Australian country music singer Keith Urban embarked on his “Light the Fuse” tour, in support of Fuse, his eighth studio album. The tour launched in Cincinnati, OH on July 18 and ran through Oct. 5 in West Palm Beach, FL on its first North American leg. Urban has two more North America tour legs mapped out for Oct. 18-Dec. 8, 2013 and Jan. 9-Feb. 1, 2014. The album’s lead single, “Little Bit of Everything,” debuted in mid-May and the full album was released on Sept. 10.
Travis Shirley, Production Designer:
“As with most projects I work on, collaborating is key to the success of the overall design. Keith and I had a strong dialogue in discussing the overall concepts for his tour. At the time Keith knew that he wanted a look that was going to match the “fusion” of different melodic components that he was creating on his new album. However, with the album not being completed, we had to construct a design that was going to fit the “idea” of his album. We ended up with a fusion of lighting and video components that paid homage to classic low key production elements whilst keeping things modern and cutting edge. We had the privilege of touring together in Australia at the top of the year, which allowed Keith and I to understand and grasp how we wanted to construct the show. As we moved into production rehearsals for the U.S. leg and the official beginning of the ‘Light the Fuse’ tour, we fine-tuned the show up and down, finalizing song placement, fine-tuning video content, working out specific camera shots, etc. As a veteran of touring, Keith has mastered his craft and is an absolute pleasure to work with.
“We had ideas from the get-go on how we wanted to construct the video content, not only artistically, but in the practicality aspect of it as well. Certain songs we would have the luxury of getting very sync dependent, as we can trigger and sync with SMPTE, while other songs are a bit more of a jam, and we need to have some flexibility in triggering. I have a great team of content creators and editors I have worked with for several years. Ian Kennedy and the team at mDots/Fontastics have done a great job on this project. It’s not uncommon if we have five or six versions of a piece before we get a final deliverable piece.
“Nowadays, there are so many elements involved with creating a show design, I would find it next to impossible to create without the use of modern day drafting technology. Recently, I have been fortunate enough to bring in an excellent draftsman, Carlos Colina, who is also an excellent lighting designer in his own right. He works with me from start to finish on sketching the entire show. We will go back and fourth sending 2D and 3D drawings to each other until we get everything exactly where we want it. As we get the drafting aspect complete, we will then import the file into a third party program, which will allow us to create artistic renderings in which I then showcase to the artist.
“This is the first time John Lucksinger is running one of my shows. He has operated for Keith in the past, and I’m extremely thankful to have him out there day-to-day. The show is extensively cued, and ‘Lucky’ doesn’t seem to miss a beat. Trevor
Ahlstrand and Drew Gnagey were my primary programmers for this project. I have had a working and personal history with both for years. We have an understanding of one another, and that ‘Love ya, but I’m pulling my hair out’ relationship. On a serious note, these are two of the best out there, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have them on my team.
“We based this design on the physical structure and geometry of the truss configuration. As important as fixture type is, I was more concerned with placement, etc. However, this is my first tour using the [Martin] Mac Viper Profile, and I can’t say enough good things about them. Bright, smooth, beautiful color, etc. No surprise to those who know me, but the real work horse for the show is the Mac 101 LED. As I’ve said before and I will say again, these little buggers do everything I want them to do. Gary Mass and the gang at Martin have an excellent product line, and I look forward to what’s coming up next!
“John Wiseman and his team at Chaos Visual have done an excellent job, per the usual. Chaos has had a long lasting relationship with the Urban camp, and its clear to see why. They have bent over backwards and ensured that we had everything we needed from the get-go.
“Christie Lites has come in as the lighting vendor for the tour and have also done an excellent job. It can be difficult for a vendor to come in as the new face when the organization has been put together for so long, however Christie brought a level of professionalism and work ethic to the tour which has been first class all the way. Robert Roth from Christie not only offers excellent gear and crew but has an attention to detail throughout the entire process creating an overall solid product.
“Randy “Baja” Fletcher is not only one of the best production managers out there, he is patient and understanding as the design and show transforms and evolves. J.T. McDonald is the lighting crew chief on this tour, however with this particular show and design, it’s next to impossible to departmentalize. J.T. leads the crew in a way that’s to be commended.
“Richy Parkin, our video director has also proven to be a very valuable asset to the team. Not only is he an excellent director but he understands the vision of the show and has been a team player all the way around. Shout outs to the entire crew who make this show possible each day.”
John Lucksinger, Lighting Director
“Travis Shirley and I have known each other for about 10 years now, but this is the first time I’ve actually worked with him. I was out on another tour at the time when they were in preproduction… I came into rehearsals with about four days left. The show is pretty cue intensive. I’m using the grandMA2 console, a board I like. I have run into a number of the crew members here and there but had not worked with any of them until now. A great bunch of guys, including lighting crew chief J.T. MacDonald and techs Brandon Leedham, Todd Latia and Charlie Phan. This is a really fun show to do, and Keith always gives his all every night !”
??Crew
Production Designer: Travis Shirley
Lighting Director: John Lucksinger
Lighting Crew Chief: J.T. MacDonald
Lighting Techs: Todd Latia, Brandon Leedham, Charlie Phan
Video Content: Ian Kennedy (mDots), Travis Shirley
Video/LED Director: Richy Parkin
Rigger: Mike McDonald
Production Manager: Randy “Baja” Fletcher
Tour Manager: Chuck Hull
Stage Manager: Johnny “Love” Garriott
Lighting Co: Christie Lites
Video/LED Co: Chaos Visual
Staging & Rigging Co: SGPS/ShowRig
Trucking Co: Stage Call
Gear
2 grandMA2 consoles
86 Martin MAC 101’s
22 Martin MAC Viper Profiles
31 Martin MAC 2000 XB Washes
20 Atomic 3000 strobes w/ scrollers
15 Ruby 7 Lights
2 Lycian M2 Truss Spots
12 Clay Paky Sharpys
10 Chroma-Q Color Force 12 LEDs
6 DF 50 – Hazers
For more Keith Urban 2013 tour photos by Steve Jennings go to www.plsn.me/UrbanExtras
