Designer Watch

One of the most enjoyable rehearsal processes I have ever experienced.” That’s how Seth Jackson describes the new Selena Gomez Stars Dance world tour, which kicked off Aug. 14 in Canada. “Taking on the role of creative director and production designer for the tour allowed me to call in a great team of people to put all of this together. Lighting designer Nathan W. Scheuer and video designer Brent Sandrock and I have all worked together in the past, and I really enjoy the energy that this team brings to any project I’m offered. Add in a great management team, a terrific lighting director (David Convertino), a great artist and an organization that is run brilliantly and you end up with a great tour.”

Destroid is using hundreds of custom LEDs — not in the rig or lining the stage, but clothed on their bodies.  The EDM group is outfitted with specially-made $100,000 body armor — complete with smoke machines, CO2 and laser arm blasters, custom LED panels and animatronics and built-in video cameras feeding live visuals. That doesn’t even take into account the rest of the production. LDs Michael Smalley and Kyle Kegan worked together on the show for the group, which is performing at some summer festivals and is planning to embark on a major tour in the fall.

Lighting designer Howard Ungerleider felt a momentary rush of stardom — on the artist’s side of the velvet rope, you might say. It was the night before Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. Outside the band’s hotel, fans gathered in wait for Rush’s Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson. But those weren’t the names screamed when Ungerleider made it to the glass lobby doors. “Howard!” they shouted.

Some LDs seek out assignments during the cold-weather off season for outdoor concert touring. Michael Keller, LD for Ozzy Osbourne and other touring artists, has worked with the auto shows on and off for more than 20 years with titles ranging from designer to master electrician.  This year, Keller was involved with NAIAS in Detroit, LAAS in Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Auto Show, the St. Louis Auto Show, and CIAS in Chicago.

Sydney-based Mandylights lighting designers Richard Neville and Alex Grierson were part of the international creative team that designed Dubai’s 2013 New Year’s Eve celebrations. And it was a tall order — instead of focusing on, say, the 141-foot descent of an elaborate ball in Times Square, the 25-minute show took place in front of, and included, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper — officially the world’s tallest building at 2,722 feet high. The pair illuminated the Burj, lake and surrounding area with 15 individual performer stages and a 689-foot-long (210 meter) seamless projection screen.

Production/lighting designer Dale Doucette describes Heart’s touring schedule as “Two week tourettes.”

 “During March to November, we do ‘tourettes’ — two weeks of shows in a particular section of the country in casinos and small 3,000-5,000 venues, then we go home. Every day is a different gig. I carry a file of shows and a handful of songs I keep consistent.

For the first time in 15 years, John Denver returns to the concert stage. Not in physical form, but in an evening of music and memories in John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert. The John Denver estate has created a touring tribute to the late singer/songwriter, performing in U.S. theaters Feb. 1-23. The basic idea is that archival video footage of Denver will accompany live performances by his former band members.

For many of the moodier moments during Jackson Browne’s acoustic tour around the U.S. this year, LD Steve Comer may chose a deep shade of blue, but whatever the palette, the fixtures accompanying the singer/songwriter’s shows are 100 percent “green.” These days — actually, for years — Browne’s shows have been lit by carbon footprint-reducing LED fixtures.

The Rolling Stones celebrate their years in the industry with their 50 & Counting tour in November and December. The last time Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood performed together as a band was in 2007 at London’s O2 Arena. This production also brings together longtime collaborators set designer Mark Fisher of Stufish and LD Patrick Woodroffe.

It’s hours before showtime at Def Leppard’s Rock of Ages tour. They will soon take the stage with “Photograph,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Armageddon It” and other hits — with the bands Poison and Lita Ford opening. Hanging in catering with production manager Phay MacMahon, one catches up with MacMahon’s evolution in the industry.