Could Someone Tell The Person In Charge Of Turning The Lights On So The Audience Can Leave If The Band

Could someone tell the person in charge of turning the lights on so the audience can leave if the band is playing an encore or if everyone is going rabid in the dark for nothing...

It’s a Professional High School.

So I’m working at a decent venue tonight, just a one night gig for some band double bill tour.

This sort of thing usually goes along the lines of:

Band shows up early afternoon. Band sets up instruments. Band does sound check. Band plays a few songs. Band leaves. Supper. Audience is let in. Band plays. Audience leaves. Stuff band back into truck.

Notice there’s nothing in that list about lighting.

So what you have to do if you’re called in as a lighting person is help the audio crew load in the band, sometimes including running mic cables and amp lines. At some point you need to find time to tear yourself away and go see what mess the last technician left the hang in, because you’re never in back-to-back. There has always been at least eight other people, and at least twenty different stage configurations from the last time you worked here two months ago.

So you go to the lighting board and turn it on and bring everything up and see what you can use and what you can adapt and what’s terrible. Then you go fix what you can and make a new magic sheet on the fly and wait for the band to actually get to playing so you can give them all focused specials and pray they stay in that same spot during the show later (they never do).

And then the best (worst) part is you’ve probably never heard this group before so you don’t know their songs. So while everyone in the audience has memorized every lyric on all three albums and all agree that THIS song MOST DEFINITELY should have a BLUE light to suit the mood… you put on a red light and. Oh shoot this one is sad… uh… crossfade blue up…?

If your venue has smart lighting, LEDs and movers and stuff, you can fudge it by making them move around and change color or gobo. Look at the shiney. Please don’t notice it means nothing.

But when the venue you’re in just has some old Par 64s, Cantata zooms, and six Source 4s?

And the tour technician walks up to you and says “You’re lights? It’s a rock show! Go nuts!” Sometimes freedom is worse. If you’re lucky you get a set list with “blue” “flashy” “slow, sad” beside the tracks to give you a heads up how they might Feel, how you might choose to light that song. If you’re lucky. Not lucky this show.

And I look at him and grimace because there’s high schools with better lighting rigs, except the high schools aren’t charging $40 a head.

At least I was able to borrow a hazer.

FIRST THING the lead does is walk RIGHT out of his light and into the GIANT BLACK VOID near the keys.

It’s a Professional High School.

So I’m working at a decent venue tonight, just a one night gig for some band double bill tour.

This sort of thing usually goes along the lines of:

Band shows up early afternoon. Band sets up instruments. Band does sound check. Band plays a few songs. Band leaves. Supper. Audience is let in. Band plays. Audience leaves. Stuff band back into truck.

Notice there’s nothing in that list about lighting.

So what you have to do if you’re called in as a lighting person is help the audio crew load in the band, sometimes including running mic cables and amp lines. At some point you need to find time to tear yourself away and go see what mess the last technician left the hang in, because you’re never in back-to-back. There has always been at least eight other people, and at least twenty different stage configurations from the last time you worked here two months ago.

So you go to the lighting board and turn it on and bring everything up and see what you can use and what you can adapt and what’s terrible. Then you go fix what you can and make a new magic sheet on the fly and wait for the band to actually get to playing so you can give them all focused specials and pray they stay in that same spot during the show later (they never do).

And then the best (worst) part is you’ve probably never heard this group before so you don’t know their songs. So while everyone in the audience has memorized every lyric on all three albums and all agree that THIS song MOST DEFINITELY should have a BLUE light to suit the mood… you put on a red light and. Oh shoot this one is sad… uh… crossfade blue up…?

If your venue has smart lighting, LEDs and movers and stuff, you can fudge it by making them move around and change color or gobo. Look at the shiney. Please don’t notice it means nothing.

But when the venue you’re in just has some old Par 64s, Cantata zooms, and six Source 4s?

And the tour technician walks up to you and says “You’re lights? It’s a rock show! Go nuts!” Sometimes freedom is worse. If you’re lucky you get a set list with “blue” “flashy” “slow, sad” beside the tracks to give you a heads up how they might Feel, how you might choose to light that song. If you’re lucky. Not lucky this show.

And I look at him and grimace because there’s high schools with better lighting rigs, except the high schools aren’t charging $40 a head.

At least I was able to borrow a hazer.

I wish she'd put a helmet on but I do admire the journey. First I've heard of her and defiantly intend to read up on this woman more.

Elspeth Beard, shortly after becoming the first Englishwoman to circumnavigate the world by motorcycle. Her journey took 3 years and covered 48,000 miles.

It's a Professional High School.

So I'm working at a decent venue tonight, just a one night gig for some band double bill tour.

This sort of thing usually goes along the lines of:

Band shows up early afternoon. Band sets up instruments. Band does sound check. Band plays a few songs. Band leaves. Supper. Audience is let in. Band plays. Audience leaves. Stuff band back into truck.

Notice there's nothing in that list about lighting.

So what you have to do if you're called in as a lighting person is help the audio crew load in the band, sometimes including running mic cables and amp lines. At some point you need to find time to tear yourself away and go see what mess the last technician left the hang in, because you're never in back-to-back. There has always been at least eight other people, and at least twenty different stage configurations from the last time you worked here two months ago.

So you go to the lighting board and turn it on and bring everything up and see what you can use and what you can adapt and what's terrible. Then you go fix what you can and make a new magic sheet on the fly and wait for the band to actually get to playing so you can give them all focused specials and pray they stay in that same spot during the show later (they never do).

And then the best (worst) part is you've probably never heard this group before so you don't know their songs. So while everyone in the audience has memorized every lyric on all three albums and all agree that THIS song MOST DEFINITELY should have a BLUE light to suit the mood... you put on a red light and. Oh shoot this one is sad... uh... crossfade blue up...?

If your venue has smart lighting, LEDs and movers and stuff, you can fudge it by making them move around and change color or gobo. Look at the shiney. Please don't notice it means nothing.

But when the venue you're in just has some old Par 64s, Cantata zooms, and six Source 4s?

And the tour technician walks up to you and says "You're lights? It's a rock show! Go nuts!" Sometimes freedom is worse. If you're lucky you get a set list with "blue" "flashy" "slow, sad" beside the tracks to give you a heads up how they might Feel, how you might choose to light that song. If you're lucky. Not lucky this show.

And I look at him and grimace because there's high schools with better lighting rigs, except the high schools aren't charging $40 a head.

At least I was able to borrow a hazer.

Niagara Falls - Horseshoe Falls Overlook, Fallsview Blvd. Nov 6, 2018.

Got my bike back, had my lowering link installed finally. Still a tiny bit tall but dropping it lower will just make adventure bike ground clearance moot.

Dear bike makers: Short people want to adventure too!

Cold weather's here, remember that cars are going to be surprised to see us riders still out and about.

Watch out for leaves on the road, especially wet roads. They can mess up your traction pretty bad.

Also daylight is in short supply, help yourself be seen with reflective tape, brightly coloured gear, and lights. Don't be invisible!