PROMAG THIRD QUARTER 2014 - VOLUME 22 NUMBER 3 | Page 16

feature
A NIGHT OF A MILLION LIGHTS, WELL ALMOST!
By Bruce Schwartz (Electrosonic SA Entertainment Lighting Manager)

Rave type events in South Africa are few and far between. So, when Armin van Buuren - DJ Magazine’s top-rated DJ - brings a
large budget one-night-only world tour event to our country, it’s sure to be a spectacle. Having kicked off in November 2013
in Amsterdam, Armin Only: Intense – his all-night electronic dance event - will continue its journey to over 20 destinations
to all corners of the world, from America to Australia, to Africa to Asia.
The concept and vision of this world tour is inspired by Intense, Armin’s
latest album. Armin Only is a concept that started in the early days of
Armin’s career. Since the first editions in the early millennium years the
show has grown and come to life. Armin explains: “Unlike today, now
that it’s all based on short sets and quick highlights, it used to be all
about the long sets, the musical trips. That’s what Armin Only is all about
– taking clubbers on a 6 hour plus journey into music. Through the
Armin Only: Intense shows, I can tell them the full story of my Intense
album – in fact of everything I’d like to say.”
With every new world tour expectations grow; so Armin and ALDA Events
have teamed up with famous theatre director Jos Thie and event director
Sander Reneman (owner of 250K). These two creative minds teamed up
with the Intense crew, resulting in a completely unconventional and
fresh approach to an electronic dance music show. Armin elaborates: “At
heart Armin Only will always be a DJ set, but to make it more interesting
for the crowd, I’m going to try and make the live moments real, like you
would witness them in a theatre!”
The Armin Only: Intense crew arrived on South African soil in the second
week of June 2014 with a mission: to move boundaries. In Johannesburg
they met up with Stuart Andrews, Lighting Operations Manager of
Gearhouse SA - the “one-stop-shop” technical supplier. Along with
Gearhouse’s men on the ground, Robert Grobler and Herman Wessels,
the grand plan was executed: getting 555 intelligent lighting fixtures
into every corner of the Coca-Cola Dome’s massive stage, and setting
up the AV. Part of the challenge was leading the mass of power and
data cabling from under the stage, to behind the LED Backdrop, around

14 PROMAG