Livin' It Up

LIGHTING DESIGNER/DIRECTOR MARK "JUNIOR" JACOBSON IS OUT WITH THE HOTTEST TOUR - AND I DO MEAN HOTTEST, AS THE PYROTECHNICS PROVE. JUNIOR HAS BEEN WITH LIMP BIZKIT SINCE ITS 1998 TOUR; ANGER MANAGEMENT, WHICH WRAPS UP IN AUSTRALIA THIS MONTH, HAS ALSO FEATURED EMINEM AND PAPA ROACH. SAYS JACOBSON, WHO HAS WORKED WITH FILTER, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, TOOL, AND THE MELVINS, "LIMP BIZKIT'S MANAGEMENT KNEW OF ME FROM SOME OF MY PREVIOUS BANDS, AND THE GROUP LIKED THE WORK I DID WITH TOOL, ONE OF THEIR FAVORITES.

"I've used Delicate Productions for every Limp Bizkit tour I've designed," Jacobson says. "Eminem's designer, Justin Collie, added the strobes and a Lightning Strikes unit while he was with us, and Godsmack's LD, Tom Horton, added a truss of 60 PARs (24 on the floor) and another dozen High End Systems Cyberlights[R]. I've used Cyberlights in the past, but never with this band as they've never really cared for gobos. But this tour seemed like a good time to try out the new Turbo model, and they've proven their worth by cutting through for pickups and so forth.

"The use of High End Studio Colors[R] was a no-brainer of sorts; I don't know of a more dependable moving head. I went to the Coemar CF7 in search of a brighter hard-edge head. The trim heights are around 45-50' (14-15m) because of the set and the pyrotechnics, so I needed something that could throw. I've always used 8-lights with scrollers for Limp Bizkit because they've always just seemed to look right for washes. Audience light is also important because the band really feeds off its fans and likes to see them.

"I've got Breck Haggerty calling spots for me (on the first half of the tour, Nathan Wilson took care of it). We are really tight on DMX channels, so we added a second Wholehog[R] II with expansion wing for the other three acts to accommodate a different patch.

"The large set requires more fixtures. The drummer and DJ are practically inside the robot, so lighting them was a bit of a challenge. I'm using most of the downstage lighting on the set rather than as a wash, so the followspots have become more crucial."

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst got the idea for the robot from an action figure; set designer Mike Whetstone and All Access brought the 24' (7m) creation to life. "The Studio Beams[TM] are its eyes. Now that I've seen what the fixtures can do I plan to use them more in the future," Jacobson says. "The Panoramas seemed like a natural for the backdrop, and since the stage is graded they've also proven quite effective as an uplight for the robot. Because of its scale I wanted some fixtures that wouldn't look tiny in comparison; this is where the Morpheus BriteBursts come in. They have a huge beam of light, and now that they come with M Faders they've proven quite versatile. They work as a wash, as searchlights, as crowd blinders, and also on the backdrop."