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Bandit Joins Disturbed for US Instalment of Music as a Weapon Tour
Chicago-based rock band Disturbed has recently added a third installment of their ‘Music As A Weapon’ tour. Stone Sour, Flyleaf, and Nonpoint join Disturbed for the seven-week traveling festival throughout the East Coast, South and Midwest. The tour launched on November 15, 2006 at Dunkin' Donuts Civic Center in Providence, R.I. and will finish December 22, 2006 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.
The concert features fan favorites such as ‘Prayer’ and ‘Remember’ from their previous albums as well as tracks such as ‘Guarded’ and ‘Stricken’ from Ten Thousand Fists, their third and most recent album. Ten Thousand Fists is said to be a combination of their first two albums: both the aggression of the first, and the melodic depth of the second.
For the United States tour, lighting designer Travis Shirley chose to use Martin MAC 2ks, 600s, 500s, and 250s, Martin Atomic Colors, Martin Atomic 3000 strobes, Color Kinetics Colorblast and Coemar Infinity Spots. Lighting was controlled by two Whole Hog II’s.
Shirley said that the overall lighting design was created to produce a concert atmosphere that matched the disposition of the band’s music - both the intensity and the depth. One of the most substantial differences between the European and U.S. tours was the size of the venues. With more available working space, Disturbed wanted this installment of the ‘Music As A Weapon’ tour to put off a “Big Show Vibe”.
As in their European tour, an important feature of the United States tour design was the rig itself. Shirley said that he wanted the rig to display a dysfunctional look, which was accomplished by incorporating both symmetry and layering of randomly placed MAC 2ks.
He attributed the four moving pods as the main workhorse for the show. The show’s lighting design was structured primarily around scenic elements. It featured two backdrop changes. The opening backdrop is similar to that of the Ten Thousand Fists CD cover artwork, a creation by Todd McFarlane. The backdrop was changed out after the band played ‘Stupidify’, and replaced with an additional fist motif.
Shirley said that the Coemar Infinity lights played a substantial role in lighting the backdrop scenery. By operating the lights with the zoom open, the Coemar Infinity lights provided an even, soft zoom. Shirley also mentioned that the “color-mixing abilities are phenomenal”.
The Atomic Strobes were placed asymmetrically, enabling very intricate chases to be performed. The Martin Atomic Colors and Color Kinetics Colorblasts also proved to be beneficial by adding texture and color to the drum kit. Bandit vice president, Richard Willis, thanked the entire Disturbed organization. “With the excellent road management team of Todd Goldstein and Geoff Perren, everything has been as smooth as silk since the first day of rehearsals.”
This is the second collaboration this year between Bandit Lites, Travis Shirley and Disturbed. Shirley has previous experience with Van Halen, Queen, REM, Jackson Brown, and James Taylor.
4th December 2006
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