LONDON – HSL is supplying lighting gear and crew for the Foals' Total Life Forever tour across the U.K. and Europe. LD Davy Sherwin's goal was to make the rig for the show look bigger than it actually is with a floor-oriented show and lots of anthemic beam looks – a scheme that has proven to work well with variable-sized venues. Sherwin first crossed paths with the band when they were supporting Snow Patrol, for whom he has worked for several years. The Foals wanted a comparably energetic visual vibe, and so they turned to Sherwin for help – who then turned to HSL's Mike Oates, who is handling the project.
The Foals gave Sherwin a few basic pointers in terms of what they wanted incorporated in the show, and then left him to it. They are very dynamic to light, with the music veering from moody and dark to percussive and "shouty."
They particularly wanted multiple shades of blue, so the show errs towards the colder end of the spectrum in terms of color, together with some classic white moments, especially towards the end of the set. There are also a few surprising variants.
Another specific instruction was that the band wanted as little front light as possible, keeping the visual focus on moments of drama with beam work amidst ample quantities of haze and smoke.
The full rig contains a front and back truss plus a substantial floor package, the latter of which are traveling to Europe with the band, where the floor fixtures will hook in to house rigs overhead.
Four different length tank traps come down as drop arms from the back truss, and another five come up from the stage underneath, with a single GLP Impression LED wash light on the down pipes and two on each of the up pipes. Another two Impressions are on the floor, one to the side and the other on the mid stage riser for low level cross lighting for ambience, shadows and silhouettes.
Sherwin has used these briefly before on Snow Patrol and likes the color range, particularly the purples, oranges and reds.
Five i-Pix BB4s are positioned upstage, up-washing the Foals logo on the backdrop.
Then there are four Robe Robin 600 Spots upstage on flight cases and six Robe ColorWash 700E ATs on the deck behind the backline for some powerful back beamage. Five Omni floods on low "turtle" stands are also sitting behind the band, introducing a tungsten contrast, with a further unit downstage right as a soft key light for lead singer Yanis Philippakis. Four Martin Atomic strobes in a row upstage round out the floor rig.
On the back truss – in addition to the four GLPs on the drop arms, are six Robe ColorBeam 700, used for intense, bright slicing effects, and seven Atomics – four on drop arms and three on the truss.
The front truss features five 4-cell linear Moles shooting into the audience and six Robe ColorWash 700E ATs, used to wash the front section of the stage, focused to avoid over-lighting the band. For control, Sherwin is using a Road Hog Full Boar console.
The crew from HSL are "Theatre" Tom Wright and "Rock 'n' Roll" Johnny Harper. Sherwin, who has worked with HSL since 2006, credited the company for "the right attitude, great equipment, crew and a service second to none."
For more information, please visit www.hslgroup.com.
