Marking one the final large scale concerts to take place in Las Vegas ahead of the lockdown of live events, Bobby Grey of Notan Creative deployed 60 Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures – supplied by Felix Lighting – to deliver a variety of looks for the 102 songs that rock band 311 performed in three marathon shows at the Park MGM’s Park Theater.
As well as devising full production design for the series of concerts, Grey created and curated the shows’ video content. The band annually celebrates 311 Day on 11 March, staging marathon live concerts in even-numbered years and playing a cruise for fans in odd-numbered years.
Formed in 1988, 311 has released 13 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, four EPs and four DVDs. “Mythos 2 is my go-to for a beam and utility light,” said Grey. “A lot of lights claim to do a lot, but typically they do only one thing well and everything else not so well. Mythos 2 is a great wash, a great profile and a great beam, and it flawlessly moves from one type of lighting to another. It’s my must-have in every rig.”
For 311’s 2020 celebration Grey gave the concerts “a space explorer-galactic theme.” He supplemented the Park Theater’s house rig with triangular pod trusses – a moving rig that would help “keep things versatile.”
Grey used sci-fi UFO art for reference and liked the look of triangular spacecraft with lights at the front tip. “I found a place on the truss to mount Mythos on each corner for a strong, tight beam that could also spread out wide from the bottom.” Cryo jets were also on each pod point “to shoot out steam and highlight the Mythos lighting,” Grey explained.
The opening sequence immediately set the mood for fans. Grey rendered a 15-minute video of a head’s up display whose POV looked out a UFO’s front window. “It started with the earth in the distance then earth got closer and closer until it engulfed the screen. We zoomed out the Mythos super-wide and panned back and forth through low-lying fog to glimpse the crew hooking up the backline for the band – just as if they were prepping a landing pad. The stage blacked out, the pods flew in from the grid with nice beams like an energy field, lowered to the stage and revealed the band.”
Grey noted that he kept the Mythos fixtures “working throughout each night on big rock ’n roll moments, jam moments and intimate songs with big gobos and star fields. It was really good to have the horsepower at our disposal to fill the room with light. The Mythos’s versatility is what really made the project special. They were ready for anything and gave us so many good looks. We really were thankful to have something that could keep every moment looking fresh.”
He credited Claypaky with “taking the time and energy to make unique and reliable lights that break the mould and are different from everybody else’s fixtures. They are meant to perform many hours and are always super-solid. We had no issues with our Mythos during the shows. They gave us a really rich toolset to deliver our vision and create a modern, sleek-looking show.”
Claypaky Strategic Marketing Manager, George Masek commented: “We were very proud to be a part of this project and Bobby’s kind words about the fixture are the icing on the cake. The entire Claypaky team works together to create fixtures that deliver these kinds of results for designers and it is always nice to hear when they are pleased with our efforts. It inspires us all as we strive to create future products.”