Domefest 2018, which was started as a 1 day event by Jeremy Schon while still at college and has since grown into a 3 day festival, had a Manny Newman-designed light show that featured 20 Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Wash and 16 Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Spot fixtures from Chauvet Professional, as well as eight Chauvet DJ Mega Strobe FX12 units.
Newman, who is the lighting designer for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, flew 12 of his Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Wash units on what he calls “the grid,” a configuration of 8 quick-grid ladders clamped on the upstage truss. The remaining 8 washes were used for front and side wash. 8 of the Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Spots were arranged on road cases, while the final 8 spot fixtures were flown on the upstage truss.
Utilizing the colour wheel of his spot fixture and the RGBW colour-mixing capabilities of his wash units, Newman crisscrossed the stage with multi-coloured beams. Having a matrix of light at different eye levels and in a rainbow of colours created a kaleidoscope effect that fit the mood of his client’s music. “The colours and looks followed my interpretation of the mood that characterized different parts of the show,” said Newman. “Color is a very big part of a Pigeons light show.”
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong performed each day of the festival. Newman had no trouble varying looks since the band’s set list changed nightly. “I had late night programming sessions, so I could add new looks as I got struck by ideas,” he said. “Plus, the fixtures helped me come up with fresh looks, thanks to their beam shaping, gobo capabilities, and sharp optics.”
While Newman ran the light show for his client, other bands either brought in their visiting LDs or had their shows run by Mike Koss of Inmuso, which supplied some of the fixtures used at the festival.
“I used to be the festival LD — and I’m not going back, man. If I ran for the all the other bands, I would be totally burnt out by the time PPPP got on,” said Newman. “We hired Mike Koss, who works with Inmuso, which provided our additional fixtures, to run all the other bands. Every LD who came here said something like, ‘Yo, dope rig! Is that a trampoline up there?’” remarked Newman. “They had a fun time playing with the Pigeons rig and painting the canvas. A fun thing for me was hanging with the other LDs and teaching a lighting workshop, which was surprisingly well attended. Connecting with friends and enjoying live music… that sort of sums up the spirit of Domefest.”