The tour launched last month in Sacramento
USA - Hall & Oates have hit the road with Train co-headlining a North American arena tour this summer.
Lighting designer Paul ‘Arlo’ Guthrie from Minneapolis-based TOSS Film & Design has selected a large complement of Claypaky Sharpy Washes and Mythos 2 fixtures for the rig.
For the new show, Hall & Oates and Train each do a set then the bands join forces for a dynamic finale. The tour launched 1 May in Sacramento and will conclude in Seattle in mid-August.
Guthrie has designed a look for the tour that “feels modern but harkens back a bit to Hall & Oates’s legacy,” he says. “The lighting is reminiscent of rigs past with newer fixtures and more modern equipment. The video component is also larger than before.”
Downstage a front-projection screen has the form of a curved theatre proscenium. Mid-stage is an upside-down ‘U’ composed of LED tiles. Upstage is a rectangular LED wall and simple scenic elements. “The lighting supports the scenic elements and adds depth between the video components,” Guthrie explains. “The show is lit very much like a TV show with very consistent levels. We’ve modelled the guys to look good to the eye and on camera for the IMAG displayed on the side screens throughout the show.”
Morris Leasing in Nashville is the lighting vendor for the tour.
Guthrie chose 86 Sharpy Wash 330s, which are configured in clusters in pods that move up and down on a hoist system.
The lighting designer also has 64 Mythos 2 fixtures in the rig. “One of the big considerations was that Daryl likes to see the audience,” Guthrie notes. “So we have Mythos on two large, semi U-shaped trusses for long-range deckle washes and to bring the audience into the stage.” Mythos 2 fixtures are also on stage in high positions in the pods and in torm positions for cross-lights; six Mythos are also on the upstage floor.
(Jim Evans)

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