Lighting designer Etsaban Caracciolo specified an Avolites Diamond 4 for his latest UK and European tour with the punky energetic US rockers, Fall Out Boy. During FOB’s latest US shed and arena leg of the tour – just previous to them hitting Europe this time around – he was using two D4 Elites – supplied by Upstaging. Lighting equipment for the UK tour was supplied by Southampton based GLS who also looked after the last FOB tour here in February.
FOB’s set can be as random as it is powerful, there is rarely a set list, and much of the show has to be improvisational, live and hands on – making Avolites the ideal choice of console for the environment. “I have everything right there on the faders, ready to grab whenever I need it” he says.
He adds that in the US, the doors are often open at 5.30 p.m., curtailing the working day and reducing afternoon programming time, so here again, the D4’s quick, simple patching and programming functionality is a real asset.
The Diamond 4 was controlling a large variety of fixtures. GLS were using their new Robe ColorSpot 1200 AT moving lights on the back truss – nine of them – joined by four Martin Professional MAC 600s, three bars of ACLs and four Martin Atomic strobes with scrollers.
On the floor were two 8’ vertical trussing towers, each rigged with a MAC 500 on top and an Atomic-and-scroller, plus another two 5’ truss towers, with MAC 500s atop. Also on the floor was another pair of MAC 500s perched on top of the backline, and two MAC 600s at the front edge each side, firing across stage. There were also two 4-lite moles hidden beneath two ‘ego risers’ on stage left and right.
The front truss contained eight MAC 600s, six Source Four profiles and four 8-lites to illuminate the audience. The D4 was also controlling a DF50 smoker and fan, and the FOH follow spots were Lycian Stark-lites.
Dimming was done with a 48-way Avolites ART 2000 rack and one of GLS’s own 54-way hot power distros. The tour was crewed by Dave Dickinson and Karen Wood, helped by Caracciolo who was a working LD for the tour.
For Caracciolo, based in Lawrence, KS, it’s his fifth tour with FOB. Their 2005 schedule included 305 live shows and also saw the release of their phenomenal “From Under The Cork Tree” album. He describes his stylistic approach to lighting Fall Out Boy as “Creating a good old fashioned rock show” with spectacular beam patterns, bold colours and dramatic movement, a winning combination that matches FOB’s manic energy, making a blisteringly good all-action show.