Archive for February, 2022

We have worked with the revolutionary circus troupe Cirque Du Soleil since 1996 on Saltimbanco and it was a joy to resume our partnership for their latest performance, LUZIA, at The Royal Albert Hall. Our team supplied lighting, rigging, distro and control solutions which aided the performers to wow audiences with the stories of Mexico.

Neg Earth supplied a mixture of ROBE, Clay Paky and SGM lights & LEDs for Cirque Du Soleil.

Photo Credit: Matt Bread

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I’ve told this tale once before, when I first reviewed a Gary Barlow solo show for this magazine (see LSi February 2013), but it’s well worth re-telling. Back in the mid 1990s, my wife and I were re-acquainting ourselves with London, having returned from a stint living and working in the US. Standing in line to enter The Tower of London, I spotted Clem Burke, Blondie’s peerless drummer, already inside. Having worked for Burke on the Parallel Lines tour of Europe and as his drum roadie, we were well-acquainted. Once we were inside, I sought him out; after all, what was he doing in London? “I’m working for Gary Barlow,” he told me. I was visibly surprised; I knew nothing of Gary Barlow’s talents bar the two Take That shows I’d previously reviewed for LSi. I liked boybands – it was like revisiting the heights of Motown from my own teenage years – wonderful vocals and great dance routines to fantastic three-minute pop classics written by the powerhouse that was Holland, Dozier, Holland. In my naivety, I had assumed the same combination applied to Take That . . .

“No, no,” said Burke. “He’s a great songwriter. I’m really enjoying the work; melody, lyric, hook. He really understands what makes for a great pop song.” Burke’s opinion has been vindicated a thousand-fold, but it didn’t fall into Barlow’s lap. That’s what I find so illustrative about Barlow’s success – he has always worked bloody hard for it, something he continues to this day. In speaking to his production team for this tour, it’s clear that drive percolated all the way down.

PRODUCTION

For this Gary Barlow tour, the production manager’s hat goes to Paddy Hocken, with Chris Vaughan of CV Productions being preoccupied in Las Vegas with Adele’s residency. I first spoke with Hocken back in early October, just before full production rehearsals at Fly By Nite’s facility. It was apparent even then, prior the emergence of omicron, that all elements of production had been examined with a weather-eye on maintaining that all-important isolation bubble. How right Hocken was to be so cautious. “That said, this is a big arena production and we will aim to make it feel as normal as possible,” he said. “Full-scale and polished; a Gary Barlow tour is nothing if not a quality show. He always wants it to be that way – why should now be any different?”

Considering what transpired across the nation during the run of the tour, it is to the credit of Hocken and the team he assembled that the tour was so successful, and so tumultuously received.

LIGHTING

The show opens emphatically in red and doesn’t rest from that area of the spectrum for five numbers. The original concept was quite different, as outlined by lighting designer Tim Routledge below, but the great disruptor impacted this tour as much as it has affected all of our lives. That opening is a bold, defiant gesture; Barlow sets out his stall with aplomb, “you’re all going to have a good time”. That decision alone throws down the gauntlet, challenging the audience to run with the show’s powerful surges.

Where did the powerful opening come from? Routledge offers some perspective: “In a way, this is a postponed tour to introduce the album Music Played By Humans [released in 2020] but of course, it has had to evolve over the last two years. Now, it’s more an ‘all the hits’ show; even more than that in fact, as he has another new album out now [The Dream of Christmas, released late 2021]. Misty Buckley [set design] and I have worked together on this new iteration of the tour since June 2021 when the tour changed direction with the arrival of a second pandemic timed album release, and the show has since become very heavy lighting-wise. Lights are so heavily integrated into the set that it has to be that way of working.”

He adds: “I love working with Misty – her detail on set pieces is always second to none; that just makes things look more considered and cohesive. The kick-off point to the show is ‘a big band for the modern era’, a concept that comes from Gary’s imagination. The origins to most of what the show is feeds directly from him.” How so? “The show falls into four sections – Vegas, Christmas, a compact B-stage in-the-round segment, and the finale. The first references a classic Las Vegas-style big-band show. Red is the theme, to the extent that Gary wears a red suit and red shoes. It’s mainly new songs from the Humans album. The band is his normal five-piece, augmented by a six-piece brass section.”

