05.05.2014 | Smooth Elation Lighting for Popular R&B Supergroup TGT

American R&B trio, TGT, played London’s iconic Eventim Apollo (formerly the Hammersmith Apollo) on March 27th on their brilliantly-named 'Shirts Off' tour beneath an Elation lighting rig of Platinum Series and other Elation fixtures supplied by English rental company MusicMann.

Handling production on the London show was Steve "Shaggy" Wright, lighting, video, and production pro at MusicMann, who speced an Elation lighting system that included Platinum Wash ZFX Pro LED moving heads, Platinum Spot 15R Pro discharge moving heads, Platinum Beam 5R ACL beam effects and Rayzor Q7 LED moving heads, along with warm white Cuepix Blinders. 

TGT, made up of singers Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank, is as smooth as R&B gets with tracks like "Sex Never Felt Better” and "Lessons in Love" from their 2013 debut album "Three Kings" a tribute to sensual song writing.

“TGT play a lot of ballads and the lighting needed to reflect that slower, smoother pace,” Shaggy stated. “So I used a lot of soft washes from the Platinum Wash ZFX Pro’s, which I used as the main stage wash and for general stage lighting from both the front and back truss. Although there were a lot of softer looks on the show, occasionally I did use the cutting, more narrow beam from the Platinum Beam 5Rs to break it up and add a bit of kick,” he says, referring to the Platinum Beam 5R’s super narrow 2.5-degree beam angle.

The Eventim Apollo is one of the most well-loved live venues in the UK but is also quite large so Shaggy required extra punch to fill the space. He turned to the Platinum Spot 15R Pro and teamed them with Rayzor Q7 LED moving heads for an effective floor package that he positioned all over the stage.

“Both the Platinum Spot 15R and Rayzor Q7 are small fixtures yet powerful enough that we could place them anywhere for as many different looks as we could get,” Shaggy commented. “I also used the gobos in the 15Rs for some nice mid-air effects and texture looks on stage.”

Lighting Vendor: MusicMann
Production: Steve "Shaggy" Wright
Desk Operator:  Tom Morgan

Elation Equipment: 

12 x Platinum Wash ZFX Pro
14 x Platinum Beam 5R
8 x Platinum Spot 15R Pro
12 x Rayzor Q7
4 x Cuepix Blinder WW2