Absen PL3.9 Pro Anchors Video for 311 and Dirty Heads’ Co-Headline Tour

Since forming in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1988, 311 has built one of the most devoted fan bases in alternative rock, blending rock, reggae and funk across 14 studio albums and selling more than 10 million records in the U.S. The band reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart with “Down” in 1996 and again with its cover of “Love Song” in 2004.

Dirty Heads, formed in Huntington Beach, California, in the late 1990s, has followed a similar path, combining reggae, hip-hop, rock and alternative influences. The band’s 2010 single “Lay Me Down,” featuring Rome Ramirez, spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, and its 2014 album “Sound of Change” reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200.

This summer, the two bands brought those catalogs together for the “So Glad You Made It” co-headline tour, playing 33 stops at amphitheaters and outdoor venues across North America, from Shakopee, Minnesota, to West Palm Beach, Florida. As a result, the production team needed a video system that could support two distinct headlining sets and adapt to a different venue nearly every night.

The co-headline format shaped the tour’s video design from the start, with the lighting and video rig serving two sets, each with its own creative direction.

“We have two co-headliners, so we have to design a rig that works for both bands,” said Bobby Grey, lighting and production designer for 311. “The thing about 311 is they have a 36-year history. They have a massive catalog of hundreds of songs, ranging from hard-rocking rock ballads to jammy songs and everything in between. So, diversity for us is key.”

The venue size added another variable. Stage widths changed from city to city, requiring a system that could scale down significantly without losing visual impact.

“When we’re taking this across the country, some days there will be a 120-foot-wide stage, and other days there will be a 60-foot-wide stage,” said Adam Richard, designer and director for Dirty Heads. “The whole lighting and video system needs to be first modular enough to be nearly halved in size and still have effect and still be bright enough.”

To meet those demands, Absen customer and production company Showtime Sound, LLC supplied and supported Absen’s PL3.9 Pro, a 3.9mm LED display designed for touring and live event applications. Available in 500 mm x 1,000 mm and 500 mm x 500 mm panels, the system gave the crew the flexibility to reconfigure the video surface to fit each venue.

“Showtime have been fantastic partners for this tour,” said Grey, crediting the company’s investment in specific rigging equipment and new gear, along with its crew’s preparation. “They worked long hours to get everything built so that it would load in and out really easily.”

With two bands and set lists ranging from hard rock to extended jams, the display had to reproduce a wide range of looks, from dim, moody scenes to bright, saturated content, without losing detail at either end.

“Technology in a show environment is at its best when you don’t notice it – when it becomes part of the architecture and looks like it belongs,” said Grey. “What I’ve noticed is that we have rich blacks along with a great color range. Everything we’ve brought up feels in-world. Even when I set something at 20%, it still renders perfectly. When I go bright, it doesn’t blow out. We’re able to get the range exactly where we need it.”

Color performance stood out across the run. “After working with the Absen PL3.9 throughout the tour, the color is what stood out most to me,” noted Richard. “I’ve never seen colors this saturated and vivid exactly when I needed them.”

The PL3.9 Pro uses black-face LEDs and matte-black anti-reflective masks to produce deep blacks and high contrast. Its brightness range of 0.1 to 5,000 nits allows operators to run content at low levels without sacrificing grayscale detail or push to full output for outdoor shows, while a 7,680 Hz refresh rate and 16-bit grayscale support camera-friendly playback for live production.

Reliability carried equal weight. Over the course of a summer run, panels are built, struck, loaded and transported dozens of times, and every failure costs the crew time before doors open.

“As lead video for this tour, my role is to make sure the panels and video are working from front of house to back of house,” said Anthony Lemon, lead video for “So Glad You Made It” Tour. “After working with the Absen PL3.9, I’m confident it will perform. I’ve put certain protocols in place during build and teardown to make sure it’s show-ready.”

The PL3.9 Pro’s unibody dual-layer magnesium cabinet, reinforced corner shields, triple-guard modules and anti-shock locking knobs are designed to withstand repeated load-ins and load-outs, while tool-free rear maintenance simplifies servicing in the field.

“The Absen wall has been rock solid. We literally have swapped one module on this tour. That is unheard of,” said Richard.

Showtime’s support was equally responsive. Grey recalled a server overheating during a show, explaining “Our video techs were literally at front of house before I could even get over to it to reset it. Even at the end of this 33-stop run, I haven’t seen them without a smile on their face.”

That consistency allowed the creative team to focus on the show rather than the hardware. “When you’re trying to tell a visual story or do creative work, it’s imperative to have equipment that works,” explained Grey. “We’re not thinking about the technical side. We’re not spending all day trying to get gear working or finding workarounds to fix problems. Absen’s PL3.9 has been something we haven’t had to worry about on this run. It’s plugged right into the creative process without adding to our stress.”

By combining accurate color reproduction across a wide brightness range, modular panel options and dependable performance through a full summer run, Absen’s PL3.9 Pro, deployed and supported by Showtime Sound, LLC, gave the 311 and Dirty Heads production team a display platform that scaled to each venue and kept the focus on the creative work for two headlining sets across 33 stops in North America.