Most concert clubs have lights, but no one to run them. The great thing about a club’s lights is that almost anyone can run them for you. You can usually get a friend to run them for free, and you can usually teach them how to do it in five to ten minutes. A venue like Fitzgerald’s in Houston has a great lighting rig and so does Kingdom in Richmond VA.

The bulk of small venue lighting systems consist of 6 to 12 scenes (groups of different, specific lights programmed to turn off and on at the same time) and single faders (or individual light switches that operate a single light). Groups usually don’t give the lights at a venue much thought, which explains why they usually don’t have anyone to run them, even though they are so easy to operate. The soundman at any given venue will usually simply turn the lights on and never touch the settings throughout the course of a show.

Light shows are critical, especially at a local level, and there are a number of reasons why. First of all, a good light show will make your set more exciting for your fans, and the best light shows are all about movement. If you can use movement in your light show, the the human eye will stay drawn and entertained. If the eye has nothing interesting to focus on, then basically it gets bored- and so will the people watching you perform.

Another reason light shows at a local level are so important is that they can help to make your band look like a national act. There’s one technique in particular that you can use with your light show to make your group look professional. It’s almost subliminal and almost all national acts use every time they perform. Very few local groups use it at all, however. It’s called a black-out; all you have to do is black out the stage for only two seconds in-between songs. When a song ends, the light person turns off all of the lights for just a moment or two. He then turns them up, but only a little bit until the next song begins. This is so that the band can be seen to some degree, but the fans cannot view the entire stage until the next song starts up.

For local groups, maybe the most important thing about your light show is that a good one can increase the energy levels on stage and inside the venue. The great thing about lights is how they affect everyone in the room, including the members of the group. I promise you that the better your light show is, the higher the energy level will be both in the room and on stage. Make every show the best it can be by putting on a great show, filling up the room with your fans, and by making stronger connections with you fans.

Gorilla Productions puts on gigs with local acts in cities around the country and offers promising acts a number of coaching and management resources. Local bands looking to take things to the next level continue to play gigs like Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands to improve their bios and play for huge crowds.

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