LIVERPOOL, U.K. — Lighting designer Jon Pollak had no hesitation in recommending that Adlib Lighting supplied the equipment and crew for the U.K. leg of Steely Dan’s current European tour. Pollak first worked with the company in 2007 when he was lighting folk singer Ray Lamontagne. “They did a fantastic job,” he said. “I was so impressed with the kit and the personnel that I really wanted to use them again.”
Pollak’s lighting for Steely Dan is minimalist, sparse but effective. It takes the “less is more” principal at the core of the design and “lighting the music” as its basic tenet, highlighting the cerebral and often dark lyrical spin of the songs.
Lighting-wise, the U.K. shows were based on three straight 48-foot trusses to cover the 50-foot-wide performance area.
These were loaded with 21 Martin Professional MAC 2K Washes and 16 MAC 700 Spots. The Washes were used for general band and stage washes, primarily a series of subtle and straightforward color combinations, while the Spots took the role of providing basic beam-work and effects across the 12-piece band and substantial area that needed covering.
For keylighting and specials, Adlib supplied 25 ETC Source Four Profiles with 19 degree lenses. Upstage on the floor there were 24 ColorBlaze 48 LED strips focused cyc style onto a generic black backdrop.
Pollak operated the show using a Hog iPC console running in Hog 2 mode. The audio crew used a large analog console, so Pollak needed something with plenty of functionality and a small footprint.
This also allowed him to integrate earlier programming work that he’d completed on the Steely Dan shows dating back to 2006, which proved a real bonus as there was no production rehearsal or pre-programming time for the U.K. tour. He now has a pool of about 70 programmed songs available — elements of which are included in the variable set list each night.
Structurally, the lighting is very intricate, with some songs containing up to 70 or 80 lighting cues, not counting manual “specials” which can double that number again. It may be a classic show from many lighting standpoints, but it requires “a highly concentrated mode of operation,” Pollak noted.
Adlib supplied Tim Spillman and Andy Rowe to crew the tour, of whom Pollak concludes, “They were really wonderful people, highly knowledgeable, very efficient and a real pleasure with which to work.”
For more information, please visit www.adlibaudio.co.uk.
