News and events info from Show Distribution

2003 2002 2001


Matchbox 20 uses 12 1/2 ton VarioLift!
Once again, Benoît Richard, Matchbox 20's LD, wanted to create visual looks that were precise, fast and most of all, smooth. Previous experiences reveiled that the VarioLift has a huge advantage over regular chain hoists. It can accelerate and decelerate smoothly reducing the stress on the structure.
Blue Man Group's "The Complex tour"
The Blue Man Group (You might remember them from the Intel Pentium commercials) are music artists out of the ordinary. And for their show, Mr. Marc Brickman, wanted special moves for a special purpose. Dragonflies and Jelly fish made out of Live wires Flying like the real thing. The VarioLifts, Activated by DMX from the lighting console, were synchronized to simulate a jelly fish movement. (See pictures)

www.blueman.com
2003 Juno awards in Ottawa
Once again, when complicated and precise moves are required, production crews all over looks at Show Distribution for solutions. This time, A giant round screen was to be lifted and tilted just above the main stage. Weighting 2400kg, even an inch can shift the weight from 80kg to 1300kg on one rigging point. That's where our computer controlled VarioLifts where handy. With up to 1mm precision positionning and controlled accelerations/decelerations, We were able to keep the screen levelled and the weight distributed evenly throughout the five rigging points.
Digital Hoist controller

A new born is here. The Digital hoist controller or DHC. With this marvellous piece of hardware, you can control up to 450 single hoists either regrouped or individually. The controller cable used is a XLR 6 that can be up to 500' long! This way, you have an incredible freedom of movement.

The DHC can easily hook up to your existing rigging equipment. In fact, the DHC-48 as shown above can hook on 6x SD-800 with our standard Tajimi 21 cable. The remote, a PRC-48, will activate hoists for all 6 Power Distribution units (SD-800).
Prolyte products!
Since January 1, 2003, Show Distribution is proud to announce that we are now distributor of the Prolyte line of products.

Prolyte is an aluminium truss manufacturer that can fulfill all your rigging needs. It completes our existing line of products.

Prolyte page
Show Distribution is proud to give you the ACS (Arena Curtain System)

The ACS is a new concept using Chain Hoists to lift curtains to provide intimacy or a great hall/theatre appearance.

Show Distribution can install an ACS in any Sports Center or Arena.

Many options like Trolleys can be setup to provide lateral movements.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers uses 10 VarioLifts for their World tour
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are on tour throughout Japan, Europe and Australia. Being a music group that moves, The crew wanted a lighting system reflecting that style. This is where the VarioLifts came along...

5x 20' truss were hooked under 10 VarioLifts. Each has 4 Studio Beams "Moving Lights", 3 Atomic 3000 strobes with color changer and a Coemar SuperCyc 2400W.
New Sales Director joins Show Distribution's team (February 2002)

Show Distribution is proud to announce that Robert (Bob) Belanger has joined the team and will act as the new Sales Director for Show Distribution.

Mr. Belanger has had more than 10 years of experience in sales and public relations for industrial tool products. He was also in charge of technical training on specialized equipment.

In the meantime, for 2 years, Mr. Belanger owned a production company for which he was coordinating all aspects related to rock shows production.  

 
Blink 182's Tour "Take off your pants & jacket" kicks you out of your shoes! (July 2001) Photo Album

Blink 182 is always looking for something new and unusual for their tour. The Production Designer, Doug Brant AKA “Spike” of Art Fag Inc. is all about the unusual. Combined with Ed and Ted’s Excellent Lighting, which has been Blink’s primary lighting vendor for the last 2 years, the band knew they were in for a creative design.

?The challenge was to recreate a moving lighting rig without having it looking like the old ?heavy metal? days.? Says J.R. Edgington, Vice President of touring at Ed and Ted. ?The design is a sort of big Metal parody... The band just wanted a crazy light show, no set...? adds Spike. One answer to that was to disperse the moving parts over the stage area and have them move in quick fluid movements versus the large slow moving truss pods and fingers.

“Given these parameters, some time was spent in the shop for a few experiments.” says Edgington. The experiment that worked the best was a combination of steel wire rope with rungs. The rungs interspaced along the length of steel allowed for the hanging of moving lights.  

 
Matchbox Twenty Tour 2001: more VarioLifts added for the last leg of the tour  (July 2001)

Lighting Designer Marc Brickman has selected the ChainMaster VarioLifts chain hoists and controllers for the 2001 Matchbox Twenty Tour, starting on March 5. 

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The rig includes fourteen 500 kg and six 250 kg VBG-8 VarioLifts chain hoists (8' to 95'/min.) to move vertical pods up and down... Look for details on the June 2001 edition of Lighting Dimension.

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For the last part of the tour, debuting at the end of July, the designer decided to add 12 more VarioLifts.

 
U2 "Elevation" World Tour 2001 (March 2001)

Lighting Designer Willy Williams and Lighting Director Bruce Ramus have selected ChainMaster VarioLifts chain hoists and controllers for the U2 Elevation Tour 2001, starting on March 24.

They use seven of the brand new 1 ton VarioLifts motors from Show Distribution on the Elevation World Tour. The motors move truss sections with truss-spots operators during the show, using them as a part of the set. These motors are the first ones to allow -a fully controllable- variable speed with a 1 ton load. They provide a 12 times safety factor and are equipped with load cells for under-load and overload protection. With the deceleration before the stop, everybody is in for a smooth ride.
Pearl Harbor movie Premiere in Hawaii (May 2001) Photo Album

Show Distribution was moving the huge screen (80' x 40' approx.) on which the Pearl Harbor movie was presented at the Premiere in Hawaii. It took only two hours to install the seven VarioLifts chain hoists used to move the screen from its horizontal position hidden in the roof to its vertical position in the front of the stage. After trying a couple of different speed and deceleration parameters, the cue was recorded, ready to go, in perfect sync with the music.

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Jacques Tanguay receives a Solo Award for his 30 years of contribution in the show business (December 2000)

On December 21, 2000, Mr. Jacques Tanguay won the 2000 Solo Award for its 30-year contribution to Quebec show business industry as a stage lighting expert.

This ultimate tribute to his sense of innovation and development was made to him during the first edition of the Solo Award Ceremony, that was organized by Solotech, a well-established stage lighting and sound company located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Introducing new lighting products from Europe and elsewhere and revolutionary lighting techniques in Quebec has driven him to work in the greatest concert halls on remarkable high-level tours with prestigious performers such as Ann Murray, April Wine, etc.

Mr. Tanguay is now president of Show Distribution Group Inc., a rigging company which is located in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada, and the exclusive distributor of ChainMaster chain hoists and controllers in North America.

Solo Award Winner Mr. Jacques Tanguay (left), MC Actor Normand Brathwaite (center) and Lighting Director Alain Lortie (right)