LD Robert W. “Bob” Peterson and lighting director Chris Stuba are shining the lights on the 50th anniversary world tour of The Beach Boys. To call this tour “long awaited” would be an understatement — it’s been 45 years since the surviving founding members of the Beach Boys last toured together.
“There was a lot of fear of failure from most of the parties going in,” Peterson notes. “Would — or, maybe, could — everyone get along? Would they be well received? How would they sound? Would they sell any tickets? Each and every one of these questions was answered in the positive. It is a joyful show, the crowd sings along throughout, and it is an absolute honor to be a part of such an historical touring event.”
Joe Thomas played a key role in shaping the tour. A television producer, director and record producer who has worked with Brian Wilson for more than 10 years, Thomas is now at the helm of this global production.
Says Peterson, “There was much submittal and review over the past year. Joe was the point man to both camps, and the feedback was informed and direct. Creative feedback was usually positive, but there was an inordinate amount of concern about logistics and staffing details. The arrangement that made it all fall into place was an agreement to record an album and then tour. Brian got final say on recording issues, Mike Love gets final say on touring issues.”
With so many hits to consider, the repertoire lent itself to some long nights of programming. “Programming was long and tedious for me and Chris Stuba. We did 47 songs, and then had to go back and add in ever-evolving video content as well as accommodate changing musical arrangements.” Now that all that is done, however, “we are very proud of it,” Peterson says.
The set design takes into consideration the sheer number of musicians who are onstage at any given time. “The design places the band on a large curved set of risers upstage, separated by a ‘beach’ scenic device downstage of that. All the Beach Boys are in a line downstage, starting stage right with Brian Wilson, David Marks, Mike Love at center, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnson stage left. Jeff Foskett and Scott Totten are mid-stage, and Paul Mertens comes down for important solos. Light is distributed based on each performer’s importance to a piece of music — that is the only rule we followed.”
Because the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson each have their own bands, one wonders how they all decided on how to share the stage. “Brian did not comment about lighting, but he does drive the sound checks when they bog down, and does not tolerate dawdling on stage,” Peterson explains. “His ability to communicate every nuance of such involved compositions is near miraculous. Melinda Wilson (Brian’s wife and manager) and Jackie Love (Mike’s wife) were helpful pointing out lighting and staging details we might have missed.”
A 50-year history provides a wealth of video resources available on the band. Joe Thomas provided some custom content, Peterson says. “But the two high points are videos assembled and edited by John Anderson. It features the late Beach Boys brothers — Dennis Wilson singing lead on ‘Forever,’ and Carl Wilson singing ‘God Only Knows.’”
Good vibrations have settled over the tour, and the shows are running as harmoniously as the songs. “Mike Love is the consummate showman, and shares some good stories throughout the show,” Peterson says. “The appreciation and respect he shows Brian onstage is deeply moving.”
Following Death Cab into the Dark
Death Cab for Cutie has directives for their touring show: make it shadowy, moody, dark. LD/lighting director Michelle Sarrat follows them into the dark with her lighting instruments, sneaking in beams and creating shadows where needed. She started with the band on last year’s tour. This year’s design is different, as they share the stage with the Magik*Magik Orchestra, a nine-piece group which adds strings and other classical sounds to their songs, including their hits “Soul Meets Body” and “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”
Because of the different orchestral arrangements, Sarrat first heard the rearranged hit songs on day one of production rehearsals, when programming began.
“This is the theatre tour, so the idea is that this is classy and clean, with no video,” she says, pointing out the large theatrical drape with three chiffon legs and swagging header. Harkening back to her theatre days, Sarrat brought in principles that fit the band’s directive. “I learned that it’s just not what you light, it’s also what you don’t light that counts,” she notes. “I am also using the idea that subtle shifts in light attract the eye, so I softly spread light or move it slowly to draw the eyes to where I want them to go.”
The band abhors followspots, so Sarrat takes an alternate approach. “They don’t want bright white lights — they don’t want to feel exposed. So it is dark, moody and saturated, lots of shadowy looks. But I play with intensities, making slow movements.”
There are a few moments in the show where light beams blast out layers of intense texture in the air, while the band hides back in the shadows, all but disappearing in the dark.
Sarrat has been involved with lighting for 21 years — if you count children’s theatre and middle school plays along with theatrical productions. It all changed for her when she “learned to play with the robots,” referring to automated lighting, as she was making her move to corporate shows. Then touring beckoned. “I wanted to do something more artistic,” she says. A friend recommended her to the SoftLED tech on Elton John’s tour in 2005, who needed an assistant. Afterward, she started freelancing at a video company and learned media servers. Soon she was on OK Go using video DJ software as they toured with a projector and their own videos. She’s also since become the LD for the Silversun Pickups.
Death Cab hits a few European festivals this year, with a return to the U.S. for festivals and shed shows in late June to July. That is followed with the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan in August. When we spoke, Sarrat has just weeks to figure out how to make it moody in the middle of late-night summer sun settings. No worries — she’ll just follow them with her instruments of shadows and light into the gradual dark…
The Queen Extravaganza Tour
LD Nook Schoenfeld built the light cues for The Queen Extravaganza tour — not for Her Royal Highness, but as a musical tribute to the legendary rock band. Queen drummer Roger Taylor is producer. “It’s an Idol-type show where guests try to copy Freddie Mercury and play with a live band,” Schoenfeld says. Rob Sinclair is the production designer and Ron Schilling takes over the board to direct the tour. The website, queenextravaganza.com, offers a preview including the promise of unseen Queen video footage on the North American tour, which kicked off May 26…
Aerosmith’s 2012 Global Warming Tour
LD Charlie “Cosmo” Wilson is working on Aerosmith’s upcoming Global Warming tour starting June 16 in Minneapolis, hitting 18 markets in North America. “I’m still in the design stages, so I don’t want to elaborate on it too much, until we’re a little more decided on exactly what we’re doing. I can say it’s gonna be a Big Rock Show with lots of PAR Cans, though! Old School.” Perhaps Wilson’s late-night programming sessions will be fueled by caffeine from drummer Joey Kramer’s Rockin’ & Roastin’ coffee brand, which will be the only joe served on tour if Kramer has his way. The brew of the crew: Ethiopian and Sumatra roasts…
Quick Cues
Also doing a self-proclaimed “Old School” rocker lighting looks is LD Gary Curtis on Theory of a Deadman…LD Craig Caserta hit the road May 20 as lighting director for TV’s X Factor 2012 Season 2 Audition Tour. The designer is Darren Webb. The tour hits five cities: Austin, TX; Kansas City, MO; San Francisco, Providence, RI; and Greensboro, NC. “Boot camp” follows through Aug. 6.
Email Debi Moen with news about your upcoming gigs. Reach her at dmoen@plsn.com.
