The Opera Nightclub in Atlanta, Ga. ( a must see! )
Posted by Elisa Goad on March 6, 2012 at 7:30pm
I experience 6 to 8 electronic music festivals a year ( for the last 4 years now), and I can honestly say I have seen some of the most amazing lighting rigs in the biz. In my travels I have met some of the most amazing people (patrons of said festivals). These people are so amazing that when they come within a few hours of Orlando ( to work mostly) I have a great excuse to go visit them. This time our very good friend Brian (lives in LA) was running thru Atlanta for work, AND all we needed was an excuse to get out of Orlando. Even better the excuse to go to Atlanta (and a certain nightclub) came in the form of DJ Alesso ( Blog on Roxy nightclub) who was playing at the Opera Nightclub on Friday. Brian would be there all that weekend ( free hotel room!!) so everything fell in place to go. Every once in a while I like to feel I can be spontaneous! ( Even though we planned the visit a few weeks in advance) The spontaneous part would be that it would take 7 hours to drive to Atlanta, we would stay there for 10 hours, and then we would drive back 7 hours. All my friends and co-workers who heard our plans thought it was kind of silly to only go to Atlanta for just a few hours, but dammit, I was being spontaneous, remember? So Nick, Louie, and I packed for a one and a half-day trip, and headed to Atlanta.
One quick side note, if you are ever in Atlanta, you must take the time to find and visit Flip Burger Boutique. This unique burger joint is the brainchild of BRAVO’s season 8 ‘ Top Chef’s All-Stars’, Richard Blais. I know this isn’t tech talk but I KNOW technicians, and we love good food! We love good, inexpensive food, which surprisingly was another great reason to go. This is a one of a kind experience you CAN NOT miss. I’ll post a link to get your stomach growling later.
OK let’s get back to the nightclub and the tech talk. The Opera is located in midtown Atlanta in a trendy neighborhood with bars/nightspots in every direction. In addition to the main room, there is a large outdoor tent attached with a Hookah bar, seating for the patron looking to have a smoke, or reserve a VIP table. This tent can easily be covered for cold nights and then opened during the summer months ( a local friend says its very nice in the summer).
I had a chance to talk to the resident LD David Obert. I must thank David for talking to me because I had no voice and had a hard time asking him questions. David works with a Jands 1000 console, and has a fair amount of lights in the main room. He has 10 Technobeams ( I accidently asked how many Trackspots, but I really meant Technobeams-I promise) 10 Studio Spots, 4 HES StudioColors, and 2 X Spots. For the bang he has 4 Martin Atomic 3000’s, and architectural and spot fixtures he has 16 1K pars throughout the room.
I love the extras a club can offer, and for the tech side of me, Opera has a 12-jet CO2 system. They are all focused on the center of the crowd, and are fired at the right time ( don’t get me started on bad firing habits I’ve seen) The CO2 system was installed by Atlanta Special FX. David also has a 4-jet LN2 ( Liquid Nitrogen) effect from KrygonFX out of Miami. I would consider these extras because they do cost some coin to maintain, so thanks Opera for not being frugal.
The main room has a classic theatre look, but with a club feel and the DJ front and center like a rock star. There are several VIP booths on the 2nd floor that have great viewing areas of the DJ, and crowd. There is a secondary room near the back of the building that has a dancer pole in the middle of the floor. The entire club has wood floors, which I personally feel the reason the acoustics were FANTASTIC. Alesso had failed to impress my friends back in Orlando, but he killed it in Atlanta. They see why we must travel as much as possible, because we are noticing a trend of DJ’s playing flat sets in Orlando.
David really wanted to tell me the audio specs ( he just got a new sound system) and I told him I only focus on Lighting/Video, but he persuaded me to take down a few specs. He was pretty excited about the new gear, so I have no problem adding the audio ( because it was awesome ) Opera got a GEO audio system from Nexo Systems, just a week prior to my visit. One last prop to give goes to Active Lighting Production and Design for the clubs over-all appealing look. To quote David, “ what I really enjoy about working at Opera is the fact that they are constantly evolving. They really try to push the limits for what a nightclub can do.” He goes on to say “they have a huge respect for the production values for these shows so I am constantly working to ensure that they are flawless and memorable.” I like the attitude! David has also had the privilege to work at Eleven50 as well as the Opera for close to 14 years. I love hearing stories about techs that enjoy the lighting life and where it gets them, residency at really great clubs.
Please free to ask any questions and please go visit Opera in Atlanta, the next time you are there.
Pictures provided by David Obert, Nick, and Liquified.
I wish I had more pictures, but then you will have to go in person to see the venue!
© 2012 Created by Justin Lang.
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