LD Robb Jibson embarked on his fifth year designing for Incubus, which kicked off its If Not Now, When? U.S. tour Aug. 17. (U.S. dates for the tour run to mid-October, with U.K. gigs following in November.) Looking to change things up, the band brought in content designer Brantley Guiterrez to collaborate with Jibson for some new ideas. A large curved video wall largely dictated the needs of the production. With the bulk of the show being media content on the LED wall, lighting takes on a supporting role. To compete with all the ambient light output, Jibson chose a large array of 1200W and 1500W fixtures. 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 also 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.
—Debi Moen, from “Designer Watch,” PLSN, Sept. 2011
