It’s been said that history moves to music. This was beautifully evident at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday, November 26 as an array of stars gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Michael Gudinski at Mushroom 50 Live!
Gudinski founded Mushroom Records in 1972. Over the years, he recorded, promoted and nurtured a generation of transformative Australian stars like MacKenzie Theory, the Skyhooks, The Choirboys and Kylie Minogue among many others. Along the way, he became a legend, earning the title “father of Australian music.”
Honouring his legacy, the Mushroom Group recognized Gudinski’s half-century of achievements by holding Mushroom 50 Live!, a live and broadcast show that featured 50 songs from 50 years of the record label Gudinski founded. Although the program covered a wide range of eras, genres and onstage styles, the personality and passion of each performer were beautifully reflected in a versatile lighting design that featured 60 of the new CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorized battens from Showtools International.
Lighting director Hugh Taranto and programmer-operator Chad Spenser artfully deployed the fully pixel-mappable RGBW to accent the production design by Travis Hogan and Simon Johnson, so it best supported the diverse performances on stage.
According to Taranto, the PXL Curve 12 fixtures were used for various purposes, including effect lights, footlights, beams, and more. Taranto noted that the IP65 rate fixtures impressed all the designers associated with the show thanks to their pixel mapping prowess, as well as their 12 independent heads, each with individual zoom, tilt and colour control. The seamless edge-to-edge mounting of these fixtures also made it possible to maintain pixel pitch from unit to unit when outlining areas of the stage.
Hanging above the proscenium were eight pod fascia’s custom built by the Showtools’ LED Strip Solutions company and designed by Casey Loraine. The custom-built LED pod fascia contributed to creating nostalgic looks and animation chases. The fixtures’ pixel mapping added a dynamic element to the performance, including the giant campfire effect during Dan Sultan’s set, a notable highlight of the program.
LED Strip Solutions also designed and built the various décor signage elements such as the huge “Mushroom” banner sign and the “50th” and “Mushroom Logo” signs.
Overall, the integration of advanced lighting technology, and the dedication of the production designers and crew contributed to a visually stunning and technically impressive concert that was a fitting tribute to one of Australian music’s most important figures.
