Here Come the Mummies Eerily Good with Elation Lighting

	Here Come the Mummies in concert. Photo: Dave Dawson

One look at Here Come the Mummies and it's easy to see why they are considered one of the most unique bands around. Combining identities that are always "under wraps" with a reputation for unrelenting live performances, the eight-piece funk band from Nashville is touring the US beneath a lighting rig of Elation Professional effect lights.

Lighting designer/director and programmer Thom Roberts has been working with the band for the past three years and is out on their current LoveFest tour, which runs until the end of October. The band has been playing dates across the US since February, mostly weekends and mostly in large clubs and theaters with a few festivals and casinos on the schedule. Augmenting house or local lighting systems at each gig is an Elation lighting floor package of Rayzor Q7 LED moving heads, Sniper 2R multi-effect lights, Cuepix Blinder WW2 white light LED blinders, and Protron 3K strobes.

"The role of the Elation gear is to bring the 'WOW' factor," says Roberts. "But, there are specific features on every fixture we have that are important. On The Rayzor Q7's it is the combined LEDs that were the deciding factor, but the small size and low weight were also key. The Cuepix WW2 gives me a blinder with a color temperature that I love. They are not too hard on the eyes and give me an extra strobing fixture that I can point directly into the audience without killing them! And the Protron 3K strobes are monstrously bright and robust at a fraction of the cost of their competitors."

As a distinctive band with a unique look and sound, Here Come the Mummies is always looking for something new and different, Roberts says. "They specifically wanted lasers for this show but I convinced them that it was not practical in our situation. When I had asked my friend and local Elation product specialist/rep Chuck Dillingham to demo the Cuepix WW2 for me, he brought along a Sniper as well. I thought it was really cool and while it is not a true laser effect, from the audience point of view it has a similar impact. I went back and showed the band the Sniper YouTube videos and they were sold on them. The Snipers have the punch to cut through anything else on stage and give me the afore-mentioned laser effects." Elation's Sniper 2R is an award-winning beam, scanner, and laser simulator in one that can produce beam looks and spread scanner and laser-like effects at dizzying speeds without having to deal with laser regulations.

Roberts adds that "bang for the buck" was the consistent selling point on all the fixtures. "We are limited by trailer space, budget, and frequently stage space considerations! But the Elation gear fills all of our needs without crashing any of those factors."

The Elation gear, which the band owns themselves, is all part of a floor package with the Snipers, most of the Rayzors, and the Cuepix all mounted on four tripods across the back of the stage. The Protron 3K strobes work from the floor, pointing back at the backdrop. "When I hit them the backdrop just seems to explode!!" he says. "My show is heavy on the backlight, and I love playing with the shadows and darkness, as well as the light," which seems appropriate for a band made up of 5000 year-old Egyptian mummies.

Roberts acknowledges the work of Delta Stage Lighting and Rikk Kittleman, Jim Gregory, and Wayne Metrz. "They are my vendors of choice, and we have purchased most if not all of our Elation gear through them," Roberts concludes. "They have always taken really good care of me."