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Mid-Sized Rock Venue Irving Plaza Stays Ahead of the Game with Extensive Lighting Upgrade.
Irving full-time lighting designer Ian Davis, who works various NYC rooms, assures, “We’ve really made a very big step here, there’s no other live music venue in NYC that I know of that has lights like these permanently installed.” The LD at Irving for just over three years, Davis brought much experience to the table in coming up with a new lighting design, working to satisfy not only his own expert-eye spec’s, but to gain another edge on the competition. The selected equipment mirrors those items in demand by touring acts, and is most familiar to their touring LDs.
Positioning the club to meet the demands of booking agents, artists, and touring crews, Jeff Webster, Irving’s production manager for the last eight years, considered the increasing significance of lighting design. “A band’s appearance on stage is a very important part of the show, and one we’re seeing an increasing interest in, as more bands are bringing their own LDs on the road,” notes Webster. “The new lighting system is certainly a selling point for talent buyers and promoters who are booking this room. We wanted to get the equipment that was typically rented by interested artists; for example, we’ve never had data flashers up there, but that had been consistently asked for, so we made sure we got them.”
Upgrading the lighting system to accommodate a variety and great number of shows on a tight budget, Davis worked with Boston-based dealer Sonic Circus, and its Live equipment purveyor Ray Martin. Keeping in mind that the fixtures had to be flexible and reliable, and able to throw a wide beam at a very short distance, Davis put a spec list together and spoke with the various dealers bidding on the gig. Sonic’s Martin offered the best package to work within Irving’s budget, and the re-tool quickly got underway.
“I started working with Sonic in mid-November and I had to have everything installed by mid-December,” recalls Davis, who selected all of the equipment and installed it at the venue.
Davis opted for the top of the line VARI*LITE, choosing 8 VARI*LITE 3000 luminaires for their high-end imagery, beam control, color and brightness. He hung six of the VL3000 Spot luminaires in a horseshoe configuration above the stage with a VARI*LITE fixture in each corner and two more along the backline. He installed two more VL3000 Spot fixtures in front of the stage, and off to the side. The VL3000 Spot utilizes a 1200Warc source and achieves a 6-to-1 zoom range, and important factor in the LD’s decision.
“We have a short ceiling over our stage, only about 15 feet, and with the zoom, even just one beam goes from the downstairs floor to the upstairs ceiling,” explains Davis. As part of the installation, Davis actually took down the stage’s existing proscenium, and exchanging it with a smaller one so that he wouldn’t have to hang the lights as far down as initially expected. Once hung in the expanded opening, the difference was astounding. “I have much more capability of hitting the crowd than I used to,” says Davis. “It used to be just a stage show, and now I can light up the entire venue.”
Six Technobeam-i 250w automated fixtures, with computer optimized optical design and motorized iris option, are also installed midstage, along with 8 Par 46 ACLs at 250W. According to Davis, there are actually just a few more lights installed than were there before, yet the uniform power of all 8 VariLites makes a remarkable difference. Now, they’re all the same kind of light, with color-mixing and rotating gobos, and other cool features.
Davis also selected a Jands Hog 1000 for main lighting control and a Lightronics TL2448 48-channel board, which in addition to ramping up Irving’s overall lighting system control, creates a more flexible work environment. “Our last board required a lot of work on Ian’s part with touring LD’s, many times he’d even have to run the moving lights himself, while they’d cover the conventional lights,” describes Webster. “The Jands Hog is very popular and user-friendly. Offering a board people are consistently familiar with will really make the days here easier.”
Also new at Irving are four Atomic Strobe lights, by Martin, and an additional Lightronics RE82D 8-channel 2400W/channel dimmer, bringing the dimmer channel count up to 48. Davis also changed all the par cans to ETC 750Wpars, which he notes are “a much better light,” and swapped out all the Lekos for 6 new 6x16 1K Lekos. Installed to light Irving’s dance floor are 20 par 36 pin spots, which can be remote controlled at the lighting console and by a DJ controller, and 8 new ETC 740 pars.
Webster is certain that the extensive lighting upgrade will make a difference in business at Irving, though with 250 shows a year already, the system is only enhancing what’s already a good thing. But, as the very artists performing the NYC stop on their tour at Irving must be in top form, so does the venue, because for both, competition is always just around the corner. Competing with the smaller Bowery Ballroom and comparably sized B.B. King’s club already, Irving may be facing the music of another venue very soon, a larger AEG owned club opening in Times Square.
Just now entering its busy Spring season, a newly upgraded Irving Plaza is sure to turn some heads, even as it continues to impress the pants off of the talent. “I’m constantly told at the end of the night how great the staff here are, how well they work, and how great the show was,” shares Webster.
“The NYC show is so high-profile for these bands, with all the press around, and can be really demanding on some artists. It’s nice to hear a tour manager, band member, or crew guy say ‘you know we were dreading the NYC show, and you guys just made it so simple.’”
That more and more bands are bringing an LD on the road with them and/or incorporating multimedia as part of their show surely indicates increasing attention to lighting and overall presentation.
“Successful bands are going to have an LD, they’re not going to leave their show up to a house guy,” says Webster of what’s to come. Having already upgraded, Irving Plaza can accommodate this growing bunch, and further capitalize on its position as legendary NYC club--something that cannot be duplicated.
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