Routledge continues: “It’s a cold start – there’s no big entrance, he walks out in blackout, the spotlight hits him out of the darkness, and he starts to sing a cappella. As each line of the first song builds, he introduces the band one by one. That works great for a soft opening. I think that example underlines how Gary has command of what takes place on stage and how we make it look for him. Development is a very direct process; he speaks to Misty and I, not via his management or an assistant, and he does so regularly.”

Can you give us an example? “In terms of Gary communicating the direction of travel for the show, that is an absolute. For example, he had been working with his stylist Stevie Stewart and had determined the all-red costume right down to the shoes. He brought that original idea to us – that wish to have a red flavour to the first five songs – he wanted bold Vegas.”

And the reds are brassy and bright, with the big brass section and dancers in feather headdresses, it oozes Las Vegas at its best. It’s not all-red all the time, of course – Routledge relieves the eye with open white to provide the highlights and accents the stage needs.

“That’s an intervention from him that gives a strong direction for how to approach a whole section of the show,” continues Routledge. “A more detailed example could be one that deals with the specifics of a sequence: the addition of a scenic fireplace on stage and the falling of snow during the Christmas section were directions from him. Misty and I might have selected or suggested all manner of ways to contextualise that section, but he already had the vision, it only remained for us to realise it for him. At the musical level, he keeps us up-to-date about how he is developing the setlist way before and during band rehearsals prior to us going into production. So we know what’s coming, the ebb and flow, the light and shade of the show. That is so helpful and he will let me know any key points he wants to emphasise throughout the show. In production rehearsals, that direction continues; he will talk with the band and the dancers and tell us what they want to work on. Likewise, he will ask us if we need to work on something from them. Lisa Spencer, his choreographer, was originally a dancer on a Take That tour; they came up with the sleigh ride gag in the Christmas scene. I cannot overemphasise how, because he knows what he wants and controls the flow directly not via other people, that is really effective. There is no ambiguity or confusion and it’s massively efficient.”

The Christmas section comes next; this is the point where the audience abandons any sense of inhibition and lets loose. “We always expected this to have an impact,” says Routledge, “you don’t create scenes for them to languish. But the audience response has been immense. Gary does some of his own original Christmas songs and some traditional ones and it goes down a storm. So we start high in Vegas and get higher. Yes, it’s cheesy, but isn’t that what Christmas is about? We all like to indulge and right now, everyone just wants to have fun.”

As the fake snow is cleared from the stage, Barlow travels to a small B-stage in the centre of the hall for part three. “He normally walks through his audience and spends a lot of time hugging and greeting his fans. That has had to go and he now follows a COVID-safe route; if he gets sick, the tour’s over. He does miss it and I’m sure the fans do, but they still get to see him up-close. The B stage is relatively small, so there’s nowhere to hide – just him, a piano, and two band members. It’s presented low-key, just 10 floor lights and followspots. Normally, he’d play ballads in this setting, but instead, he raises the temperature even higher, performing classics like A Million Love Songs, The Greatest Day, and a huge crowd-pleaser, Let Me Go.”

As that segment draws to a close and he’s whisked away, a large mirrorball lowers in above the main stage. When Barlow re-appears, we’re straight into what you might call the disco finale.

“It is all very Studio 54,” says Routledge, only slightly tongue-in-cheek. “And again, it’s more of the big hits, Shine and Rule the World, for example. In fact, all the big hits right to the end – all killer, no filler.”

In terms of hardware, Routledge has made some keen choices in how he lights all this musical extravagance. “The way we differentiate the scenes theatrically is through the colour palette. Lighting carries a big load in that sense. There are some props like a decorated fireplace for the Christmas sequence, but mirrorball apart, there are no huge automation gags in the show at all, it’s all down to lighting.”

“Centre-stage, there’s a big bold set of Gary Barlow initials in an old 1930s font. It’s populated with 200 Ayrton Magic Dots inside. They transform something simple into a constant shape-shifting, colour changing focus of emphasis – the whole piece pans and tilts like some gargantuan moving light.” An effect, it should be noted, delivered by some deft programming, as we will learn.

