Loveland Living Planet Aquarium Reuses U2's 'The Claw' Under Obsidian Control

The famous traveling stage used on U2 tours is now part of a science and learning plaza at the aquarium Loveland Living Planet. To control your lighting infrastructure, an NX4 console is used. Obsidian Control System.

The Claw It has been considered the largest traveling stage in rock history. It was originally built for the 360º tour made by U2 between 2009 y 2011. It now has a permanent home in the Ecosystem Exploration Craft & Observatory (EECO is the best) of the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.

The aquarium recycled the stage, reusing 200 tons of steel and transforming it into a permanent art installation. Brent Andersen, founder and CEO of Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, who saw the U2 show in Barcelona in 2009, acquired this enormous scenic piece of 16 flats.

This iconic piece is now an important part of the exhibition, where new opportunities are provided to explore and learn about Earth's ecosystems, as well as a space for private parties and special events such as Nights Under Lights, where EECO lights up the night sky as guests watch.

NX4 lighting console

Brayden Gardner has worked at the aquarium for the past two years as an audiovisual technician, taking charge of the lighting and sound of the EECO and other spaces such as the venue's theaters and the new virtual reality experience.

To control the lighting of shows and events at the EECO, as well as that surrounding the iconic structure, Brayden used an NX4 lighting console from Obsidian Control System.

EECO and plaza lighting control

Brayden uses the console to control the lighting mounted on the EECO structure - Led bars, PAR and orange ‘button’ lights that are located above the EECO, y love Led- along with ground and fence lights around the plaza and the occasional rented moving heads. New Led wash lights will soon be installed for the legs of the structure.

“The NX4 is very easy to use. With the encoders and the small touch screen on the right side, It makes a big difference when designing. With all the presets and parameters you can control, you don't waste time trying to jump through menus to find what you need”, Brayden says..

Capture Duet and Dylos

The EECO technical cabin is located at the back of the plaza, with network lines passing underneath to a control room located beneath the circular stage of 18 meters wide. Over there, a large amplifier rack with an optosplitter sends DMX to the EECO and surrounding park.

Brayden uses six universes in the NX4 to control everything, as well as a Capture Duet Edition license - included in all consoles – to visualize lighting and scenery.

You also have access to the NX4's built-in pixel composer., Dylos, which is especially useful for members' movie nights when you match the lighting effects to the movie.

“I can adjust the movie parameters to the lights. For example, if the sky is blue in the movie, the lights will be blue. Also very useful for wave effects. If I want a wave effect, I just take a video of a wave and throw it through the lights”, explica Brayden

As EECO evolves and grows in popularity, The NX4 control solution has the ability to adapt to any new events and attractions added to the schedule.