Never A Gray Day for Robe

	Angles, accurate shuttering, and detail is critical for lighting any Red Band performance due to its three puppet stars -- Red, Poncho, and Lefty! Photo: Louise Stickland

Contemporary multipurpose venue Gray in Modiin, Israel, is filled with color and atmosphere thanks to a versatile Robe LED moving light rig installed to enhance this new and lively 900-capacity entertainment space that opened in 2021. Managed and run by the municipality, it is popular and successful in offering a wide range of live music and performance shows in a supper club format.

The lighting, LED screen, trussing -- including two elegant circles above the audience -- and rigging was supplied and installed by Danor Theatre & Studio Systems working in conjunction with consultant Dror Herrenson, who assessed the requirements and compiled a tender based on a robust, practical, and flexible LED lighting system to cover a multiplicity of events.

Several companies bid on the tender, which was won by Danor with their specification of 12 Robe VIVA CMYs and 12 LEDWash 600 moving lights.

The LEDWash is one of Robe's bestselling wash luminaires of the last decade, while the newer VIVA CMY is powerful, smooth, and combines brightness with a clear zero-fringing white beam, together with continuous colour transitions via the CMY mixing system.

The LEDWashes are positioned on the front truss for a rich and full stage wash, and the VIVAs are the main over-stage fixture, rigged on three raked trusses, which enhances the depth of the performance space. Both fixture types were also chosen for their small size and because they worked well with the 6m x 3m upstage LED screen.

Once installed, the lighting rig was slightly redesigned by Ziv Limor to optimize the venue's character and space, changing up the trussing angles and modifying the shape of the side trusses.

Says Danor's Erez Hadar, "This is a great-looking installation as well as a really practical and value-added moving light solution that provides excellent rider-friendly production values."

Gray Modiin's lighting has been appreciated by many visiting artists and lighting people including Meir Hayon, operating lights for Israel's own most famous puppet rockers, Red Band, who were playing at the time of the Robe reporting team's visit to the venue.

Red Band was additionally touring at this time with a floor package comprising four Robe MegaPointes from rental company Kilim.

Meir particularly likes the LEDWash 600s. He reckons they are "the best fixtures in the venue for sure!", also saying that Gray is one of the "Premier" venues in the country for lighting in his opinion, with decent headroom and a good lighting rig making it an ideal modern concert venue. He also appreciates the side lighting positions onstage.

Angles, accurate shuttering, and detail is critical for lighting any Red Band performance due to its three puppet stars -- Red, Poncho, and Lefty!

Their show features some special (puppet) guests, a selection of favorite rock anthems and is renowned for its raunchy and irreverent between song content and banter which is hilarious! The puppet operators remain concealed throughout!

Meir has worked with Red Band for around nine months and is enjoying using the four MegaPointe specials, "They are an amazing fixture -- they do everything I want," he enthuses.