Cherry Las Vegas, SJ Lighting
Unlike many installations, Cherry’s lighting system is carefully integrated into the venue’s interior design. The club’s prominent dome, for example, features 24 custom pipe grids, each the exact shape of the space it occupies. “The overall design is part of the architecture of the space, rather than an afterthought,” explains Stephen Lieberman of SJ Lighting.

Much of the club’s outrageous ambiance comes from a point source LED system featuring 2,000 individually-controllable, color-mixing fixtures on four-inch inch centers. For additional flavor, Lieberman installed 150 10W finger strobes, which create an intense (but not overwhelming) visual effect. A dozen Martin Professional MAC 250 Entours, plus 12 MAC 250 Wash instruments, provide all the movement any lighting operator could want. The complex installation (20 DMX universes!) is controlled by a GrandMA console. –JL
www.sjlighting.net

Club Paris Jacksonville, Sound Stage Systems
Like the club’s namesake, the lighting system at Club Paris is sleek and stylish. Sound Stage Systems specified premium components for the installation, and the resulting rig is both powerful and versatile, giving operators the ability to visually enhance any event.

The main system consists of proven Martin Professional instruments, including MX-10 scanners, MAC 250 Krypton moving heads, Atomic strobes, CX-10 color changers, and Wizard effect fixtures. “Atmosphere” is provided by a four-head Jem Club Smoke system and DMX-controlled fans. Elsewhere in the venue, Martin SCX-600 scanners and Mania effect projectors add to the eye candy, while American DJ Octopod LED systems help set the mood. Sound Stage Systems even equipped Club Paris with a custom, two-head CO2 jet system, the first of its kind in the U.S. –JL
www.soundstagesystems.com

Diesel Pittsburgh, iDesign
Dig the new breed: Diesel’s lighting system is all about the light emitting diodes. The dominant dancefloor visual at this Pittsburgh hotspot isn’t an antiquated mirror ball, it’s a two-storey, color-changing LED wall. Consisting of over 500 Color Kinetics iColor coves, the wall also serves as a luminous backdrop for live acts, with even more LEDs in the ceilings, floors, and behind the bar adding to the overall ambiance.

The brainchild of Michael Meacham and his Miami-based company iDesign, Diesel’s system also features plenty of conventional club lighting for shape and movement. Martin Professional MAC 250 Entours, MAC 300 Washes, MiniMACs, MX-4 scanners, and Atomic strobes offer vibrant visuals at the touch of a button. –JL
www.idesignproductions.com

Element British Columbia, Team Vassalikaki
Located in the town of Castlegar, Element is the third largest licensed establishment in British Columbia. The club’s lighting system, however, is bigger and better than anything the locals have ever seen. Boasting a bevy of Martin Professional moving heads and effects, the system has finally brought world-class club lighting to Western Canada.

The lavish lighting system was created by Team Vassalikaki – not a company, but a family. “It was a team effort,” notes Florio Vasslikaki. “My dad Nick, my cousin Fred, and my brother George, all played equal parts.” In addition to the Martin instruments and LightJockey control software, Element’s family-affair system features 1,000W PAR cans, Pulsar ChromaPanels and ChromaFloors, and 300 feet of Advanced Lighting LED strips. –JL
www.clubelement.ca

Jet Las Vegas, Johns Lyons Systems
In keeping with the club’s name, Jet’s lighting system is fast and high-flying. With a ceiling covered with 120 Traxon LED panels, the space seems even larger than its actual 15,000 square feet. Combine that with half-a-dozen High End Systems DL1 digital light moving head projectors, all fed by a Hippotizer media server, and the result is a swirling, psychedelic show like no other.

As if that’s not enough, Jet is equipped with dozens of moving lights: 36 American DJ AccuScan 250 scanners, 24 Martin Professional MAC 250 Kryptons, and four MAC 550 fixtures offer operators intense visual firepower. For effects, the club boasts Martin Atomic strobes, as well as a pair of Jem ZR33 fog machines. –JL
www.avalonsound.com

Pacha New York,
Jarrod Khoury + Robyn Parasrm
While Miami-based Infinite took care of the audio aspects of the 30,000-square-foot Pacha New York installation, the lighting design was really the work of technical director Jarrod Khoury and Robyn Parasrm. Khoury was also responsible for the design of the venue’s artfully articulated, motorized spider truss.

Pacha’s numerous fixtures are almost all Robe. “I’m a big fan of using one brand,” notes Khoury. “I hate when you walk into a club and see three different yellows. I like to have the room uniform.” The massive lighting system is controlled via a High End Systems Hog iPC, “the most user-friendly board,” according to Khoury. The club also features a showpiece DJ booth conceived by David Sullivan. Paneled with Traxon LED reflector tiles, the booth itself can display text, animations, and a funky frequency analyzer effect. –JL
www.pachanyc.com