The Lenny Kravitz 2018 Raise Vibration tour, in support of his new album of the same name, kicked off in early 2018 in Mexico City. To accompany the lively stage show Lighting Designer, Leroy Bennett, incorporated 224 Ayrton MagicDot-XT fixtures into his multi-layered design.
The main set changed at different venues, but the backdrop setting and lighting design stayed the same and consisted of 14 diamond-shaped pods with 16 Ayrton MagicDot-XT fixtures tightly packed into each one, with just a 250mm offset between each fixture within each matrix. The pods were rigged in two rows of seven and partially concealed behind a massive louvre blind back wall.
Bennett, who was keen to use the Ayrton MagicDot-XT fixtures for this particular lighting design, explained: “the idea for the design was based on Lenny being inspired by the venetian blinds set I designed for Prince’s Controversy Tour. I have been using the MagicDot-XT for quite a while and like their reliability and versatility. They are small and quick and I like their continual pan and tilt feature the best. We were able to get multiple looks from them including using them in a cluster to emulate a large lighting fixture. I think that was my favourite use of the light here, to create a large beam.”
Throughout the shows, which were mostly held in large arenas, the Ayrton MagicDot-XT fixtures demonstrated their versatility. At times they could be seen twinkling through the louvre slats, refracting the light to create a tender mood or, when used with full-on intensity, drenched the louvres with saturated colour. Ayrton MagicDot-XT’s high output and 2° beam was also used to create different patterns in light. Sometimes it was a single solitary shape where the pods were used to resemble windows in a cathedral, with luminous shafts of sunlight beaming down onto the stage and performers. The fixtures were also used individually, sometimes partially obscured to be a large light source behind the louvre slats, which created different a different mood for every song.
Lighting Associate and Programmer, Harry Forster, explained why they wanted Ayrton MagicDot-XT for the tour: “We chose these particular fixtures because of their compactness which made them the best fit to assemble into the pods. We liked that everything you need from it is in the right place. It’s surprising how many fixtures have one or two annoying quirks about how the channels are mapped, or controlled -we didn’t have any of those issues.”
Ayrton MagicDot-XT has all the same features as the original Ayrton MagicDot-R, including ultra rapid movement and continuous, unlimited rotation on pan and tilt, but with larger optics and a narrower 2° beam. The compact footprint permits multiple fixtures to be installed with a minimum amount of space between them, while its ultra-tight, fat beam is impressive over distances and can generate the sharpest of light curtain effects.
The fixtures for this leg of the tour were supplied by PRG.
