Band of Horses Takes Bandit Lites on the Road

	Photo: Felicia Garcia

American rock group Band of Horses recently wrapped a summer tour with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites. Lighting designer Dara Guiney built upon the previous design by Ben Marx and added more incandescent looks, expanding the design to give a more panoramic feel. Bandit Lites supplied Elation CuePix WW2 Blinders, Martin MAC Auras, Elation Chorus Line 16 fixtures, and Mega-lite Circa Scoops. Placed on old film stands with wheels, the Scoops provided the classic conventional look appropriate for folk bands while allowing for easy access to roll on and off stages at festivals. "Circa Scoops are a great versatile fixture and while we primarily used the incandescent look from them, it was quite striking to use some staggered pixel effects when appropriate," says Guiney.

WW2 Blinders were on the bottom of each stand, backlighting the band in an incandescent glow during atmospheric parts of the show. To give a "spooky, shaky glow" throughout the show and in between songs, Guiney placed balafire light bulbs on mic stands along the width of the upstage. "I'm also a fan of the Chorus Line 16, and it is a workhorse that is easy to place and gives multiple striking looks," Guiney says. "Originally, we had basic LED bars to light a backdrop, but we upgraded to a tilt and zoomable fixture. Nine Elation Chorus Line 16 LED bars were placed on the upstage, and this let us direct the light behind the band to give beautiful silhouettes. We also had some great pixel mapping effects on the rockier tunes."

"I always look forward to hearing from our friends at Band of Horses," says Bandit Lites vice president Mike Golden. "I want to give a huge thank you to production manager Jason Trabue as well as Dara for their faith in our services and for running such a smooth operation. Dara is incredibly organized and takes excellent care of the gear. I sincerely enjoy each time we have the opportunity to work with Band of Horses and the team and I look forward to many years to come."

"Bandit is a great addition to our tour support," says Guiney. "The band is quite popular in Europe, so when touring, we jump from one continent to the other with no room for preproduction. Bandit project manager Gene and the staff in the shop do a great job of assembling, looming and addressing the fixtures."