new Digital Series front truss to minimize spillage across automation system and Vector products are going to get spec’d the set and keep the beams neat and control, was supplied by the increasingly for tours and events, as tight on the girls. An additional front- Blackburn, U.K.-based rental their real potential company HSL, working with the is realized.” Pussycat Dolls for the first time. Warner also used HSL also designed the eight-faceted 60 Robe Octopods, which were constructed ColorSpot and by TFL. The project was managed ColorWash 2500E for HSL by Mike Oates. AT automated There are four 2.5m Octopods in units on the rig. It total, two hung over the stage and was a relatively moved on the Kinesys system, and modest fixture two static units dead-hung below the count for an arena front truss. The 4.5m circular truss show, but the resides upstage center; it also moves pod-based design with a smaller semi-circular static really enhanced truss positioned slightly downstage. Upstage left and right are two heavily loaded 20' sections of Tomcat SwingWing trussing flown diagonally; the setup is completed with front and rear trusses. All of the over-stage elements are sub-hung from a T-shaped mother grid. Warner is a big fan of Robe lighting products. He first used them at a Pussycat Dolls gig in St. Petersburg, Russia last year, and, ever since, they have been his moving lights of choice. “I was really impressed with the brightness and the features,” he explains. “There were other moving lights on that show, but the Robes absolutely ran away with the show— they were so intense.” The globe was built by ShowFX and is flown on the Kinesys system. 52 • April 2009 • Lighting &Sound America The central screen measures 21.5' wide by 12' deep, and, beneath the stairs, is a lower section that’s 21' wide by 4' high. of-house followspot is used to catch Robe REDFlash strobes and flown on 2500s serve as cross-washing Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer, if the Kinesys system. shin-busters at stages left and right. she sashays off limits during the lively The SwingWing trussing runs each Warner uses the REDWashes to performance. Below this are the two contain eight REDWash 3•192s, four produce an extensive range of colors — static Octopods, each with six Robe REDBlinder 2•96s, six ColorSpot from rich primaries to delicate ColorWash 2500s, four Atomics and 2500s, and eight Atomics. Upstage of pastels—washing the whole stage four 9-lites. Below these are the Robe the center-stage LED video screen is and set area. “They are fantastic,” he DigitalSpot 7000 DTs. the rear lighting truss, with another 12 says; “they’re very bright, with an amazing color range.” He comments that the units also have a proper “The internally lit PCD aluminum globe—flown white—still a rarity for an LED at center stage—following along with the ‘Doll fixture—and a feature that Robe has worked hard to produce after listening Domination’ theme—was one of Warner’s to user feedback. concepts, together with an idiosyncratic trussing Warner adds that he also loves the design based on octopods; he also specified REDWash’s rectangular light source, especially when juxtaposed with the the use of spheres to bring structural integrity spherical sources on the rig; he notes to the space and to avoid a feeling of uniformity that these units also look very good and straightness. ” when combined with the REDBlinders. The designer controls all lighting from the grandMA full size console, The semi-circle is rigged with three Robe ColorSpot 2500s, six strobes, with another running in full tracking Robe ColorSpot 2500s, and the full and eight REDWashes. back up mode. The grandMA is his circle has four more, plus eight The floor is relatively clear of lights, console of choice; when he started REDWash 3•192s. A globe, embedded specifically to preserve the clean lines using it two years ago, he liked it so with a series of 30W bulbs on 13 of the set and the open feel of the much that he bought one for himself — dimmer channels, spelling out the performance environment. Eight and it is carried on the tour. He finds words “Pussycat Dolls,” was built by REDWashes take up the footlight it easy to use and great for on-the-fly Los Angeles-based ShowFX. The position, spaced out across the front operation. There are at least two globe is also internally lit with two of the stage, and four ColorSpot songs in the set—“Halo” and “When I www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • April 2009 • 53 CONCERTS Grow Up”—that are improvised each Belfield, Jason Dixon, Rick “Avo” Canon lens, with two hand-helds in night. HSL also supplied a grandMA Butler, and tour rigger Chris Harris, the pit, each fitted with 18 lenses. A light for use as a technical desk, who is also flying Britannia Row’s PA fourth remote cam was secured on located in the dimmer area. as part of his HSL rigging duties. top of the riser on the left, beside one One of the HSL crew’s biggest of the drummers.