For over 30 years AC/DC
fans have demanded high octane, big bang punch from their live experience and
this year the band\’s Rock or Bust tour did not disappoint. Set designer Ray
Winkler joined forces with lighting designer and show director Patrick
Woodroffe to seamlessly translate the distinct AC/DC sound into a grungy
buffalo horned \’Mad Max\’ style stage, flawlessly complemented by metallic, two
color classic rock and roll lighting primarily delivered by over 60 of the
Philips Vari-Lite VL4000
BeamWash luminaires.
Performing Europe-wide to the head banging
delight of more than 60,000 fans per night, the raw style of Woodroffe\’s design
reflects AC/DC\’s in your face, visceral, straight up rock-and-roll approach,
delivering big, bright chunky beams, dirty acid colors and a beat perfect
manipulation of intensity throughout.
\”AC/DC has always demanded bold, bright,
spectacular, yet uncomplicated lighting and I think this time we gave it to
them in spades!\” explains Woodroffe. \”We were looking for powerful,
bright lights that would work particularly well with no color. We also wanted
some more delicate effects, some tight beams and some hard edge source points.
We chose a variety of fixtures including the new Vari-Lite VL4000 BeamWash and
the VL3500 Wash, which in combination gave us most of what we needed, in
various permutations.\”
Woodroffe worked in close collaboration with long term
AC/DC lighting director Cosmo Wilson, who is responsible for taking the show on
the road. Indeed the the pair took a leap of faith when they specified the
newly released VL4000 BeamWash, \”I\’m fast approaching my 700th AC/DC
show,\” laughs Cosmo, \”and all of them apart from this tour have used
Parcans as a mainstay in the rig. However I\’m a big fan of Vari-Lite and
although at the time the VL4000 BeamWash was unproven, we were assured Philips
Vari-Lite would deliver.\”
Suffice to say Philips Vari-Lite did deliver and
according to both Woodroffe and Cosmo the VL4000 BeamWash luminaires are
working brilliantly.
\”The VL4000 BeamWash lens system is unbelievably
good,\” continues Cosmo. \”We use it as a wash but then we tighten it
up and it\’s a great profile. I\’m not a big gobo person, let\’s face it AC/DC
isn\’t exactly a gobo band, however the rare times we do use them they work
really well. They\’re big lights, but they move fast and that enables me to
change the look on the stage in an instant. Color is also important as we
wanted to reproduce all those grungy and acid colors with a raw, almost
analogue feel. AC/DC lighting is all about using intensity to accompany the
music. We want the audience to feel the heat, feel that sense of attack and
decay alongside the attack and decay of the guitar.\”
Lighting has been supplied by US company Upstaging and
UK based Neg Earth. The current tour runs until December 15th when the band
finish at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland. However there are rumors that
the tour will extend into 2016.
Photo Credit: Ralph Larmann