“The main structural element of set/lights is the six vertical chevrons that cup the performance area and frame the initials.” Routledge continues. “Each covered with 16 Ayrton IntelliPix which are just brilliant. At nine individual parallel beams per IntelliPix unit, that’s like having almost 900 small individual Sharpys. The chevrons are also edged with Sceptron LEDs which hide the truss and give the show a modern, neon feel at times, and add a sparkly effect like falling snow in the Christmas section. I first used the IntelliPix for X-Factor and they are absolutely stonking, just so punchy and versatile. Thankfully, Neg Earth has them in the sort of quantity I needed – yet one more example of why Neg is such an easy choice as supplier; skilled crew, great gear in abundance, Neg Earth has everything. Gary had asked for ‘twinkly, warm and sparkling’, and that’s just what the IntelliPix are, as well as delivering bold punches of light that are accented at every turn. Other lights include Claypaky Scenius Unicos for a lot of the aerial beam work, Robe LED Beams, and BMFL Blades for remote control followspots. Gary also very much wanted a starcloth. I haven’t specified one for years but actually, used sparingly when it’s 120ft wide and 40ft tall, it makes the set very special.” Routledge applies it for the Christmas section, and in so doing, seemingly lifts the chevrons and ‘GB’ initials to float magically in the air.

He continues: “The whole show is run on a grandMA2 that Tom Young programmes for me on MA3 hardware; he just prefers it as he has moved his muscle-memory to the new hardware. There are several reasons for sticking with the MA2 for running the show, besides it still being the desk of choice in most live concert situations. Rob Gawler, who runs the show for me, is an MA2 devotee, plus Tom couldn’t be present all the time at rehearsals, which meant I had to maximise his time. He is unbelievably fast – arguably the fastest programmer out there. I also love James Scott, he programmes a lot for me as well across a number of shows. But Tom and I have worked together for at least seven years on Gary Barlow and Take That shows, so his face fits the show perfectly. That brings a significant impact to the work of building a show, the slang and shorthand we use is refined to a point of hyper-efficiency. Tom also brings great musicality; he has covered Gary for me over the years and knows many if not all the songs. With that skillset he offers up stuff to me in real-time; he’s exciting to work with.”

And where’s the pay-off for Routledge? “Satisfaction for me comes from working with an artist the stature of Gary Barlow. From a more general level, what makes it worthwhile is that magic moment when the houselights go down. A cliché maybe, but one that always brings up the hairs on the back of my neck.”

Wrapping up, he says: “For this tour, we left rehearsals already in a good place, but even so, I was surprised by how mad the audience went. You can’t beat that feeling. And Gary is in great voice; he’s singing better now than when I first toured with him 10 years ago. He’s a superb performer at the top of his game; he knows how to deliver. A great songwriter, great singer, writes terrific scores for musicals: he’s pure talent, and the reviews have underlined that fact.”

SET DESIGN

Although Misty Buckley was unavailable for interview due to the immense workload she is currently under, Paddy Hocken had much to say on her behalf. “She has done an absolutely fantastic job, well-supported by her art director Matt Rees and prop designer, Richard Olivieri. Ben Brooks and Jordan Whittemore at TAIT UK really pulled it out the bag for us on the build. They supplied the main stage, apron, lighting shelf, tech bunkers, band risers and camera platforms. The B-stage, a 16ft wide decagon, is fitted with an electric scissor lift for Gary’s piano, all finished with Hi-Shine flooring. A combination of
rental stock and customised pieces, at a ratio of 80%-20% respectively, made this ecologically-sensible.”

Hocken continues: “On the fully bespoke front, TAIT fabricated the 7.5m tall ‘GB’ sign Tim liked so much; the central steps with opal polycarbonate fascias and gold powder-coated step tread angle detail; magnetic Di-bond riser fascias with integrated diffused LED in gold powder-coated channels. The Christmas props include 20-odd giant gift-wrapped presents and a tourable 16ft high dressed Christmas tree. These details, especially on the steps and risers, really enhance the Vegas flavour of the show opening and sustain a polished look throughout.”

What about the fireplace? “We wanted it to have a fire with real flames – not the easiest thing to achieve safely,” says Hocken. “Marc Webber at ER Productions really impressed us with his solution – being able to have our special effects supplier deliver the whole gag was great. By the time Stephan Saliba from TAIT UK Scenic had added all the finishing touches to it, the piece looked very authentic.”

SOUND

Anecdotally, those of an older generation who find rap, hip-hop, grime and drum’n’bass an impenetrable musical form, will be pleased to discover complete relief in the music of Gary Barlow. His ability to access, harness and exploit melody, modulation, harmony and the development of tempo in the structure of his musical output can illustrate many of humanity’s strongest emotions. In short, he writes a great pop song.

