AV Company fires up Heat Seekers
Published: MEA
SOUTH AFRICA: Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town were the three cities that the Hunter’s Heat Seekers tour stopped in recently. The concert series featured performances from top South African artists such as Cassper Nyovest, Black Motion, Chicana, Nasty C and Ricky Rick. Durban-based rental firm AV Company was enlisted to deliver the sound, lighting, staging and power for the entire concert series.
Beginning on home turf in Durban, AV Company deployed the same setup for each gig. On the audio side this comprised a main PA of 24 DAS Audio Event 210A line array speakers with 18 LX-218 subwoofers. Eight Action 12A cabinets were deployed for monitors with a pair of Action A subwoofers. Mixing was handled by a Soundcraft Si Compact 32 digital console and processing was courtesy of an XTA processor.
AV Company also provided four Pioneer CDJ-2000 Nexus DJ decks and a DJM-900 Nexus DJ mixer. A Shure QLX-D wireless system with eight microphones was employed to capture vocals.
When it came to lighting, AV Company implemented a mixture of lighting fixtures, including Robe Robin 600 and 300, LEDWashes and Pointes with Martin Professional Mac 101 and Atomic Strobes PAR cans from Longman. The rental company’s lighting designers, Mbulelo Msuthwana and Keagan Browning programmed the lighting solution using an MA Lighting dot2 console with F-wing. ‘We loved the simplicity and ease of the MA as well as the node options allowing so many DMX outputs to be easily spread out,’ the lighting designers enthused.
Also provided was Prolyte trussing with Prolyft Aetos hoists and Layher stage deck for the set design, along with LED screen, Robe smoke machines and power distribution from Huey 63A and Beavis 32A units. ‘In Johannesburg and Durban, we built an arched-shaped dome roof stage belonging to Paul Nel of Show Co, measuring 50m long, 25m wide and 25m high,’ said AV Company director Craig Browning. ‘In Cape Town we trucked in our own 12m x 12m Layher roof stage.’
For each show the team kept to a tight schedule. ‘The structure was built on Tuesday, technical went in late Wednesday, Friday was rehearsal and Saturday was show day. Sunday was takedown and on Monday we travelled to the next city,’ recalled Mr Browning. ‘It was hectic on the gear and the crew!’
Covering great distances to facilitate the tour, AV Company was able to rely on support from other rental companies, particularly when away from home in Johannesburg and Cape Town. ‘What stood out for me on this tour was the help and assistance from all my competitors in the industry,’ Mr Browning said. ‘If I ran into any problems, big or small, it was a simple phone call and the guys were there to help out. It’s great knowing we all have such comradeship in this competitive industry.’