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The Light Show

E

eow

Mar 5, 2003
22
0
Kansas City
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#1
This is for the weekend warriors who are playing the typical cover band bar/club circuit.

Just curious how much time and energy you invest in your band's "light show".

The reason I ask is that I have seen some bands around town who go hawg wild with lights, smoke and lasers and try to make Bob's Bar look like a Pink Floyd concert. Conversely, I have seen some bands with 4 PARs on a tree simply set to chase with the music.
Also, the time commitment to set all this up is incredible. I talked to a guy with the huge production who told me they spent 2-3 hours just setting up the light rig. All this for maybe $100-150 a man in medium size bar that we play at for roughly the same money and not nearly as much work. We have 8 PARs set to music on a truss behind us with the banner and a few front lights on either side. Takes about 15 mins to set up. Works great for us.

So the topics for discussion:
a) Your lights
b) Does all the production really make enough of a difference to be worth it?
 
#2
My cover band doesn't have any lights... Maybe things are different in other towns, but here in Miami the light shows usually dont stray too far from the big clubs and DJ's. I don't think it is worth the trouble/money to invest in a light show for a simple bar gig considering the cost of buying/renting the equipment and the end pay for the night.
 
#3
We have a fair amount of lights.

2 bars with 4 PAR cans each
2 aggressors
1 wiggly mirror projected thing that makes shapes on the dance floor
1 big ass smoke machine.

The aggressors and the smoke machine do look pretty cool (Bass player not withstanding....)

29314_1306749710172_1273437077_3068.jpg


Prolly takes a half hour to set em up. (Tearing them down at 3:00am sucks the worst)
 
#4
Call me ignorant, but what is a PAR? We are a local cover/blues band in Central Texas and we have four colored lights on a stand that flash with the music. I want to add some more for better photography, but they are about $3-400 for a good set. The lights we have are pointed at the guitarist/lead singer and I play in the dark most of the time.
 
#6
We have 4 PARS per side and our drummer was lucky enough to pick up about $8000 of LED's, moving heads, and other assorted goodies for a steal price. We would like to get rid of the PAR's, too hot and consume a 20 amp circuit like nothing, and get some LED Pars. One thing to consider is that power access will become an issue with a large light set up.
 
#7
eow said:
a) Your lights
Click to expand...

The basics, 2) 4-light LED bars + 2) flashing multi-light thingies. I played in a band that used nothing, and it was pretty boring looking when we played places that didn't provide lighting.

eow said:
b) Does all the production really make enough of a difference to be worth it?
Click to expand...

I would love to do the big production/fog machine etc. but the extra work is a hindrance. However, I think it makes a huge difference. Whether it's "worth it" is up to the individual person or band, no right or wrong answer... my heart says YES!, my wallet and back say H@IL NO.
 
#9
eow said:
Basically stage or theater lighting.

A parabolic aluminized reflector lamp (also PAR light, PAR can, or simply PAR) is a type of electric lamp that is widely used in commercial, residential, and transportation illumination...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAR_can

Now the trend is moving toward LEDs
Click to expand...
par has become a pretty big catch all name for lots of lamps.....the most prominent characteristic i recall when you move into the lighting world is that the par lamps have lenses that can be swapped,and the other big sub group (fresnels)can not......often pars lamp kits contain a fresnel lens.....generally the goal in swapping lenses was to try and diffuse the light,but sometimes the more spotty light was preferred.....the fresnels were able to be spotted up or flooded out by sliding the reflector carriage back and forth....
 
#10
I have a full 24 par system with a 12k watt dimmer,a bunch of satellite dimmers, and foggers, but I rarely use them small/medium sized bars. It all depends on the club, distance and power. Typically use a couple trees on the side (4 pars and a satellite dimmer), and a few times a couple pars on the PA cabs.
 
#11
Great item(s) for smaller rooms…

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-4BAR-LED-System?sku=817159

I have two of these Chauvet 4bars systems, so eight lights, the total of which takes less electricity than one 100watt light bulb, no heat at all, actually cool to the touch, and does all kindsa stuff, change colors, flash, whatever, and bulbs (LED) will probably last for the rest of your life.

