Protecting Proteus at rainy Muse concerts

Since you never know what Mother Nature has to offer, hosting concerts in outdoor stadiums, no matter the time of year, is always a little annoying for the technical staff and lighting designers. During English musical group Muse's 2019 "The Simulation Theory "world tour, some of this" anxiety" was mitigated by the use of Elation Proteus Hybrid IP65 movable heads, which were resistant to the rainy European summer.
The tour's lighting project, which began in early 2019 and ended in October, was Sooner Routhier. This was her first lighting project for the team and her first experience using Proteus fixtures. "We needed a powerful device with an IP65 rating for rainy European stadiums. They had to have a strong hybrid beam to reach every remote spot in the stadium. We also needed a device that could handle all the subtleties of Muse music. This was my first experience with Proteus, and they were the perfect solution for our needs” " commented Sooner Routier.
Muse toured the world throughout 2019, promoting the late 2018 album "The Simulation Theory". 80's science fiction theme. and the inspiration for video games, it's the idea of artistic director Jessie Lee Stout. Lighting played a major role in this idea. Sooner Routhier designed something like a runway in the audience in combination with the B-stage, which allowed the team to interact more with the audience. The project was reinforced with Proteus Hybrid lines on both sides of the runway and around Stage B.
"Of course, we used them because of their incredible IP sealing class, but they also served to highlight the subtleties of Muse's music well. I think my favorite moment was the song Thought Contagion, where everything was focused on the runway and on Stage B, where zombie dancers performed in a creepy green light. They were also used to simulate laser beams over the audience for Act IV - Ultraviolet. Another favorite motif is to form a pyramid of rays over Stage B." Routier said. "The Proteus Hybrid units performed exceptionally well throughout the tour" - added Luke. "We had a very wet summer all over Europe, and it was nice not to have to worry about these devices."
Known for its energetic live performances and known as one of the most important stadium events in the world, Simulation Theory did not disappoint.
Lighting for the entire route was provided by the American company renatlow Upstaging.
Photo: Louise Stickland