LD Shepherd Lowrey likens it to “stomping the gas pedal of a Porsche 911”

When Entec Sound & Light were asked to provide technical services for Afrobeats legend Wizkid at the near 63,000-cap Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they found themselves making one of the first deployments of the new weatherproof impression X5 IP Bar from GLP in a concert setting.

The Nigerian ‘Made In Lagos’ star became the first African artiste to headline a concert at London’s largest club stadium. But it was his LD Shepherd Lowrey, who had specified GLP battens.

Expecting to see the older impression X4 Bar 20s, he discovered Entec had gone a step further and lined up the next generation impression X5 IP Bars. “What a pleasant surprise when I arrived to a rig full of X5 IP Bars … like stomping the gas pedal of a Porsche 911!” Referring to it as “the spice” he added: “It provides that little sizzle of excitement.”

Entec project manager Patch Cleaver had been confident he could source these from dry hire giants, Impact Production Services (IPS). Taking up the story, Cleaver states, “We hired 60, and we were able to make up the difference with [GLP impression] X4 Bar 20, bringing the total to 150 X4 Bar 20s and X5 IP Bars.”

Lowrey’s rider also included quantities of GLP’s JDC1 hybrid strobe and JDC Line 1000 which, like the impression X4 Bar 20s, came straight from Entec’s Inventory. They provided 42 of the former and 80 of the latter.

The IP65-rated, linear LED batten features 18 powerful 40 W RGBL LED’s, a wide zoom range, and the new GLP iQ.Gamut colour calibration algorithm that creates perfect white spectrums with excellent colour rendering.

The new impression X5 IP Bars have been popular in the few short months they have been on the market, making an appearance at Glastonbury.

It had been Glastonbury, where Entec’s sound department had been in action on The Other Stage. As Patch Cleaver explained, “Wizkid was appearing on The Other Stage and that was our first dealings with the artiste. Joe Sanchez then approached us [from LA-based tour and event production company EIGHTEENTWENTYSIX] to quote on the show at Tottenham Stadium.”

With time on their side they were able to do a full prep. It was then a case of getting the flown sections up as quickly as possible and then concentrating on the hundreds of floor fixtures. “But we had a few days to load it all in, as well as being able to provide a full pre-viz suite, so Shepherd and Avi [board operator Avi Rana] did not lose anytime on programming whilst the show was being built,” said Cleaver.

“Most of the equipment we owned ourselves, but there were a few looks they wanted to get in place themselves including the GLP impression X5 IP Bars. All the X5 IP Bars and X4 Bar 20 were mounted around the entire edge of the stage, while the JDC1’s were on the front edge, and the JDC Lines featured in the set and balcony were used to uplight the dancers.” The impression X4 Bar 20 still remains a firm favourite with Entec Live’s customers, he says.

Cleaver said that what had impressed most about having so many GLP pieces in the rig was the colour consistency. “They all looked the same and it was good to use fixtures from a single brand that got the look that Shepherd was after.” These were all expertly choreographed by show director, Avi Rana.

Reviewing the performance of the X5 IP Bars, Entec Live’s project manager said, “It’s great to have a fixture that doesn’t need to be covered up, particularly with the weather we’ve been having. The products that were all IP-rated went into areas where they could survive the weather conditions and anything that wasn’t, was confined to the stage. It produced some really vibrant block colours and looked great when bordering the stage.”

Shepherd Lowrey was equally unequivocal. “My biggest takeaway with the fixture is that I’ve finally found something that can deliver a retina assault but can also tilt and zoom.

“It’s so quick and easy to make a great look with the X5 IP Bar. With outdoor stadiums and festivals, you never know what you’re gonna get—one gust of wind and your whole look is gone. But not anymore with the X5 IP Bar. They sit pretty no matter what. In a design era of minimalism, the impression X5 IP Bar is so easy to create neat and tidy, minimal looks with huge impact.”

Finally he expressed his gratitude to the “great team” accompanying him on this WizKid run: “Avi, my assistant designer, GCB our stage manager as well as Simon [Barrett from GLP UK] and Patch from Entec, who were precious to me. Without such a great team, shows like these would simply not be possible.”