RAG’N’BONE MAN
Above: Monitor Engineer, Jamie Tinsley; Production Manager, Philip ‘Murph’ Murphy; Systems Tech, Tim Wann; Tour Manager, Tobias Iddison; Lighting Crew Chief, Martin Garnish.
Jakolev talked through the lighting rig: “We have 5 small trusses with 5 different drapes that are decorated with cartoons of different band members, as well as Rory’s family, friends and musical inspirations. Each truss has 3 SGM Q-7 flares, a Claypaky Scenius Unico and 2 Martin by Harman MAC Vipers. It’s very modular, in that you can drop and move trusses or even just line them up like when you have smaller venues with no rigging points. This makes it easier than having a few bulky trusses. It also works the other way, so we can give all of the trusses a bit of space in Brixton and use wider angles.” Jakolev explained that around 70% of the potential set ran to SMPTE timecode from Ableton, leaving him to operate the song transitions and a couple of tracks manually from his MA Lighting grandMA2 Lite. “It’s a clean and well-timed show,” he continued. “Of course it’s restrained when it needs to be, but it goes big enough in the climactic moments to support the band, as they are the focus. He is lit with 2 MAC Vipers from front truss and some MAC Auras on the side, but he doesn’t really enjoy the spotlight as it makes it difficult for him to see the audience. “He likes that interaction. Originally we had some extra moles and audience light but the rig has been streamlined since. When he wants to see them I just grab a bunch of lights from the rig and put them out into the audience in the transitions. Sometimes I’ll just chuck the house lights up every little helps to bring the brightness up.” As well as the Scenius Unicos, Viper Profiles and Performances, and Q-8 flares, the rig was completed by Chroma-Q Color Forces to light the drapes and floor, Ayrton MagicDots and a number of generic 2-lites filling in the gaps.
In addition to its 2-truck footprint, the minimal nature of Potts’ design also meant that Jakolev did not have to fight with any LED panels during the show. He commented: “You don’t have to stick everything at 100%, which means you can play with intensities a bit more and light the show without having to shout at people. World On Fire, for example, is a very subtle song with only a few lights, and I’d never win that battle with a big wall of LED behind him.” Another late addition to the tour was Lighting Crew Chief, Martin Garnish, who joined in October 2017. He detailed some of the intricacies of the lighting rig: “The 5 small trusses are arranged in an arc that matches up with the risers below and towers in between. Rehearsals in Millennium Studios were a bit of a squeeze so we shuffled and got to a place where it is usable, but the venues still change as well. For example, the Sala Apollo in Barcelona was so small that we had to forgo the flown rig altogether. “That said, everything is pre-rigged so it’s just a case of getting it jigged about or cut down. Will and Nikita are both aware of the challenges we face and they’ve been very understanding of Bianca Mastroianni and I and what we have to do.” “We had a minor issue with one of the fixtures today but that’s the first time in 3 or 4 weeks. Considering the mileage we’ve done, I think we’ve been quite lucky. Plus I know that Neg are a phone call away and will always be there to support.” Show Designer Potts echoed support for the lighting supplier, and Jackson in particular. He said: “It’s my first show with Neg Earth and I am really impressed with the set up there and the service there. Damo has been great support, however last-minute the request, and there was never 48