Photo Credit: Scott Harris
There are few really hot nightspots that pull together so many diverse elements as New York’s Brooklyn Bowl. After all, how many structures combine some edgy urban architectural elements with a real-life bowling alley? Or serve up a gourmet menu of hipster-meets-kosher food from a famed restaurant (New York’s Blue Ribbon)? All this while featuring an eclectic mix of music from urban to jam. The 20,000-square-foot venue was an appropriate site for a concert by Electron, the heavy hitting four-piece band formed by Disco Biscuits bass player Marc Brownstein that is making major waves in the Big Apple and beyond.
Lighting designer (LD) Manny Newman drew on the brawny power of Intimidator Spot LED 250 moving fixtures from CHAUVET DJ to provide a monster light show for the band’s recent performance at the Brooklyn Bowl. “Looking at the band, the venue, the crowd and the tradition, it’s an exciting night,” said the LD. “You don’t want to bring a meek lightshow to something like this. I wanted to make a power statement without being overpowering or blinding the band.”
Manny accomplished this goal in using the Intimidators and a collection of other CHAUVET DJ fixtures. He positioned three T-bars upstage and flew two Intimidator Spot LED 250s and one MegaStrobe FX12 on each. “Working with the FX12s, the Intimidators bring the intensity level way up,” he said. He continued, “I almost always have the FX12 play a huge role in my shows, because they really help me achieve a great blinding effect when a band peaks. Plus, the 6-cell pixel control of this fixture allows me to get some really cool effects.”
For side lighting, Manny called on the CHAUVET DJ SlimPAR 56, a wash light powered by 108 red, green and blue LEDs, and counted on a Hurricane Haze 2D hazer for atmospherics. “I like the color and coverage I get from the SlimPARs,” he said. He continued, “The SlimPAR 56s are great as a side wash, because they will not blind the band, but at the same time they give me a nice solid wash.”
The CHAUVET DJ fixtures were easy to set up and take down, yet, at the same time, they provided the light cannon punch that the band and the venue called for. “I wanted to create a big look on stage for this concert,” said Manny. “That’s what everyone expected and deserved, and the Chauvet fixtures helped me deliver.”