My Life As A Lights Nerd

It's scintillating, I promise.


oconomowoc-arts:

Being a Followspot Op for U2
Mike Nicolai
Photos Courtesy of Diana Grygo

If you’re one of the twelve followspot ops for U2 on their 360° concert tour, you’ve got a pretty interesting job description. Instead of climbing up the truss structure or a wire rope ladder to get to your followspot, these spot ops take their positions well before the show, taking their seats next to their followspots at ground level.

There are three spot ops to each of the four legs for “The Claw”. During the show, they are suspended from the stage’s roof structure. Once all three for each leg are in position at the beginning of the night (which includes getting into their fall arrest harnesses), the entire followspot rig for each leg is hoisted into the air, where it remains until after the show is finished.

Once you’re up in the air, the job is pretty simple: keep your light focused on your target and follow directions from the person calling cues via intercom — that is, despite your arm cramping up, the light rain falling on you, and the wind blowing you back and forth as you dangle around.

Our spot ops at the OAC are fortunate enough that they only have to climb a couple flights of stairs to get to their spotlights and that we don’t make them hang from the roof all night long, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun to work as a spot op the next time U2’s 360° tour comes through town.

Make certain to click through to see the hi-res photos Diana Grygo took when she worked followspot for U2 last time they passed through Foxborough, MA.


(via iamchicago)

Rules of a Hawkey Fan

  • 1. It it TOEWS (taves), not TOES. If you say it wrong, you will be eternally shunned.
  • 2. Tazer is our captain, forever and always. He would look wrong wearing any other sweater.
  • 3. Yes, Kaner is kind of a hot-headed, arrogant little bitch. But he is our hot-headed arrogant little bitch.
  • 4. Hating on Corey Crawford is like hating on an adorable little three-year-old with big, fat cheeks. That's child abuse.
  • 5. Viktor Stalberg is the fastest player in the league. Don't try to argue that.
  • 6. You scream and yell and freak out during the anthem at the Madhouse. You are not only reppin' our team, but also our country.
  • 7. When the other team is in the lead, after the initial shock is over, you don't continue to hate, you have faith that they can comeback and get it done.
  • 8. Being a Canucks & a Blackhawks fan is like the biggest eternal sin you can commit.
  • 9. You understand that when something about Coach Quennville is announced, the crowd is not boo-ing. They are QQQQQ-ing.
  • 10. Andrew Shaw knows where the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning puck is. #shawfacts
  • 11. There is no greater bromance than Kaner & Tazers'.
  • 12. It is understood that Tazer has the best ass in all of North America.
  • 13. Duncs & Seabs make up the best d-line in the league.
  • 14. You believe & pray in a girl named Chelsea.
  • 15. The world around you stops when the Hawks game is on. You get royally pissed off at anyone who tries to talk/make plans with you while you're watching it.
  • 16. You can quote Eddie & Pats' famous lines. "BIG SAAAAVE!"
  • 17. Seeing Niemi in a Sharks jersey makes you want to cry. Big, fat tears.
  • 18. It is perfectly acceptable to replace "Let's go, Hawks!" with "Detroit sucks" when the Red Wings play at the Madhouse.
  • 19. You want to gorge the eyeballs out of all the Detroit fans who boo the big Hoss when they play in their arena.
  • 20. Baby Toews. Nuff said.
  • 21. Patrick Sharp is the most beautiful man in Chicago.
  • 22. Learn how to pronounce Hjalmarsson. Or be laughed at for a long time.
  • 23. We stick together through thick & thin, because we all just have ONE GOAL.