Twists, Turns and Automation for the Get Closer Tour
His last name doesn’t sound very rural, and, geographically, at least, his roots are Down Under. But Keith Urban has a huge following among country music fans in the U.S. and Canada. For his 2011 Get Closer tour, supported by Bandit Lites, SGPS and Chaos Visual Productions, long stretches of curving truss evoke roller coasters and Ferris wheels. And the structural elements move during the course of the show, transforming the lighting fixture positions along with the visual design possibilities.
The Set
The amusement park feel was part of the plan from the beginning, according to production designer Marc Brickman. “The idea really fits Keith’s performance style — high energy and always entertaining,” says Brickman, citing the roller coaster at the Santa Monica pier as the inspiration for the tour’s swooping-truss set design. “I was inspired to go with a more modern twist on the amusement park concept, and both the lighting and set design came together easily after that,” says Brickman.
“SGPS is my go-to rigging, scenery and automation vendor,” Brickman adds, crediting Eric Pearce for “finding ways to realize my vision in a truck-space and budget-friendly manner. They supplied Keith’s last tour and were a natural fit for this tour, given the complexity of the rigging and automation,” Brickman says.
Lighting
“Bandit Lites was definitely in the mix early on, however they were not a shoe-in,” Brickman continues. “They bid the show most competitively and that, combined with an excellent track record on the previous tours, earned them the nod as lighting vendor.”
Bandit provided a combination of Vari*Lite VL3000 spots and VL3500 washes for the overhead and trim lighting package. “The punch and reliability can’t be beat,” says Brickman, adding that “VLXs are a great LED deck fixture, providing a lot of color in just a few fixtures.
“On the automated pods on the roller-coaster trusses, I went with the Clay Paky Sharpy. We needed a small light with enough punch to cut through the firepower of the VLs, and the Sharpys fit the bill. They compete with anything you put them up against, they are insanely bright and great, fast little lights.”
Video
One of Keith Urban’s key objectives for the Get Closer tour was, of course, to get closer to his fans. The set is designed to minimize the visual barriers between the stage and the audience, and another way to bring the star closer, at least visually, is through larger-than-life I-Mag.
“Keith loves to connect with his audiences. One way he does that is to move all over the venue, really using the space and the stage,” Brickman notes. “For those that can’t get up close, the I-Mag is the next best thing.
“I chose a high-res LED screen (9mm Winvision) and HD cameras to allow the live camera work to look as crisp and natural as possible,” Brickman continues. “My last tour with Keith featured a heavy I-Mag component as well, so he is familiar and comfortable with being on camera.
“I also wanted to make sure the I-Mag was thoroughly incorporated in to the production design, in a way that would focus audience attention on to the stage rather than to the obligatory screens off stage right and stage left,” Brickman says.
“John Wiseman of Chaos Visual coordinated closely with Eric Pearce at SGPS to ensure that the LED wall was incorporated in to the Ferris wheel truss seamlessly.”
Automation
Moving lights already provide designers and programmers with lots of creative options when mounted on fixed truss. Those options take an exponential leap when the truss itself takes as many twists and turns as it did for Get Closer.
“Lighting an artist like Keith Urban is not easy — we have to always strive to keep the most dynamic and versatile system on hand at all times,” notes lighting director Nate Alves.
“Marc (Brickman) came up with one of the most interesting structures I have seen in my touring career, which was executed with a great degree of precision by our touring staff,” Alves continues. “Our combination of SGPS’s automated pods and the Sharpys delivered by Bandit Lites allowed me to place a light anywhere on stage at any moment, while also maintaining the flexibility to ‘keep it fresh’ by changing the position of the fixtures song to song. All of this was delivered via the custom ‘coaster trusses’ designed by Marc and engineered and built by the cats at SGPS. I couldn’t have asked for a more diverse sandbox to help deliver Keith’s vision for the show.”
The Crew
Brickman returns the credit to Alves, who programmed the show and toured as lighting director. “Nate has been working with Keith for several years now and is very familiar with Keith’s music and aesthetic tastes. When it came time to pick a programmer, Nate seemed the natural choice, and he did a fantastic job on a very high energy and detailed show.”
Other crew members garnering kudos from Brickman include Brad Belanger, who designed the video effects and other content, and production manager Randy “Baja” Fletcher and associate production designer Elisha Griego, who Brickman cites as key facilitators in the creative process.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the impeccable support of tour manager Chuck Hull, the leadership and vision of Gary Borman and Borman Entertainment and everyone at Flood, Bumstead, McCready and McCarthy. And I would especially like to salute Keith and the band for supporting the design and delivering an amazing show.”
“I’ve been Marc’s associate for about two and a half years now, and one thing that is great about working with him is that every show is a completely unique creature,” says associate production designer Elisha Griego.
Impossible? Not!
“When we started putting together the curved roller-coaster truss idea, translating it from concept to reality, I thought that the complex curves combined with the automation would be impossible. But between Marc and SGPS’ Eric Pearce there is no such thing as impossible.
“The roller-coaster went together flawlessly and even takes advantage of using stock, rather than custom pieces,” Griego continues. “Working with Marc has taught me to think big, think outside of the box. Our vendors are brilliant and creative people and with their help virtually any concept can come to life.
“Working with Keith and his team was also a fantastic experience,” Griego adds. “Keith is a true collaborator, and he’s constantly thinking about what we can do to give the audience the best show possible. The crew is a tight knit family and Marc and I were welcomed in to that family wholeheartedly. I look forward to future tours!”
Keith Urban Get Closer Tour
CREW
Production Designer: Marc Brickman
Associate Production Design:
Elisha L. Griego
Lighting Director: Nate Alves
Lighting Crew Chief: Billy Willingham
Video Content Creator: Brad Belanger
Video Director: Johnny Hayes
Video Crew Chief: Rusty Wingfield
Production Manager:
Randy “Baja” Fletcher
Tour Manager: Chuck Hull
Tour Rigger: Mike McDonald
Lighting Company: Bandit Lites
Set/Staging/Truss: SGPS
Video Production Company:
Chaos Visual Productions
GEAR
2 grandMA full size lighting consoles
24 Vari*Lite VL3500 Washes
31 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots
16 Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures
12 Vari*Lite VLX
48 GRN 3W LED PARs
20 Martin Atomic Strobes w/ scrollers
1 300’ Festoon package
2 MDG Atmosphere hazers
{mosapa album=”KeithUrban”}
