Red Hot Chili Peppers “Stadium Arcadium” World Tour

Some 80 MAC 2000 Washes and 50 Atomic 3000 strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers are adding a bounty of rich color to one of the more memorable arena rock shows currently on the road.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are covering the world on their “Stadium Arcadium” tour with lighting design by Scott Holthaus. Scott created an ‘anti-rock and roll design’ with no visible trusses, no front lighting, minimal FOH spots, and no hard edge lights. Instead, powerful groups of washlights kick out torrents of rich color for the Red Hot’s myriad of big rock songs.

Central to the design are seven large lighting pods, constructed by Tait Towers, each housing six MAC 2000 Washes with a 5K light in the center. The pods are ringed with red LED and connected to motors so that they can be uniquely positioned for each song. Individual pods can lower when needed with others hiding at a high trim height.

The flexible rig combines with LED tubes that extend from the band out over the audience to give a three dimensional look to the set and one that fans can enjoy no matter where they are in the arena. There are also 26 MAC 2000 Washes located on the floor. Upstage are four large LED screens that work independently or as one big screen.

The Martin Atomic 3000 strobes, attached to nodes in the matrix of the LED wall, are fitted with Atomic Colors scrollers for big color matching blasts. More Atomics are positioned behind the wall. Lighting supplier for the tour is Premier Global Production

In a fun and slightly ingenious twist, Scott and his FOH mates literally sold their backs on eBay as advertisements, raising money which they donated to charity and used to create some new FOH décor. The “Stadium Arcadium” tour covered the U.S. and Europe in 2006 and is back in the U.S. until March before heading to Japan and Australia.

Lighting designer: Scott Holthaus
Lighting crew chief: James Volhoffer
Lighting technicians: Joe Labbe, Chad McClymonds, Clifford Sharpling, Nick Shields