Read the full article here.

Originally Published by LSi Online. 

Photo credit: Luke Dyson.

www.negearth.co.uk
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www.taittowers.com
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Following the success of her Live From Union Chapel livestream [see TPi #251], and in support of her critically acclaimed seventh studio album, Song For Our Daughter, English folk singer-songwriter, Laura Marling embarked on her first tour in four-and half years; a stripped-back, solo acoustic campaign supported by a tight-knit crew.

“It has been a privilege to work with such a lovely team,” Tour Manager, Dan McKay began, speaking to TPi as the dust settled on the whirlwind tour. “We were meant to be in the US in 2020 but that was subsequently curtailed with the COVID-19 pandemic, so she had that fire in her belly to get touring again and put on a show that people will remember.”

With a handful of creatives and technicians on board, McKay enlisted the support of Neg Earth, Britannia Row Productions, Event Transport, Phoenix Bussing, Acre Jean and design collective, NeonBlack, to make the post-lockdown project possible. “We were apprehensive to plan anything too far into the future case it didn’t go ahead,” he explained. “When it became apparent that the tour might happen, we decided to assemble a team of creatives and suppliers, and luckily the speed at which they operate made it possible to put this project together in a matter of weeks.”

He went on to praise the team for adapting to the speed in which many post-lockdown productions are advanced, designed, and taken on the road or – in some cases – shelved or even cancelled later down the line.

With a loyal fanbase, the singer-songwriter, who rarely tours, cuts an enigmatic figure on stage. In each venue, according to McKay, you could ‘hear a pin drop’.

“Laura doesn’t necessarily say much on stage, so the crowd hangs on to her every word,” he said, recalling visits to London’s Roundhouse and Manchester’s Albert Hall among his personal highlights. As one of the first tours back with new COVID-19 regulations, the safety of the performing artist, crew and audiences remained at the top of McKay’s agenda. To this end, the crew embarked on regular testing and wore facemasks on site.

“We left it to each venue to implement their own procedures but I believe the messaging between promoters, ticket sellers and public attending shows post-lockdown is confusing and could be improved,” McKay reported. “Thankfully, the most we ever had to push the stage back was around 45 minutes as audiences and venues adjusted to the implementation of COVID-19 passes before getting in the venue. The rest of the tour went off without a hitch”

‘A SHOW OF 19 LOOKS’

“She’s an absolute talent and commands the stage for 90 minutes every night,” NeonBlack’s Jon Barker enthused, having worked closely with McKay and Marling for the past two years, including stints lighting her side project, LUMP.

Having recently formed a design partnership, NeonBlack, with longstanding collaborator, Dom Smith, the duo devised the production design, in line with visual references provided by Marling. “Laura is an incredible talent and a real delight to work with,” Smith said. “She had wanted to split the show into three distinct acts.”

As a new face to the camp, Smith was pleasantly surprised by Marling’s hands-on approach, citing a “less is more” approach to the project. “It is a very theatrical production. Laura is great at curating ideas for both the visuals but also the musical narrative. When an artist is as transparent about her ideas as Laura is, it makes our job a joy.”

Indeed, part of the reason the duo joined forces was because they believe, the role of the production designer is to tell the stories of performing artists and musicians. “This production as a whole tells that story, from lights to audio,” he remarked. “Fundamentally, it is a show with 19 individual looks, three acts and a strong identity.”

Act one, ‘curtains of light’, saw a series of theatrical and intimate looks with a mid-stage drape in front of a gauze with lighting courtesy of GLP impression X4 Bars.

Act two, ‘shadows’, featured lighting casting shadows on a whiteshark tooth gauze, courtesy of Acre Jean – hung on a Kabuki Solenoid system – from front and rear;

Act three meanwhile saw the Kabuki Solenoid system triggered and LED lighting come to life. During the pre-visualisation phase, NeonBlack drew collaboratively on Vectorworks, albeit operating remotely, and worked on programming in-person, during rehearsals at Neg Earth in LH3, before hitting the road for three weeks.

The majority of the production lighting design was floor based to ensure similar looks in a variety of venues with one mid stage truss of GLP impression X4 Bars and a Sharkstooth kabuki gauze the only flown elements.

