The word “Evanescence” is derived from the Latin word meaning “to vanish,” and that’s just what several of its band members and management have done since the band formed in 1998. But one element that leader and vocalist Amy Lee insisted on not changing was lighting designer/director Lawrence “Loz” Upton. Upton, who has designed the lighting for Smashing Pumpkins, Staind, and Marilyn Manson, among others, has a penchant for artists with more of a classical design aesthetic.
“I spent eight months with Marylyn Manson, which was very creative and intense,” Upton explains. “One artist that we pushed the envelope with was The Crystal Method, which is just two guys. Their shows included custom fabricated trusses and they had quite the lighting spectacle.
Upton reportedly turned down a gig lighting David Bowie, telling his manager that Bowie is a [expletive] “wanker.” Apparently that’s not the case with Amy Lee and company, as Upton fills us in towards the end of the band’s 2007 Open Door tour.
Mirror, Mirror
The initial design for the tour centered around a central element that provided a springboard while maintaining logistical integrity. “The mirror wall that we have on the tour was one of three ideas I took to Amy,” Upton says. “I had worked on a similar idea some years before. Amy liked the idea for a number of reasons, including the fact that we were supporting Korn on the Family Values Tour in sheds at the time, and because of our position playing right before Korn, the mirror wall had to break down very quickly.”
As anyone who has toured before knows, each venue brings with it its own unique challenges. For the Evanescence tour, it was a matter of creating depth where there was none. “With various stage depths, the wall gave us the feeling of more depth, which was very cool,” says Upton. “So as a stand alone set piece it works very well, then when you start adding the reflecting elements the wall takes on a life of its own. Of course, there are the problems of parasitic reflection, but like anything else, it’s just another problem to solve.”
To add to the effect, Travis Shaffer of Upstaging designed a bracket to rig a Color Kinetics Color Blast LED fixture to the framework of each mirror panel. Not only did it provide lighting for the set, it also gave the set something extra. “The addition of the LED fixtures just felt right,” Upton says. “I’m very happy with the balance between the two.” The design allowed the entire assembly to be what Upton called “slick and production-friendly. Most importantly, it provided for a very fast setup and break down.
“In changeover, the entire wall came down in under five minutes,” Upton says. “Even the set carts for the mirrors were designed for ease of use and speed.” He saw it as a great example of how forethought and planning can set the tone for success on a tour. “Failure was simply not an option,” he says, “and we are still using the wall for the winter Evanescence tour. We’ve only had to replace one damaged mirror panel on the whole tour,” says Upton. So far they’re managed to avoid any bad luck.
At the conclusion of the Family Values leg of the tour supporting Korn, Upton was asked to make some subtle changes to the lighting rig and come up with some new ideas for the set. One of the changes included adding a hydraulic lift so that Amy Lee and her piano could ascend from under the stage when she does her piano numbers. “We spent a lot of time on a very cool, almost Broadway-esqe set that was fun, too,” Upton says. Alas, it was not to be. “We almost committed to it, but our overseas schedule, which included a lot of festivals, prevented it. As well, we were in a new touring cycle with no production rehearsals available because of show commitments so we decided to keep the same set.”
Although Upton is used to programming in the virtual world using a visualizer, the uniqueness of this particular set called for more. In the end, he chose to do it the old-fashioned say. “We used the ESP Vision (pre-visualization) system to start our programming session. It’s the virtual system that I've been using for three years now,” Upton says. “However with the mirror wall we felt that real-world programming would be the best way to go. The more we experimented, the more cool looks we found.”
But Upton’s experimentation with the reflecting surfaces has just begun. The hall-of-mirrors effect is just too enticing and rich with possibilities. “We are looking forward to pushing the envelope further,” he says, by moving the panels, curving the surfaces, and more. “With the combination of (the mirrors and the) LED technology, it delivers an almost ghostlike, phosphorescent feel to it.”
The Color Blasts, Upton says, have behaved well. “We have had a lot of fun with the Color Kinetics Color Blasts. We liked them so much we took them around the world with us. From April through December we had covered six continents. It consolidated Evanescence’s huge worldwide appeal, which began with their first album Fallen."
Let it Snow
In addition to the Color Blasts, Upton’s design includes a variety of MAC wash and spot fixtures, strobes, audience blinders, and LED cyc lights. “I chose the Martin 2k Wash lamps for their color saturation and reliability,” he says. For atmospheric effects, he used six Reel EFX DF-50 haze machines, two fog machines and some snow machines. “We had a lot of fun with snow machines on the tour,” Upton says. “You have to be careful to choose the right fluid to get your effect though, and the air currents in the building can really affect your snowfall.”
For front light, Upton relies on four spotlights, two in the truss, (“high and wide”) and two in the house. But unlike many other shows, Upton’s use of followspots is a bit different. “We control the dimming of the truss spots and the output of all the spots is carefully monitored to suit the specific needs of this show,” he says. “As a rule our spots are run at 20 percent less than full output.”
One design decision that runs counter to the current trend was the decision not to use video. Upton explains: “When we sat down at the beginning of this album cycle, we discussed the use of video and decided not to use it, unlike so many tours out there now where it’s standard. It was felt that in this TV generation, the audience focus can be drawn away from the stage.” But for their outdoor shed shows where it’s used for IMAG they acquiesced. “For the lawn seats,” Upton says, “that's different; that was fine.”
Aura of Coolness
There are also a few customized elements in the show, including floor bases, offset downpipes for rigging, and Martin MAC Profiles with custom gobos. In addition, some of the floor-mounted Color Blazes are fitted with special diffusion glass which, according to Upton, “creates a really cool aura and knocks that bit of light that can be a little too much at short projection distances.” Upton is sure to give credit to those who helped him with the custom parts of the show. “I would like to thank John Bahnick, Bob Daniels and my old buddy Brad Schiller for helping me with the resources to achieve these objective designs,” Upton says.
Mike Cooper is the console programmer, of whom Upton speaks highly. “I met Mike about two and a half years ago,” he says. “We’ve worked together on many projects and we have been able to achieve a large workload, through teamwork, focused ability, and a lot of fun. Clients and colleges notice when you are really enjoying your work. Mike is a great example to young people coming into the business and what can be achieved.”
As for the rest of the crew, Upton speaks of them with reverence. “I have a great team out here that gets the job done. The goals are met and there’s never any stress,” he says. And of his crew chief, Steve Shumi, Upton says that he “takes care of business,” and he adds two words: “Thanks buddy!”
Upstaging Inc. is the lighting supplier for the tour. Upton has been working with them since 1992 when they supplied the lighting for Smashing Pumpkins. “I have had a wonderful relationship with Upstaging. John Bahnick has been my main ‘go-to guy,’ especially because nearly all the shows I’m involved with have a lot of custom elements. We all know that working with your vendor is paramount, but especially when there is no room for error with custom fabrications.”
In the end, Upton and company executed a design that will ensure that Lee comes back again and again. “I’m proud that we gave Amy a show that was production friendly, in the pocket as far as looks, without being overwrought.” Maybe that’s what makes him less likely to vanish than his former colleagues.
