There’s a good reason why two songs by Shane Smith and the Saints were used in the season five opening episode of Yellowstone. Like the popular Kevin Costner program, the music of this widely acclaimed band from Austin, TX delves into uncertain areas where borders can become murky, and subtle implications lead to bigger understandings.
The intensely evocative quality of this band’s mix of country, rock and Americana calls for a lightshow that is equally complex and powerful. That’s exactly what Matthew PJ Row delivered for their special livestream performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with help from 20 CHAUVET Professional STRIKE 1 blinders supplied by Brown Note Productions.
“I was brought in to design, program, and implement a few items that Ethan Holland, the band’s PM had in his mind,” said Row. “The look we envisioned is built around the band’s huge multi-vocal harmony sections for choruses, intros, and emotional areas.
“For some of the dark eerie vocal tunes, I wanted to cast no front light and have only their shadows,” continued Row. “The idea was to have all these vocal parts sewn together visually. So, you would be not knowing who is singing which part, and thereby allow the audience to connect with the artists in their own way. With this band, the harmonies are huge. When they sing them you don’t just hear the band/crowd singing along; you feel every hair on your extremities stand straight with goosebumps of how loud their crowd participates. It is truly something to be experienced.”
To enhance this experience, Row relied on backlighting and silhouetting created with his STRIKE 1 fixtures, which were arranged on upstage totems, as well as on downstage truss. Backlighting the silhouetted figures of band members, the lights enhanced the boundary breaking looks Row was seeking for the show
In addition to contributing to the silhouetted effects, the STRIKE 1 blinders filled a variety of other roles in Row’s design. “They are my go to fixtures for crowd lighting, silhouettes, blinding, strobes, and side light,” he said of the STRIKE units “With their music of this band, I was able to use them in a multitude of ways, such as odd-even punches, highlights for solo and of course, crowd blinding.”
Complimenting the backlighting and silhouetting was a color palette that often conjured up images of an earlier era in the American west. “The colors were chosen by Ethan,” said Row. “While the band leans heavy on red, amber, and CTO looks, for this show we incorporated more cyan, magenta, etc. to create a more diverse landscape. They reminded me of a Native American oil painting.”
Speaking of this palette, Row said, “I used colors in this show that I never used before.” Such venturing into the unknown and harkening back into the past to discover something new reflects the spirit of Shane Smith and the Saints. It’s also a spirit that was palpable on stage in the music and lighting during this evening at Red Rocks.
Further information from CHAUVET Professional: www.chauvetprofessional.com
