Page 60 - Lighting & Sound America (December 2019) Magazine

CONCERTS

Corey FitzGerald; Josh Beard is the touring lighting direc-
tor. The production also uses four house spotlights.
Color was an important overall theme. “The show starts
with an aggressive, warm palette of red and orange, which
broadens into more pastel tones to convey the joy theme,”
Behm says. “We also begin fairly monochromatically, to
constrain the color shift from the acrylic on the icon. As time
goes on and we build into looks that utilize more white light,
the reflections created by the acrylic become more dramat-
ic; we use that to our advantage to support the more uplift-
ing moments of the show.
“Rigging was one of the most interesting challenges,”
Behm admits. “There are quite a few elements on that
stage that are unique and want to sit at a specific angle.
The icon is a large piece that needs to move throughout
the course of the show, so it changes the real estate avail-
able in the air and on the deck. It was a fun challenge to
get the equipment we needed in a position that works for
the show while making sure it can be flown from the grid
in a reasonable amount of time on a daily basis.” Key to
the process are production manager Wob Roberts and
head rigger Jez Craddick.

Above: “There are eight full-color Kvant 22W lasers—six of them
Special effects onstage and two mounted in the air left and right of the globe,”
Vitale says. Opposite: Located upstage are three ROE Visual
The production is loaded with special effects. “The band CB8 eight-millimeter LED screens, which, Risueño says, “are
angled in two axes, similar to what you would get if you cut a
wanted to shy away from the traditional over-the-top pyro
funnel in two.”
extravaganza that EDM artists usually employ,” explains
Clancy Silver, tour manager and special effects
designer/pyro shooter. “The special effects chosen for
specific parts of the show accompany the mood and vibe ed by 30 Next FX orange-strobing flares.
of the music at the time—from flames for darker moments; Overall, Silver adds, “Pyro is typically fired on the drop
pyro for key musical moments; CO2 for high-energy dance of the biggest songs in the show. We have a variety of
moments; low fog for moodier, more emotional moments; comets for chases and then mines and gerbs for all the fire
and confetti for the finale.” McGuire adds, “I worked very lift moments;” these are delivered from eight positions.
closely with Rocco [Vitale, VP/director of live events, “There are 12 pyro moments,” Vitale says. “Toward the
Pyrotecnico, the band’s longtime vendor] and Clancy end, Drew is on the staircase on the icon, and we do a
months in advance while I was designing the show script. cool gerb chase up the stairs.” The effect comes courtesy
It was all about strategically placing moments throughout of 11 Le Maitre gerbs.
the 95-minute show to keep energy and maintain a con- Also included, Vitale says, are nine Galaxis G-Flames.
stant aesthetic no matter what was happening sonically. “There are five under the thrust that shoot through the
The placement of all special effects is designed to feel grating deck and four in the air, inverted upside-down.”
very grade with lots of horizontal and vertical scale to Silver adds, “They are employed during various moments
magnify any production design that was included.” on the thrust, including a drum solo that takes place on
“The show starts with the three principals holding hand- the B stage lift, in which the drummer [McGuire] is sur-
held flares,” Silver says. “The lead singer walks to our icon rounded with fire while playing drums, also with his sticks
and ‘lights a wick’ of essentially another three solid flares on fire.”
located at the base; as the music builds, a comet chase Another element consists of 12 Explo X2 Wave Flames,
and all fire of mines ensue on the stage. That’s followed by each of which, Vitale notes, “have an articulating head
over two dozen strobing flares, laced around our icon, that inside; we can create motion with the flames, as opposed
run for that part of the intro.” McGuire adds, “This is one to them being 90° straight up. We can change the orienta-
of those wow moments in which special effects are in per- tion and do multiple angles and waves and so forth.”
fect symmetry with the production design—not only mag- And, Vitale says, “There are eight full-color Kvant 22W
nifying it, but making it grand though not overshading the lasers—six of them onstage and two mounted in the air
core element of the icon.” The opening icon effect is creat- left and right of the globe; they really showcase Matt’s

60 • December 2019 • Lighting&Sound America