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UK - ChamSys reports that its MagicQ MQ200 Console was the choice for the sell-out Modest Mouse show at the Royal Albert Hall.

The American indie rock band is currently undertaking a six-week tour of the UK and Europe, including an appearance at Glastonbury Festival later this month.

The MagicQ MQ200 controlled the generic house lights along with a touring package from GLS Light & Sound Production. Lighting designer Ian Cameron Lyles, who had never used a MagicQ console before, programmed the show on the day, highlighting just how easy it is to use the software, which is interchangeable from one MagicQ product to another.

Floor-mounted scaffold bars were arranged on stage to look like twisted signposts, and small lanterns hung on them to give an industrial feel to the set. Pix

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UK - London PA company Systems Etc has followed Electro-Voice's newly-available upgrade path for its XLC compact line array system, adding the new EV DVX3121 12" low-frequency/mid-bass woofers to all of its XLC127 cabinets. The first major outing for the new boosted system was the Orange Freevolution music festival in Newcastle on May Bank Holiday, the largest free festival in the UK.

Freevolution takes place across two stages in Baltic Square and quayside at Spillers Wharf. The larger of the stages is the 'Innovation' stage at Spillers Wharf, where headliners included Maxïmo Park, Echo and the Bunnymen and Joe Jackson. Systems Etc put up two hangs of 12 XLC127DVX, powered by EV's Precision Series P3000RL amplifiers, with 14 X-Subs for subbass and Xi1152s for front-fills.

Surprisingly for Newcastle-upon-Tyne in spring, the weather was shocking; rainy with winds gusting u

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Europe - LCD Soundsystem, the New York-based dance-punk outfit fronted by James Murphy, are following up their sold-out spring tour and acclaimed album Sound of Silver with a string of summer festivals in Europe. And they've insisted on using the Synco stage monitor system - the same system that's now been chosen for the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this year - for all the festival dates as well.

The live setup comprises Murphy himself on vocals and various instruments, Nancy Whang on keyboards and vocals, Pat Mahoney (drums), Tyler Pope (bass) and Phil Mossman (guitar, percussion, keys and bass). They play at levels that are constantly on the edge of feedback yet Mary Alafetich, LCD's monitor engineer, says Murphy demands much more than sheer power.

"What James really wants is effectively an enlarged studio on stage built to his specification," she says. Band

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It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

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USA - Wybron has announced the launch of its Outdoor BP-2 Beam Projector. This new fixture is designed specifically for outdoor applications and is based on Wybron's established BP-2 Beam Projector designed for theatre applications. The Outdoor BP-2 is IP65 rated and has all the light characteristics of the original BP-2. It is designed to prevent leakage in any outdoor lighting project regardless of the weather.

Built entirely of aluminium with stainless steel fasteners, the Outdoor BP-2 can be lamped with a 800W tungsten or 150W discharge source. This outdoor beam projector produces an extremely intense soft edge, narrow 10-degree beam of light several times more intense than an ordinary spotlight of similar wattage. It also features variable focusing capabilities, says the company.

The Outdoor BP-2 was originally designed at the request of lighting designer Howard Brandston

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UK - As part of RCF's expansion into the theatre and large concert events markets, it is now in the process of appointing a number of key professional resellers - 'Audio Partners' - to handle its TT+ speaker range. Initially there will be up to eight companies throughout the UK.

This network of partners will have to have the facilities to demonstrate TT+, says the company. They will of course benefit from a full back up service from RCF.

RCF UK's Greg Oliver comments, "We are very much behind this scheme of Audio Partners, as it gives us a chance to offer a complete back up support service to our key distributors."

The first appointment - Stage Electrics - will be confirmed at the ABTT show in London this week.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - The Canvix Matrix Server from Visual Productions is now available for download from the Canvix website.

This lighting control software can be used to control any type of lights arranged in a matrix layout. Canvix lends itself perfectly to the growing demand for control of LED products, says the company.

With a touch screen compatible intuitive user interface, Canvix software emulates the control elements commonly seen in traditional lighting control boards, making for a product that is quick and easy to learn. With the use of DMX Input, Canvix can connect to third party control boards to work as a fully functional Matrix plug-in.

(Jim Evans)

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The Netherlands - Alcons Audio is scheduled to show its products at three imminent trade shows - the ABTT Show in London, MediaTech in Johannesburg and the Cinema Expo convention in Amsterdam.

Emphasising its fast growing presence in the theatre market, Alcons will be exhibiting at the coming ABTT show in London with all three theatre sound system philosophies: point-source (VR, SR), line-source (QR) and line-array (LR) systems.

At the same time, on another continent, Alcons' Pro Ribbon Partner Matrix Sound from South-Africa, will be exhibiting at the Mediatech show in Johannesburg. Also here, the three system philosophies will be present. Matrix offers visitors a sneak preview of the Phitom large-format line-array design study, as showed at the Frankfurt ProLight&Sound show in March.

