Fleetwood Mac’s Unleashed Tour
PRG helps a well-loved, classic group get a fresh, new look.
The Challenge: Create a simple and integrated lighting, scenic, and video design, for a classic rock band’s arena tour.
The Solution: When Fleetwood Mac took to the stage for their first tour in five years they turned to designer Paul “Arlo” Guthrie for a fresh look. Guthrie designed the stage set, lighting, and video and also programmed the show. “Right from the beginning, it had to be simple with a nod to nostalgia,” says Guthrie. “I came up with a simple lighting rig with six curved light boxes that move on Kinesys hoists and four trusses of MiPARs—custom LED PARs. They were driven by a PRG Mbox EXtreme media server and the media was mapped so I could call up individual PARs.”
In addition to the Mbox EXtreme, PRG’s Concert Touring group supplied Bad Boy™ luminaires, a Series 400 Power and Data Distribution System, all of the lighting and trussing as well as the crew for the tour. Guthrie used Vari-Lite fixtures—VL3500 spots for key lighting, VL3500 washes for stage washes and VL1000s and VL500s for tungsten sidelight and floor lighting. “I love the colors, the movement and the dimming,” says Guthrie. “This show was mainly about rich layers and subtlety so those fixtures suited the requirements beautifully. I also used the Bad Boys, which were awesome. The quality of the beam and the precision of its execution are phenomenal. The fixture designers haven’t skimped on components and the Bad Boy works beautifully—the dimming, the movement, the optics, all have a precision that is a joy to work with. I also love the color system. We have five of them on our upstage truss and they easily cover the entire 60′ x 40′ stage. The Bad Boy is an ideal choice for touring work, with higher trims, longer throws and simply brighter everything.”
Guthrie was also pleased with his experience overall saying, “PRG are part of my extended family. They have consistently provided us with first rate equipment, crew and support.”