Comes in a carrying case, weights so little you can easily carry it in one hand, setup is a snap; I can’t say enough about them.

I do want to add a little something a bit more flashy for the dance floor, though, but in our little circuit we don’t really need too much.

:)
 
#12
One stand with four pars, a couple floor boxes. The flashing feature can be really cheesy, so basically just some rich colors. Takes all of 10 minutes to set up or take down.

Its not a lot, but its way better than overhead lights and the pool table light and some neon beer signs.

You can go a long way with a few colored pars in those in clamped work lights. Leave the beer signs on. Red and blue neon adds to what you are doing.
 
#13
singlemalt said:
One stand with four pars, a couple floor boxes. The flashing feature can be really cheesy, so basically just some rich colors. Takes all of 10 minutes to set up or take down.

Its not a lot, but its way better than overhead lights and the pool table light and some neon beer signs.

You can go a long way with a few colored pars in those in clamped work lights. Leave the beer signs on. Red and blue neon adds to what you are doing.
Click to expand...
led's are the future for sure,and i'm guessing that par cans are going to start showing up on craigslist cheap as bands make the conversion
 
#14
We are a 3 piece, we all travel to gigs in our own cars, I carry the PA, my bass gear (combo and bass) and half of the lights (the halogens). Our guitarist was always saying we needed more, I said fine but I'm not carrying any more. We did not get any more.

So we still have
2 X 150w halogens with filters that mount on top of the PA cabs.
2 X 150w halogens with filters, floor standing
2 X Boxes with 4 X PAR 80s + filters to illuminate the drum kit.
1 banner with our name on to hang at the back of the stage.

No one has ever complained that we need more lights. The halogens are the small work lights that take the straight bulbs with a contact either end. I have adapted some filters to fit them.

Set up time is minimal, about 3 minutes. The biggest hassle is waiting for them to cool enough to stow them back in their bag when we tear down the gear.

We have tried LED lights but the technology needs to mature a bit longer before they are a viable alternative to filament bulbs. A friend who does light shows lent us a pair of LED PAR can sized lights a few months ago. We used them one night and decided that they were not worth carrying about for the meagre amount of light they gave out. He still has not got them back yet so I don't think he was impressed with them either.
 
#15
Marko5657 said:
Great item(s) for smaller rooms…

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-4BAR-LED-System?sku=817159

I have two of these Chauvet 4bars systems, so eight lights, the total of which takes less electricity than one 100watt light bulb, no heat at all, actually cool to the touch, and does all kindsa stuff, change colors, flash, whatever, and bulbs (LED) will probably last for the rest of your life.

Comes in a carrying case, weights so little you can easily carry it in one hand, setup is a snap; I can’t say enough about them.

I do want to add a little something a bit more flashy for the dance floor, though, but in our little circuit we don’t really need too much.

:)
Click to expand...

I have a pair of these as well, and they are awesome. We use one or 2 of these for most gigs. If we are doing a bigger show, we'll break out the fog machine and use a Chauvet Swarm and O-Beast as centerpieces for the dance floor. But most of the time, the 4Bars are enough.
 
#16
@Marko and Jive,

+1 on the 4Bar.

I just purchased one and used it a show this weekend.
Very easy and quick setup. I plan on purchasing another soon.
The best part is now we won't have to worry about the lights blowing a fuse in the smaller clubs.
Bye bye truss and power hungry PARs.
 
#18
My first band - 4 cans on tree to light the stage during the show.

My 2nd band - We have a full light show. Depending on the venue size, we take what we need to draw light up everything.. plus smoke machines. We actually hired a guy who runs sound and lights for us. He has all the lighting equipment and he is paid as an equal member of the band. It has paid off. We are getting a lot of buzz for our show already and we've only been playing a few months. I think the light show has put us above the other bands in the area because you are drawn to the stage due to the lighting.
 
#19
I own the PA and lights for our band. Simple set up - 2 banks of 4 PAR 56s on trees and a dimmer pack. One tree on each side of the stage. I don't feel like setting up any more gear as I do most of it myself. I might add a fog machine and a couple of small effects lighting.

I would like to try the LEDs, and I agree they are probably the wave of the future, but they are expensive. I can't justify their cost just yet.
 

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