UK – Lighting designer Hayden Borgars included the dynamic VL10 BeamWash from Vari-Lite in his rig for the recent UK tour by California ‘rapcore’ band, Fever 333. With his stated commitment “to deliver unforgettable stage moments”, Borgars was using the high-powered, feature-packed fixtures for the first time on these shows - and found they completely exceeded his expectations.

Referring to their fans as ‘allies’ and their gigs as ‘demonstrations’, Fever 333 could be thought of as something more akin to a revolutionary movement than a band. Borgars explains that the inspiration for his design came from the band’ ‘manifesto’. “The main creative concept for me was to find a way to implement their ideologies of Community, Charity and Change, the three things represented in the band’s name - Fever 333.”

The band’s live sets are intentionally anarchic, confrontational and at times contemplative, so it was essential that the fixtures were versatile enough to reflect these moods. “The band can be fairly unpredictable at times, so to be able to quickly change a look to work with both the slow-paced and the chaotic songs, I needed to have flexible fixtures within my design,” says Borgars.

He chose to try out the VL10 BeamWash, as he felt this fixture could meet his need for flexibility, as well as other challenges. The ability to adapt and move the fixtures quickly, from an aerial effect look to highlighting the band members at any given moment, was crucial to his choice. “The pan and tilt speeds were massively beneficial for me to be able to achieve this,” says Borgars. “The zoom range was also great and, for this fast-paced show, very necessary - particularly in how fast it can go from a 2.2° beam to a 48° wash.”

Having attended a demo of the VL10 BeamWash earlier in the year, Borgars had also wanted to explore the VL*FX Animation wheel in a live environment. After trialling it with Fever 333, he found it fully lived up to its promise. “It brought so many possibilities and unique looks for me to work with,” he says. A particular favourite effect Borgars implemented in his design was to create an oval ring of light which swept across the stage during the intro to fan favourite ‘Walking In My Shoes’, using the Roos Oval gobo.

Borgars also found the VL10’s color and intensity of output, which he described as “particularly impressive and punchy,” to be ideally suited to generating the looks he wanted to create for the band. When asked if he sees a role for the VL10 BeamWash in his future design work, he says, “Absolutely. It’s such a versatile fixture, there are so many uses that it would serve a purpose for.”

In conclusion, Borgars explained that the collaboration between himself and the Fever 333 band members provided “the perfect opportunity to use the VL10s with their limitless possibilities of what could be achieved.”