Vinny Shaw Rolls with Different Rigs on Fit for An Autopsy Tour with ChamSys

	"Being able to fly with my own console and slot it in easily to FOH without needing much real estate is always an advantage," says Shaw.

Vinny Shaw loves busking, and he got the chance when he ran Fit for An Autopsy's support show on Lamb of God's 27-city North American tour, which ended April 26 with a raucous, unfiltered performance at the Music Hall at Fenway.

Everything Shaw likes was there: a tight ionic deathcore band playing as fiercely as ever with intense breakdowns, beatdown vibes, heavy chugs, and loyal fans raising fists to familiar hits like "Warfare" and "Far from Heaven."

Although Shaw had the same Squeek Lights floor package throughout the tour, he had to work with different (sometimes radically different) house rigs. This made him grateful to have his familiar ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M Stadium console with him at every venue.

"It was a different flown rig each night, and occasionally smaller stage space as well," he says. "This required me to adjust the show to suit the alternative fixture models and counts. But truly, adapting daily to alternative rigs is made very easy with ChamSys, thanks to the simple patch clone/morphing, the group-based cues, and grid FX. Even the simple ability to change the mode of a fixture from the main patch window helps make updates to the show fast."

Shaw's console did more than help him keep pace with ever-changing rigs and stages; it also made it easier for him to spread his creative wings and fly in a compelling show that began with a dark, moody walk-on, then erupted hard with a searing first song, followed later by menacing blackouts where only a single band member was lit.

"This is a complex show that can be seen on many levels," Shaw explains. "FFAA songs are very dynamic with heavy riffs, fast-paced sections, and some clean vocal choruses," Shaw explained. "I use open white spots, blinders, or strobe effectgs to punch through darker saturated colors and punctuate key rhythmic sections, stabs, and guitar solos. There are also some specific moments in the set where I like to isolate the drummer or singer for dramatic effect."

There were many features about his ChamSys console that helped Shaw meet the challenges of running this powerful show, even as he dealt with the varied flown rigs. For starters, he says that cloning/morphing allowed him to patch easily, reducing time spent on the "boring part of the day."

There were also group cues/effects that made it easier to adapt to different fixture mixes and head counts. Then there was the convenient size of the ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M Stadium console and its rugged flight case, something definitely appreciated by a British lighting designer crisscrossing the USA for 27 shows in under two months.

"This console is compact, given its power," Shaw says. "Being able to fly with my own console and slot it in easily to FOH without needing much real estate is always an advantage. This let me put more focus on the creative fun stuff, which at the end of the day, is what a tour like this is all about."