“We deliberately kept the show small scale and easy to facilitate due to the uncertainty of the post-lockdown landscape,” Barker explained. “Some of the venues on this tour range in size, so the challenge has been to come up with solutions that don’t compromise the integrity of production design.”

At its largest, the lighting rig featured 10 Martin by Harman MAC Aura XBs dotted around the floor of the stage, seven Ayrton Ghiblis as back and sidelight (three at the back of the stage with two flanking Marling, per side), along with 16 GLP impression X4 Bar moving lights, attached to the onstage and upstage chord.

Static light came in the shape of six ETC Source4s (three per side), 12 VDO Sceptron 10s, four VDO Sceptron 320s, six clam shell footlights, and a Mole Richardson Type 245. Due to a national CO2 shortage at the time, the team relied on Look Solutions Unique Hazers and Martin by Harman AF2 fans for atmospherics. “We discovered early on in the programming phase, it would be easy to upstage Laura by doing too much, which doesn’t happen very often,” Smith noted. “She’s such a talent, spellbinds a room, and does so effortlessly, so she should be the centre of attention, while we provide a backdrop.”

In closing, Smith praised lighting vendor, Neg Earth, for providing essential kit and crew in a tight timeframe. “I’ve known [Neg Earth Project Manager], Lindsey Markham for many years and she is always my first port of call for a show,” he said, recounting the need for custom fabricated square frames to house Martin by Harman Sceptron fixtures – which Neg Earth was able to provide, along with on-site Lighting Technicians, Alan Fotheringhame, Mark Anthony Cooper and Jake Saunders.

‘90 MINUTES OF ESCAPISM’

“This was the first time I’ve done a show with Laura where she hasn’t had a band with her,” FOH Engineer, Darren Connor noted. “It’s been a great experience. Although Laura is an incredible artist with a great voice, she doesn’t project vocally. So when she’s performing with a band you have less control of her vocals. However, when it’s just her, you can make it natural and exposed. It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with her and dig really deep into her vocals.” In an effort to keep the touring footprint as small as possible, Britannia Row Productions provided a bespoke, small format control package to fit Connor’s specific requirements. “Britannia Row Productions has got a great reputation and was very flexible with us, having made a few tweaks during rehearsals,” he said, praising the vendor and particularly, Britannia Row Productions Client Liaison, Marc Soame.

“It was our pleasure to be able to support Dan McKay and Darren Connor on this tour,” Soame said. “Laura Marling’s performances are captivating; truly something to behold.”

The control package comprised an Allen & Heath C1500 desk on firmware version 1.9, a DM32 stage rack, and a 100m Cat6 multicore. Connor was specific about his microphone choices to achieve a ‘natural and open sound’. AKG 414s and Neumann 184s on guitar, six Radial Engineering DIs on acoustics, Sennheiser 409s for electric guitar amp, with DPA Microphones 4018VL on Marling’s vocals. This was the first time the engineer had used DPA 4018 on the singer’s vocals but after trying several capsules in rehearsals settled on the VL version. “It worked fantastically throughout the entire tour,” he recalled. Connor added that the layout of certain venues required different approaches to sound.

“We went from club-sized shows to seated theatres to rooms so dry we needed to smother in reverb to sound live, as well as extremely reverberant rooms like Manchester’s Albert Hall, which is a beautiful venue which requires little reverb,” he pointed out.

Guitar Technician, Joel Ashton made sure all seven guitars were tuned to perfection and Marling felt as comfortable as possible on stage. “This has been the most wonderful experience I’ve had on tour. The setlist has been deliberately structured in a way to keep the narrative, flow and design of the show as beautiful and seamless as possible – watching her go from a heavier rendition to slowing the songs right down so every person in the room hangs on every single word has been an absolute pleasure,” he commented.

“She reads a room really well and it’s fascinating to see her hold an audience. I’ve been working with her for six years on and off and I still find myself getting sucked into the intimacy of every performance,” concluded Connor, elated to be back on the road with one of Britain’s finest musical talents post-lock-down. “People still need to be entertained and if we can provide an outlet and 90 minutes of escapism amid all the drudgery of the past year then it has been a huge success.”

www.lauramarling.com

www.neonblack.design

www.negearth.co.uk

www.britanniarow.com

www.e-t-ltd.com

www.phoenix-bussing.co.uk

www.acrejean.com

www.tpimagazine.com

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