USA – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe…the name might not be a household word today, but he was a pioneering force in mid-20th century modern architecture. But his most lasting achievement is probably his popularization of the phrase “less is more.” A bit over-used today? Certainly, but it sums up a concept that every designer, everywhere, would be well-advised to follow. Just ask Austin Zangi.
Zangi is artfully limiting color mixing, brightness, strobing, and other elements of design for Seether, on the award-winning South African rockers current USA tour, which kicked off September 8 at Lakewood Amphitheatre outside Chicago. The results are, to put it in a single word… powerful!
Deftly wielding dark space as a design tool and covering parts of the stage in haunting monochromatic hues, he is crating unforgettable looks that flow in sync with this client’s raw, powerful music. Running his cue stacked and busked show on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M console, Zangi is deftly using his Elite Multimedia supplied rig to speak volumes in subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways.
The positioning of his 10 Color STRIKE M and 22 EPIX Tour IP fixtures varies as the tour stops at different venues. “On this tour we are playing amphitheaters with three arena shows,” said Zangi. “So, I’m constantly updating positions each day. If we were to walk into a room where something has to change whether it’s the floor package or flown rig, I’ll adapt to it while trying to make sure the audience is still seeing the same Seether show.”
Zangi has six Color STRIKE Ms on carts that mainly stay facing forward, while two other units are used to uplight his “abnormally scenic large scenic guitar cabinets.” The remaining pair of Color STRIKE Ms up-light the drummer, creating attractive two-tone looks. Additionally, Zangi has 15 one-meter EPIX Strips and ten half-meter EPIX Strips scattered throughout his four lighting carts, the exact configuration varies depending on the show.
One thing that is constant, however, is Zangi’s reliance on dark space to set gripping moods. “Darkness is a really important part of the design,” he explained. “I don’t feel like everything on the stage needs to be visible all the time. Seether’s music has a lot of dynamics and emotions to it, so I wanted the lighting to reflect that. There are sections where I’ll intentionally keep the stage very dark and then when the song opens up, it makes those bigger moments feel much more powerful.”
“I also rely on a lot of monochromatic looks,” continued Zangi. “They work really well with Seether’s music too. Rather than constantly changing colors just because I can, I like committing to a color and letting the intensity, direction and movement of the light create the mood. It gives the show a more cohesive feel and lets the lighting support the music without becoming a distraction.”
Zangi follows a similar approach to strobing, at times he will strobe the entire rig, then follow this by limiting his strobing to the stage deck, while eliminating strobing completely at other points. “If you’re strobing constantly, eventually it stops meaning anything,” he explains. “I treat strobing almost like another instrument in the arrangement. It needs to have dynamics. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s aggressive.”
“Taking this approach is all part of lighting a band whose music can go from intimate and emotional to extremely heavy within the same song,” continued Zangi. “I try to make the lighting follow that journey. To me it’s not about just lighting the band. I want the lighting to feel connected to what you are hearing.”
Accomplishing this does not require all the tools you can muster. Sometimes less is indeed more… and in this case a whole lot more!
Photo © Jess Coale – Artist to the Artists