Alcons' key words at the Cinema Expo convention in Amsterdam will be "the only digit

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USA - Los Angeles-based Gamproducts has appointed Pascal H Zandt as vice president of sales and marketing. He joined the company a year ago as national sales manager having worked previously in the insurance and optics industries.

Gamproducts president Joseph N Tawaii says the appointment "marks a new direction for Gamproducts to expand our sales both domestically and internationally. Zandt's appointment as vice president is intended to reflect the authority and importance of this new sales/marketing direction."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend free festival in Moor Park, Preston, was reinforced through Turbosound Aspect loudspeakers.

Britannia Row was the main audio provider for the event, with Turbosound's head of R&D Dominic Harter managing the set-up of the Aspect system which comprised six TA-890H mid-highs, nine TA-890L lows and four TSW-218 subs per side, all ground-stacked. QLight TQ-425 subs along with Turbosound monitor wedges were deployed as monitors for the DJs. Amplification was via eight T-25 and 12 T-45 amplifiers, with control by two XTA DP448s and an XTA D2 for any added dynamic equalisation required.

"The decision to have an outdoor arena - and to use Aspect - was quickly proven right, as it was a stunning success, with a huge crowd enjoying the superstar DJ sets on each day. I have never known such an immediate and enthusiastic response to any system from everyo

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UK - One of Chelsea's best-known private members club - and a landmark on the King's Road for more than 40 years - Raffles has entered its latest manifestation with a complete makeover from the ground up.

The team of leisure consultants behind the new venture include Piers Adam, who has joined forces with Patrice Gouty, one of the co-founders of Chinawhite, Jeanette Calliva, party planner for Woodhead Calliva, and interior designer Tara Bernerd, of Target Living. It was Bernerd who masterminded the interior conversion, working in conjunction with main contractors, Du Boulay Contracts and The Sound Division Group.

Under the stewardship of the experienced Jon Carey (JLC Contracts) and SDG installations manager Elliot Patterson, the installers deployed the same highly-qualified team of programming and project professionals that had delivered the complex Tamarai in Covent Garden a

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USA - Furman Sound has announced the release of newly designed IT-Reference 16E and SPR-16E power management products for the European market. The new designs feature smooth contours of black steel and silver brushed aluminium complemented by clear blue LED lights, while offering the same performance and technologies Furman's customers have come to rely on, says the company.

The new IT-Reference 16E and SPR-16E units will be designated with a letter 'i' at the end of each model number to differentiate them from the original series. The conditioner offers Discrete Symmetrical Power to cancel hum-inducing noise from audio and video, Power Factor Technology to provide current on-demand for power-starved amplifiers, and three discrete dual-screen power banks to eliminate intercomponent interference and noise.

"We are very excited about the fresh look of our IT-Reference 16E i

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UK - Tony Bailey has joined MilTec (UK) to expand its existing client base into the school and theatre installation markets. Previously with Hall Stage, VariLite and Zero88, Bailey has 20 years experience within the Industry.

MilTec (UK) is the UK and Ireland distributors for FAL, PR Lighting, VMB and Colorbeam lighting products as well as sound equipment from Ecler and Cornered. A selection of products from theses manufacturers is on display on the MilTec stand at the ABTT show this week.

(Jim Evans)

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Europe - OMD's Architecture and Morality European tour in May saw founder members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys perform together for the first time since 1988. The duo was joined by the band's original line-up, together with FOH engineer Stuart M°rch-Kerrison who first mixed them back in 1984.

M°rch-Kerrison became the first engineer to specify a Midas XL8 live performance system for an international tour. The system has been provided by SSE Hire, a member of the M7 Group set up to facilitate XL8 hire in the UK.

"I made it very clear that I had certain parameters, and one of those was the Midas XL8," says M°rch-Kerrison. "I never thought about being the first; I just knew this was the tool I wanted to use. The great things about Midas are reliability, commitment to redundancy, and the fact it has to work every day - it should be able to fa

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Poland - Over 10,000 people attended the recent Juwenalia Slaskie 2007 Festival in Katowice. The numbers were far more than was originally expected, but proved no problems to the production team, CMA (A major rental company) who worked closely with Arcade Audio, RCF's distributor in Poland.

"The solution was simple," says Renata Klimek, managing director of Arcade Audio, "We used the new TT+ line array which easily coped with the conditions at the Katowice's sport airport." Headlining on the day were Hev and Dzem, two of Poland's most popular bands.

The sound system installed for the concert comprised eight TTL33-A for each side of the stage and a series of TTS28-A subwoofers. Klimek adds, "The TT+ system supplied a powerful and clean sound to all of the large audience at the concert, 7,000 people were expected but in the end more than 10,000 young stu

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USA - Meyer Sound has announced that veteran engineer and sound system designer Paul Giansante has joined the company as touring manager. In this position, Giansante will work closely with tour liaison manager Buford Jones as part of Meyer Sound's expanding touring group.

