Creative directors Jeremy Lechterman and Jackson Gallagher of FragmentNine (Alt-J, Lana Del Ray, OAR) have the “Press Restart Tour” from Walk The Moon out on the road. We spoke with them and lighting director Allison “Blue” Siegel (Misterwives, Mike Posner, American Authors) about the current tour design.
Jeremy Lechterman and Jackson Gallagher
Creative Directors, FragmentNine
Jeremy Lechterman and Jackson Gallagher of FragmentNine went through several iterations in Walk The Moon’s design, involving mirrors and projection before arriving at the current tour design. The focus of the design was to incorporate the band’s iconic chevron-shaped logo, but they weren’t looking for something that would be too heavy-handed, “staring you in the face the entire performance,” they noted. “From this desire came a linear world, outlined by the Magic Blades and Sceptron lighting fixtures, and where at various points into the show, they morph into the iconic Chevron in different permutations,” they added.
In previous iterations of this design, they had used both Robe CycFX 8 and GLP X4 Bars. However, with the idea that they wanted the chevron sign to be able to disappear at some point, the Ayrton MagicBlade’s ability to rotate made it an obvious choice. “We are source-agnostic,” they noted. “Whatever fits the design and achieves all the goals, we’re happy with. LED often is the right solution in terms of output for size and flexibility.”
Assistant designer Alex Gibson, a grad student at Lechterman and Gallagher’s alma mater, came recommended by the faculty. “We are always looking for new talent, and we benefited from experiences like these when we were in school. We had a tremendous time working with Alex, and he became a valuable member of our team on this project. We already have plans to work with him again this summer.”
The designers say that any chance they have to not use front light as the main key light is a win for them. “All of the key light is cued into the show (back, side, up, whatever), aside from the front light. Allison rides the levels on the front truss every night manually so she can accentuate who/what needs to be focused on at that moment, without washing out the rest of the stage. The band asked us for strong silhouettes without plunging them into darkness. We achieved that by keying them from other angles, and only filling in from the front when we need to reduce shadows or focus on a band member.”
Allison “Blue” Siegel,
Lighting Director
Lighting director Allison “Blue” Siegel says this tour’s pre-production was the most organized she has ever been a part of. “FragmentNine had the bones of the show ready to go on day one, and we had a very organized ten days of work. This meant we had enough time to get through programming and rehearsals but also for Jeremy and Jackson to teach me their programming and operating methods, so I have been able to maintain the integrity of their design while making the house rigs we have come across, work with the existing show.”
Martin MAC Vipers and MagicBlades are particular favorites of Siegel, but she had never used the Sceptrons before as an operator. “I truly love them for their versatility and their durability on the road. They feel more like a lighting fixture than video, which makes the rig feel very unique and dynamic.”
Walk the Moon “Press Restart” Tour 2018
Crew
Lighting/Video/Staging Co: Upstaging
Creative Direction: Jeremy Lechterman & Jackson Gallagher of FragmentNine
Assistant Designer: Alex Gibson
Lighting Director: Allison “Blue” Siegel
Lighting Crew Chief: Nate McGuire
Content Animation: Dan Efros
Tour Manager: Blake O’Brien
Production Manager: Stu Berk
Gear
2 grandMA2 Light consoles
84 Ayrton Magic Blade FX
12 SGM P5
12 Robe CycFX 8
80 Martin MAC Sceptrons
7 Martin MAC Vipers
1 Hazer
2 Mbox Studio Media Servers
More Walk the Moon “Press Restart” tour photos from Steve Jennings:
