U.S. rock band Blink-182 – known for their raw, adrenalized, hi-energy
performances – are back on the road and blasted straight back up to the top of the
charts in both the U.S. and U.K. with their new studio album “California’ and single –
Bored to Death!
An extensive tour – currently in the U.S. is re-igniting the enthusiasm, passion and
commitment of their loyal fan base who have rocked up to show their continued
appreciation and enjoyed intense performances with an eye-popping production
design to match … created by Dominic Smith from Neon Black.
Dominic – who is based internationally in the U.S. and the U.K. – started working
with the band in April and Neon Black delivered the full production design for the
tour – lighting, video and set. The lighting rig includes 40 x BMFL Blades which are
being supplied by VER.
It’s the first time Dominic has toured with Robe’s highest powered BMFL moving
lights and he thinks they are “a great light – bright, reliable and do everything I
need in terms of effects and functionality.’
The rig has an interesting architectural appearance and shape comprising a series
of interconnecting concentric diamond shapes, and the lights are arranged over a
series of trusses.
Twelve of the BMFL Blades are used as key lights on the front of the band, and the
rest as high-impact back lighting and effects.
Dominic likes the quality of light coming out of the BMFL, the sharp focus and the
strong and vibrant colours, which are in keeping with the punky essence of Blink-
182’s music. He also finds the shutters smooth, accurate and easy to use.
The lightshow features lots of bold blocks of strong colour, manic movement and
animated moments with lots of stab-and-accent cues to match the bold spikey
attitudinal vibe of the performance.
“It’s great fun to light a show like this, there are multiple things happening all the
time and you really have to be fully concentrating’ he elaborated, saying that the
lighting will follow the hues and texturing of the video that was produced by his
Neon Black business partner, Bertram Pare.
The upstage video screen is a 15 mm pitch LED product 60 ft. wide by 13 ft. high
and there is also 3 mm LED surface cladding the front of the risers … so the
lighting has to hold its own against this mass of brightness, which is an ideal live
environment for the BMFL because of its incredible power.
The creative challenge of crafting the show has been getting all the visual
components to work harmoniously explained Dominic … it’s not just about lighting
as a stand-alone medium, but how it works with video and set as a coherent and
appropriate visual platform.
