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the rig because , once it was up , that was it ; that was your show .”
That consideration extends , he adds , to building the show , and “ saving certain things for special moments .” He continues : “ With the advent of moving lights and consoles , with just a few button clicks , you can have any light , any colour , in any position , doing a wide range of built-in effects . I ’ m disappointed when I see a show today when , from the first note of the first song of the night , the whole rig is revealed and going crazy . I am certainly not knocking this revolution and am excited every day about new technology that ’ s arriving and what can be done with it , but there are times when I miss the simplicity of the conventional rig .”
Conversely , Beecher and Pegg don ’ t feel particularly nostalgic . “ I have no desire to go back to those days ,” Beecher says , recalling a six-scene , manual board she used at the Neptune in 1989 . “ I actually love the shifting landscape . I ’ m always open to new gear and new ways of doing things .”
Asked if there ’ s anything he misses , Pegg is blunt : “ No . You can certainly do anything you used to , currently ; it ’ s not like that ’ s gone away . I think what ’ s nice is there are more options . The work itself has become more professional and the tech has evolved in great ways , too , both in terms of flexibility and safety .” His point being that , as long as the passion people have for the industry remains , it ’ s all good .
What Hendrickson misses is more general : “ Workflow and ethic . In the early days , road crews were willing suckers for punishment . We loved the road and worked many long and hard hours for the acts we travelled with . There were many days we put ourselves in harm ’ s way . As many of the seasoned pros out there will tell you , we would drive to the gig in our trucks , set up the gear , if you were really lucky there would be labour to help you unload , do the show , strike the gear , and head directly to the next gig . With any luck , the agent only booked a five- to seven-hour drive between shows .”
That said , Hendrickson adds , increased safety measures in recent years are a definite plus : “ These days there are much better support systems in place to help
LOOKING BACK …
CN Tower
Fall 2007
For nearly a decade prior to its 2007 retrofit , Toronto ’ s CN Tower had been minimally illuminated by conventional lighting fixtures that were each the size of a washing machine . Executives decided it was time to light the national icon in a way that truly demonstrated Canada ’ s pride . Jack Robinson , then COO of the CN Tower , said that they “ searched for technology advances that would present an energy efficient solution to lighting Canada ’ s national tower .” The $ 2.5-million project included the addition of 1,330 Color Kinetics LED fixtures to truly spectacular results that remain on display to this day .
crew put a professional show on for their artists . I ’ m really surprised there were not more accidents given the way things were done back then .”
“ It was , early on , a bit like the Wild West ,” Ungerleider takes over . “ We loved challenges . The band would challenge themselves musically and I challenged myself visually . When we started , we were basically creating what became the norm over time . There weren ’ t many companies that were out there that would provide touring systems . You had to use what was in the theatre – these clunky theatre consoles , and then call spots . It was a big learning experience for everyone . In the early days , when you were creating everything , it was fun because every day was a new adventure in how you were going to use these standard pieces of equipment in a different way .
“ I held out as long as I could ,” he continues , “ up until the mid- ‘ 80s , when Vari-Lite first came out and Genesis brought them into the big picture . I tried to use conventional lighting and exhaust all the possibilities with that before I moved into automation . Once I did , it was like a rebirth because it opened up a whole new world that was never there before .
“ I kept using every resource at my fingertips to create something that would look different from everybody else and that was one of the challenging things with Rush – every album they came up with , I had to come up with a new concept for lighting and I loved that . I got into their songs , lyrically , so I could do light choreography .”
HERE TO STAY ?
Discussing factors that determine the success and staying power of a given technology
PL & P : In your view , what are the major factors – both past and present – that determine which technologies , innovations , and trends become longterm successes in the industry , and which don ’ t ?
Richard Schick : “ I am sorry to say that it is cost-driven . The technologies that stick around are those that are cost effective and make the business efficient .”
LOOKING BACK …
Rush ’ s Time Machine Tour
Summer 2011
Because of the band ’ s reputation for delivering a truly spectacular live show , we ’ ve covered a lot of Rush tours in the pages of PL & P over the years . Their 2011 Time Machine Tour still stands out as one of the most visually stunning . Steampunk imagery – copper piping and gages , Tesla tubes , steam-powered mechanical devices – was central to the aesthetic . This theme was reinforced by the film clips and animation that played on the LED screen backdrop and the stage set , including a custom-designed drum kit highlighted by copper stands , time travel imagery , and Tesla tubes ; however , the coup for the show and easily the most exciting and