Giansante has toured with a wide range of artists including Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Sade, Neil Young, Beastie Boys, Zucchero, Parliament and Frank Sinatra. He has worked closely with well-respected engineers as Buford Jones (previous to his joining Meyer Sound), Jon Lemon, Dave Bracey, Robert Collins, John Shearman, Colin Norfield, Roger Lindsay, Al Tucker, Paddi Addison, and Jim "Redford" Sanders.

Giansante comes to Meyer Sound after several years with Sennheiser/Turbosound, and has previously worked with other touring companies including Britannia Row, Italy's Nuovo

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Ireland - A Robe moving light rig has been installed at Dublin's new night venue, the Tripod. Located in the same building as the legendary Pod Club, the new 1300 capacity purpose-built Tripod is a multifunctional club and live music space also created within the charismatic original shell of the old Harcourt Station.

Owner John Reynolds contracted Paul and Ian Smith of Dublin-based Just Lite Productions to specify and supply an appropriate lighting system.

Just Lites supplied six Robe ColorSpot 575 ATs, six ColorWash 250 ATs and two MS Zoom 250 XTs. These are being supplied by Just Lites to Tripod on a long term lease basis. "They are absolutely perfect for the job" says Just Lites' Paul Smith, who also supplied the Avolites Pearl house console.

Just Lites has had a Robe rig installed at The Ambassadors Theatre in Dublin for the last three years, lighting acts suc

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UK - Matt Chisholm, winner of the Stage Electrics NSDF 'Contribution To Sound Award' in association with Sennheiser was presented his prize by David Bell of Stage Electrics last week outside the Sennheiser Theatre at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA.)

The National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) is held in Scarborough each year, students some of which have never touched anything technical in their lives, have the opportunity to attend seminars and training sessions, meet industry experts and showcase their often newly discovered talents.

Stage Electrics has been involved with the festival for the last seven years, supporting the NSDF since 1999. The company supplies the festival's technical requirements and helps to deliver the workshop programme.

Chris Patton from Stage Electrics explains, "We have run various courses from basic moving lights workshops to sou

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UK - An impressive Lighthouse LED screen is installed in the centre of Bradford in the UK as the centrepiece of the city council regeneration project. Purchased by the council from a local supplier, The Music Company (TMC), the LED screen is in the city's Centenary Square and is the focus of attention across the newly developed leisure area with cafes, restaurants and shops. The display comprises 8x6 panels of Lighthouse P16 16mm LED screen, giving an overall screen size of 8.1m wide by 4.5m high.

The project is allied to the BBC public space broadcasting network to provide some of their live events content. It also shows a high percentage of relevant local arts material, reflecting the wide range of cultural influences and ensuring that the installation benefits the entire community.

The screen features processing by Lighthouse's proprietary X-drive Pro, LIP-DX and automatic

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UK - Scattered Media has been set up by former IIR Exhibitions executives, Darren Brechin and Iain McLean - who launched and masterminded the PALME Middle East and PALME India exhibitions, and managed IIR's entire Entertainment and Installation Technologies Group of events.

With 20 years' experience in the events industry, the UK-based company plans to serve the entertainment and installation technology markets through a series of dedicated B2B networking forums. The first of these will be evenTech Scotland, which is scheduled for 20-21 February 2008, at the Marriott Hotel, Glasgow.

Says Darren Brechin, who leaves his present post at the end of July following the PALME Asia exhibition, "We have long recognised the need for an entertainment technology forum in the North of the UK, and Glasgow is the ideal location as Scotland in particular is cu

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Germany - For Herbert Grönemeyer's current nationwide concert tour, lighting of the open-air events was overseen by Günter Jaeckle and Paul Normandale, who both use MA Lighting gear.

Günter Jaeckle comments, "With the grandMA I have a tool, that works perfectly. We attended the rehearsals with our consoles as well as during the pre-programming for Peter Maffay. But this time it was a bit more complex - all in all we have 150 moving lights attached. Furthermore a Grönemeyer concert is hugely influenced by the spontaneity of the artist. Mostly you are occupied by watching his actions and react to them. Flexibility is very important."

The stage is dominated by a high-res Mitsubishi LED video screen. "The photographer Anton Corbijn created the picture and video contents, my design is based on this - for example the colours are selected to harmonise with the vide

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UK - Lifting and flying specialists, Lift-Turn-Move, launches two new products at ABTT 2007 this week - the Carbon Cub winch and the Kinolift PHC 1000 S person lift - both of which are designed for theatre applications of all types.

The Carbon Cub is a compact, portable, 'plug-and-play' mini hoist system. It is suitable for a variety of lifting applications and is perfect for theatres, broadcast studios, museums, sporting productions and worship and retail venues, says the company.

It features a matt black finish with black lifting cables and weighs only 41Kg. It has a travel speed of 4.3m a minute and can lift loads up to 136Kg to a height of 7.5m.

The Kinolift PHC 1000 (made by Alplift in Germany) is billed as a cost-effective telescope type person-lift and a quick, safe and easy way of reaching and working roofs and ceiling spaces. It makes changing lamps and other equipm

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