The Beautiful South 2006
LD: Dave Byars
Lighting designer Dave Byars used the new I-Pix Satellite LED fixtures on The Beautiful South's 2006 tour.
For the first leg of the UK and European section, he used a total of 40 units - 20 attached to the back truss washing down the sumptuous grey rear drape, plus another 20 on the floor washing up the same drape. The lights were supplied by HSL.
In addition to producing the more conventional, very rich cyc wash effects, he ran the Satellites through a PixelDrive computer. This allowed the creation of complex patterns which when run through the floor-based fixtures resulted in some really funky silhouetting effects behind the band.
"They're hugely versatile fixtures" he comments, "The brightness is excellent, they are really powerful and they give great coverage."
He adds that they were also a big hit with the crew because of their light weight, very neat and compact build, easy plug-ability and general robustness. "They were definitely voted ‘Favorite Fixture of the Tour’ ".
Byars also used 8 Satellites on the Futureheads tour that went out just after that first leg of the Beautiful South. Here they were used for a completely different job, with a pair up-lighting each member of the band, and Byars making the most of the strobe effect.
Photos © Louise Stickland, courtesy of HSL
