September in the Park with Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, whose tenor tones loom as large as the venues he performs in, will spread his voice across New York’s Central Park in a free concert Sept. 15. A month ahead of the show, production designer Bruce Rodgers of Tribe describes the set vaguely, saying, “It will be impressive and as big as it can be and still stay between the two key trees — a 98-foot width — on the Great Lawn site. We are working with everyone to ensure that every part of the design is friendly to the weather elements, and we’re taking special precautions, as we always do, for a safe and amazing night.”
The Great Lawn encompasses 55 acres in the center of the famous park, between 79th and 85th Streets. The stage must accommodate the 100-piece New York Philharmonic Orchestra and 100-person choir. Special guests are also set to surprise the estimated 60,000 concert-goers, Rodgers said.
Others on the team are LD Bob Barnhart, event producer David Stallbaumer, producer Mitch Owgang and director/executive producer David Horn.
LD Aldo Visentin, Bocelli’s touring designer for the past six years, is not involved with this event. The separate team mentioned was put into place as this special performance will be shot for a DVD release and will air on PBS’s Great Performances. However, Visentin resumes work with Bocelli in the U.S. for December holiday dates.
Bocelli’s operatic reverberations may faintly be echoing through the trees when another concert comes in. On Sept. 30, The Black Eyed Peas perform, making up for the show that was canceled in June due to extreme weather conditions.
Jill Scott’s Light of the Sun Tour
It’s not Dark Side of the Moon, it’s The Light of the Sun. The familiar circular truss of the former forms the centerpiece of the latter. R&B artist Jill Scott’s promotion of her new CD takes center stage on the Budweiser Superfest Tour. LD Martin Thomas of Relentless Lighting Design returns as the lighting and set designer, joined by master electrician Josh Gezzi (with whom he worked on Fantasia’s tour) and lighting crew chief Corey Proulx.
A circular truss forms the centerpiece of the set design. The show was originally exploring video projection, but the three-truck tour packed nicely, and more equipment would mean another truck and another crew member, Thomas said.
“Her touring look is more organic,” he explained. “It’s not about gags, and specific video images felt out of place. We tried it in the past and it just wasn’t right for her.” So the circular scrim is conducive to soft-edge lighting looks. So much so, that there’s not a single hard-edge light fixture in the show. In the fall, Scott embarks on her own U.S./European tour through the year’s end with the same stage set.
Weird Al’s Alpocalypse
“Weird Al” Yankovic is entertaining with his production of parodies, with LD Eric Marchwinski and video director Steven Mills guiding this video-centric show. Marchwinski and Mills said that Weird Al is a whiz with video. He not only creates his own content, he does his own editing using Final Cut Pro. On their summer run, the tour stopped at Toronto’s Massey Hall to film a Comedy Central special, Weird Al Yankovic Live! – The Alpocalypse Tour. The live show, to air Oct. 1, was shot by music video director Wayne Isham (Pink Floyd, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, more). In September the tour pumps up with additional lighting to promote the new CD, Alpocalypse.
Incubating Ideas for Incubus
LD Robb Jibson embarked on his fifth year designing for Incubus, which kicked off its If Not Now, When? U.S. tour Aug. 17. Looking to change things up, the band brought in content designer Brantley Guiterrez to collaborate with Jibson for some new ideas.
“Incubus’ music varies from four-on-the-floor rock ‘n’ roll to split tempos only technical musicians seem to appreciate,” Jibson said. “The key is adding new layers — both new and old — to keep the songs fresh.”
A large curved video wall largely dictated the needs of the production. To compete with all the ambient light output, Jibson chose a large array of 1200W and 1500W fixtures.
The system was also designed to be flexible. “The rig is really just six straight trusses offset around the stage so that we can squeeze our distances for smaller gigs or spread out to fill up the super mega plex-a-sheds,” he said.
Because the bulk of the show is media content on the LED wall, lighting really takes on a support role, he added. “The lighting is laid out to complement the video clips.”
Jibson repeats a design concept he’s used in the past — a system of back light pods. Each pod is directly above five stage positions. A system of overhead effects units scattered at random intervals break up the pods’ symmetrical look. For side and low rear floor lighting, Jibson recycled a smaller pod system custom built for Paul McCartney’s past tours.
Another recycled set piece included the band’s custom-designed fixtures in their recent Adolescents video. “These are really just reflectors from lighting fixtures that you would find in any warehouse setting, but they have been built into custom frames to attach to lighting fixtures,” Jibson explained.
To complement the drummer’s set — a completely clear kit with gold hardware — a clear riser was designed to maintain the clean look. The DJ riser is also clear, and its speaker panels were replaced with clear plexi to create the “fish tank.”
U.S. dates run to mid-October, with U.K. gigs following in November.
Militello’s School Days
LD Anne Militello, who describes herself as a “creator of concept-driven lighting projects,” is sharing her know-how as the head of lighting design for California Institute of the Arts’ (CalArts) School of Theater. In her new role, Militello will oversee the curriculum and professional development of undergraduate and graduate students.
The Obie-winning designer has a wealth of varied lighting experiences to share, most recently designing for k.d. lang, Pearl Jam, the Decemberists, Tom Waits, playwright/director Sam Shepard, corporate clients Prada and architectural installations for hotel chains in Malaysia and Dubai. The former Disney Imagineer also designed Universal’s The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, an award-winning attraction. This spring, she was one of six international designers leading Lights in Goa, a series of workshops in India on the art and practice of lighting design. The event became part of a light festival celebration.
“The melding of all these different worlds has allowed me to keep vital and feel connected to the rest of the planet,” says Militello. “In my travels, I have found that the current trend for international lighting designers is to have the ability to cross disciplines within the other lighting professions, raising the standard of design and allowing for new art forms. This is the direction I’d like to open up to the students at CalArts.”
Quick Cues
LD Marc Janowitz is carrying a big rig on My Morning Jacket’s tour, which takes a break after its Austin City Limits Music Festival and resumes in November/December. Simultaneously, he’s designing a fall tour for TV on the Radio with LD Ben Silverstein, and in October, he’ll be lighting an off-Broadway musical.
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