True immersion knows no limits or directions. In that state, concepts such as front, back, left or right lose relevance, and the space is perceived as a fully enveloping whole. This is what the record-breaking crowds experienced as they filled the legendary Shrine Auditorium during Subtronics’ historic six-night residency.
Everything in the main room flowed with energy as Subtronics moved seamlessly through different eras of dubstep, blending atmospheric remixes of crowd favorites with tracks from his newly released album Fibonacci Pt. 2. Just as the artist’s lush melodic hits fused sound, the lighting design by Erik Mahowald and his team at Bending Lite Productions blurred the traditional boundaries of space.
At certain moments during the show, the room was vertically divided by color — for example, with purple radiating down from the ceiling and blue rising up from the floor. At other times, waves of color traveled from different areas of the venue and met in the center. This color shaping created a sense of movement that perfectly matched each musical moment. All of it achieved without the use of video.
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The idea for the stage design came when Subtronics (Jesse) wanted to perform in an ‘in the round’ format. Once we embraced that vision — and the decision to create a show without video — I saw it as an opportunity to focus the design on the color of light as the main visual tool. Using fixtures such as the COLORado PXL Curve allowed us to create dynamic, architectural looks that enveloped the entire room. Since the show was in the round, we were able to double-side the lighting on the vertical trusses. This gave us large, immersive visual moments that worked from every angle, explained Mahowald.
Mahowald used 160 PXL Curve units, along with another CHAUVET Professional fixture, the Color STRIKE M, a motorized strobe-wash (76 units), as part of his transformative design. These fixtures, like the rest of the rig, were supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.
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The PXL Curves were arranged on the vertical trusses both upstage and downstage, creating a fully immersive 360-degree experience. The Color STRIKE M fixtures were also positioned vertically, allowing each fixture face to point upstage or downstage at any moment, depending on the look desired by the design team.
Most of the show was executed in cue-to-cue mode or busked live. Only a few key tracks were timecoded, including some very intentional opening sequences. “Our overall approach focused on spontaneity and live energy”, said Mahowald, who credits much of the success of this milestone production to his team: Joshua Gregoire (Associate Designer), Spencer Michaels (Lighting Designer), Jake Keenan (Vibe Director & Pyrotechnics Specialist), Larry Barcello (Production Director), Max Goessing (Technical Director), Conor Gray (Tour Director) and JDLFX (Special Effects).
In keeping with this commitment to spontaneity, each night of the Shrine residency was completely different. “This flexibility made every performance unique”, Mahowald stated, adding that the nature of the venue itself also contributed to the overall experience.
The production design covered the full length and width of the Shrine, making maximum use of the venue’s space. Jesse’s DJ booth was located at the center of the room and measured approximately 7.3 x 7.3 meters, reinforcing the ‘in the round’ experience, with the audience surrounding the action, he concluded.
