Vari-Lite Inc is providing the lighting for the 2001 summer tour of British, post-rock band, Radiohead. The band began the North American leg of the tour in Houston on June 18 and have been playing to sold-out arenas and amphitheaters where fans are ‘Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box’ - the new album’s first song. Lighting designer Andi Watson, who has worked on previous Radiohead tours, is lighting the show with 69 Vari*Lite luminaires, often washing the band in deeply saturated blues and reds, highlighting the moving and experimental songs from the band’s newest albums Kid A and Amnesiac and accentuating hits from previous albums. Watson’s rig includes 14 VL2416 wash luminaires, 26 VL2402 wash luminaires and 29 VL6C spot luminaires.Recently hailed by many rock critics as the ‘saviors of music’, the band hasn’t toured widely since 1997 after the release of its groundbreaking album, OK Computer. Following the North American portion of the tour, which finishes in Los Angeles on Aug. 20, Radiohead travels to Europe and Japan, playing a handful of shows through the beginning of October.
