The lighting rig was designed to fit into a variety of venues – from arenas of up to 5,000 capacity to theatre spaces for around 2,000, including a run of sold out homecoming shows at Southend Cliffs Pavilion.
Lee and Wiffin programmed the Hog 3 console during three days at Rhyl Pavilion and had the show well in shape by the time they went into the first gig, collaborating closely with Beth Honan in the process. Honan also commissioned all the show’s video content, which was produced by Tom Baristowe.
“Beth had very clear ideas about things like color and shape,” noted Lee. “She likes everything to look clean, symmetrical and ordered – very modern – and we never had more than two colors per look or song.”
There were also plenty of monochrome and white looks using different color temperatures, and big, dramatic stabs and accents in strong white beams.
This general lighting aesthetic was synched with the tiered stage set accommodating the band, its different levels fronted by Pulsar ChromaPanels – also supplied by HSL – giving a checker board appearance harking back to ska fashion influences. A central stairway pulled all the architecture together, following the same well defined angular lines as the set and lighting.
As with the recent Amanda Burke tour, Wiffin strived to optimize the lighting rig, using the same creative team.
The lighting rig was hung on three straight trusses.
On the rear chord of the back truss were 10 5-meter-wide Mainlight Industries Soft-LED low resolution LED drapes (100 mm pitch), with a section of Pixled F-15 supplied by XL Video right in the centre. Video content ran simultaneously across both surfaces.
The back truss lighting fixtures included six Vari*Lite VL3000 spots and 12 Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes – which Lee described as “very bright and absolutely brilliant”. Three Robe ColorBeam 700E ATs were also used for strong back beam effects, along with the VLs.
The mid truss featured nine Robe ROBIN LEDWash 600s used for general stage washing. Due to their light weight, only a span of 30 cm truss was needed.
On the front truss were five Robe ColorWash 2500E ATs and five VL3000 Spots – used for front washes and key lighting.
The multi-level stage provided opportunities to squeeze in some strategically positioned floor based fixtures, and there were four VL3000 Spots and four Robe ColorBeam 700E ATs on the tiers, with a split-row of eight i-Pix BB4s along the upstage edge of the top level, rear-lighting the backing vocalists and brass section. Six i-Pix BB7s – three per side – washed the mid stage area and provided low level cross lighting on the musicians.
The 18 ChromaPanels were also run into Lee’s lighting console, and he had two Robert Juliat Cyrano 2.5K followspots, also supplied by HSL, positioned at FOH.
The video ran from 2 x Mac Pro servers running Arkaos software, synched to the Fostex hard drives via a laptop, and controlled by MD Sean Barry, which ensured that visuals and music were harmonized.
The show started with a carnival feel and full-on visuals, except for the ChromaPanels, which appeared in the third song. On the fourth number all the video disappeared and Murs was lit just with the VL3000s.
There was a gradual build, which was then stripped right back again for the acoustic breakdown in songs 7 and 8, before gathering steam into a 4-song Stevie Wonder medley. All the LEDWashes and the ChromaPanels worked hard on this section, with Lee using the LEDWash’s zoom feature and smooth dimmer to create distinctive looks.
The show finished with Murs’ two big hits, “This One’s For The Girls” and “Please Don’t Let Me Go” – accompanied by a full on all-singing-all-dancing extravaganza.
“The service and support from HSL was fantastic as always – not that we have needed much, as everything was so well prepped and in such excellent condition that it all ran like clockwork,” Lee said.
For more information, please visit www.hslgroup.com.
