Alain Corthout and ChamSys Flow with Black Eyed Peas
LOKEREN. BELGIUM – After two decades, six Grammy Awards, 80 million record sales, and over 300 live concerts, the Black Eyed Peas haven’t lost a step, either in their exuberant hip-hop infused sound, or their get-up-and-dance stage presence. Both were on full display early this August at the Lokerse Feesten when the band electrified a packed house with a boisterous 16-song set that included iconic hits from their early days, as well as tunes from their newest album, “Translation.”
Supporting the California-based quartet every pulsating step of the way at the festival was a lively and colourful Alain Corthout-designed lightshow that was powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M Stadium Console supplied by Phlippo, Belgium.
Like the music of the band it supported, the lightshow flowed with a smooth, seamless rhythm, transitioning from soft moments to intense crescendos, always in sync with the performance on stage. Corthout, who designed the show with Capture software, created this panorama with the help of a two-truck rig that included three large square in-motion video screens, each surrounded by 10 hybrid fixtures.
By changing the height and angle of these overhead screens, the design team created a series of markedly different looks on stage, a perfect way to reflect the dynamism of the music. Rows of high output fixtures on truss that descended as they got closer to the back of the stage, added emotional power to the design, while ever-present audience lighting underscored the connection between the band and crowd.
Mario Lopez expertly ran the Lokerse Feesten rig, just as he did for the 26 other festival and corporate shows on the tour, and will continue to do as it moves on to other cities around the world. “Mario is doing excellent work,” said Corthout. “He and I chose the MQ250M, because we had a lot of fly shows, so we needed a compact desk.’
Over the course of the tour, the design team has encountered a variety of different fixtures on various floor packages and festival rigs. This is where the versatility of the MQ250M comes in handy, according to Corthout. “There is no need for complex morphing thanks to our console’s Copy Head Programming function,” he explained. “As for me, when I created the show back in the studio, the MQ250M worked seamlessly with Capture, as it always does.
“A big advantage of ChamSys is that it allows you to program superfast,” continued Corthout. “This has been invaluable on this tour in helping us respond to things like unexpected changes in video content. I am also a big fan of the Execute Window.”
A ChamSys user since 2008, Corthout appreciates how the company has been responsive to feedback from end users. “The people at ChamSys have always been good about listening and incorporating feedback,” he said, noting that this approach to product development results in consoles that are “fast and easy” to use. And with a free flowing band like Black Eyed Peas, fast and easy are two good attributes indeed.
