Lighting designer Steve Douglas is using an Avolites Diamond 4 Vision console to
control lighting for Las Vegas-based The Killers’ “Sam’s Town” world tour.
He and show designer Bryan Leitch collaborated closely to produce a show
underpinned by some classic theatrical vehicles – colours, emphases, movements -
which is currently playing UK arenas. This is the band’s largest production tour
to date, with venue size set to grow as the tour progresses throughout 2007.
Dublin-based Douglas has used Avolites consoles since the start of his
professional career. He used a D4 on the previous US leg of the tour, “so it was
a natural choice to continue” he says. He’s also the show’s programmer and
operator, so he wanted a powerful desk that he knew was fast and easy to set up.
He adds that with their schedule already including a festival season in the
summer, “Features like Fixture Exchange are really invaluable”.
Equipment for the European section of the tour is being supplied by Siyan.
The stage features some spectacular red curtains, borders and legs, with monitor
and guitar worlds onstage also wrapped in matching red material. There’s a set
of black Austrian ruched curtains at the back, and in front of gathered borders
of the front truss is a large “Sam’s Town” sign with illuminated borders –
vintage Americana style. A saloon-room style wooden floor is also part of the
set.
The band had presented Douglas and Leitch with some basic ideas, and they went
from there in developing the lighting and the look of the stage.
The lighting fixtures are based around two front trusses, 3 scenic trusses, an
upstage lighting truss and three 10 ft square box trusses that move, plus one
scenic truss that moves in out to reveal 6 art deco chandeliers.
The Diamond 4 is controlling 41 SGM Giotto CMYs, 38 Martin MAC 2K Washes, 5
Novalight High Ground 2.5K searchlights, 16 Martin Atomic strobes and 36
Molefeys.
The moving lights are distributed across all the trusses and the deck, and the
D4 controls everything – including the chandeliers plus 6 strings of festoons
strung in between the frames of each of the 10 ft square moving trusses. The
console is also used to trigger two glitter drops off the front truss. “It’s
just a great all round desk and does exactly what I need it to do” says Douglas,
adding that the support from Avolites has been excellent, both in the UK and US.
Avolites’ Steve Warren also sorted out a D4 for their Australian tour which
included playing The Big Day Out.
The songs embrace a wide range of moods and emotions which the lighting has to
reflect and accentuate. Douglas operates the console live for most of the show –
one of the great assets of the D4 – his millisecond-perfect timing mirroring the
vigour and dynamism of The Killers onstage. The 90 minute set flies by, complete
with about 10 different truss moves (all but one executed in the blackouts) with
no repetition and plenty of creative options still in reserve.
Steve Warren comments, “Steve is very talented and has plenty of energy,
enthusiasm and great style. I feel he has a great future ahead, and the band are
also making real waves, so it’s a great combination. It’s also good to see a
designer taking advantage of some of the console’s more advanced features”.
Douglas is working alongside his Siyan crew of Oli James (chief), Dave Mathieson
(dimmers) and techs Iestyn Thomas and Will Yapp.
The Killers finish this leg of the European tour and then return to the US for
10 weeks, before coming back for the festival season. They are scheduled to be
touring for most of 2007.
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