ON THE ROAD: Sting


Below: The Harman Studer Vista 5 SR was the console of choice at FOH; Clair’s medium sized proprietary line array, the i3, was used on Back To Bass; Talented musicians take to the stage; Sennheiser SR2050 IEMs were used with Clair combiners and the Sennheiser Elliptical design for transmitters; A combination of Sennheiser, Electro Voice and Shure microphones were used on tour.


audio and lighting equipment should be placed. Added Spoon: “It’s simple and in two


or three hours we’re set to go. We use CM Lodestar chain hoists and, although I carried my own automation on previous tours, this time it has been supplied by Clair Brothers, Neg Earth and Upstaging.” Touring with a high profile artist such as


Sting has taken Spoon to some of the world’s most interesting venues. He elaborated: “All of his shows I’ve been involved with have been a fantastic experience - he’s very worldly and has always been keen to visit everywhere around the globe. The largest rooms we’ve played on this tour have had a capacity of around 8,000, but most have been in the region of 2,000. We’ve played some new venues during Back To Bass such as Sala Kongresowa in Warsaw. “There are always some that are a little tricky


for me to rig - the different ceilings can present a challenge, but that’s what makes it such an interesting job. Lots of places are limited on weight so sometimes we put spreader truss in or have a sub grid to try to divide the weight up. Size-wise, we’re going to have to cut down in some of the German venues because the width of the lighting rig won’t fit.” More than two decades of touring have


left Spoon with an incredible collection of production highlights, one of which being Sting’s 60th birthday benefit concert, for which he once again provided his services as Head


08 • TPi MARCH 2012


Rigger. “The event was absolutely fantastic. The stars that came along to play his songs were amazing - Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen; the list goes on,” said Spoon.


STRIPPED BACK LIGHTING “With Sting’s tour being called Back To Bass and very much about going back to basics, the simplest and most stripped back thing we could do was to go black and white,” explained Lighting Designer / Director, Danny Nolan. “It’s a very simple lighting design with only two fixture types and some white LED audience headlights at the front of the stage. Sometimes Sting is just lit on his own - it’s a complete departure from many other styles of tour lighting.” Moving from the UK to Brazil 15 years ago


has meant Nolan has lit a vast selection of Brazilian events such as the Rock in Rio festival as well as the tours of individual artists including Simply Red. “I first started to work with Sting on The Police Reunion Tour and have remained working with largely the same crew since then. The lighting design on this show is much


more scaled back and low key than, for example, the 2010-2011 Symphonicity tour, which featured an orchestra and three moving video boxes displaying IMAG. This tour is visually based around the lighting because there is no video. Nolan continued: “When basing a show’s


lighting around black and white, you have to be very careful because it can be quite samey. You have to dig deep to find good ideas. It was


challenging but I enjoyed it and I’m very pleased with the outcome. There is a lot of cross lighting and when I say black and white, I literally mean half in shadow and half in light on some occasions.” With the musicianship on Back To Bass - as


all of Sting’s tours - being of such high quality, Nolan chose to tightly base the cueing of the lights around the music. “I wanted to make sure it complemented the songs,” he added. “I believe the way it all integrates with the


musicians on stage has been the key to how successful the lighting design has been.” To control the lighting, Nolan opted for the


console he is most familiar with - MA Lighting’s grandMA 2. It had been such a reliable platform that he had no hesitations about staying with the brand. Having previously used the grandMA 1, moving to the newer desk was a natural progression for the LD. Prior to rehearsals in Boston, Nolan pre-programmed the show at MA Lighting’s base in Brazil. He said: “They gave me a console to use


with the MA3D 3D visualiser software that comes with the desk - yet another useful feature when planning out lighting designs.“I like the grandMA’s networking capabilities and the feel of it,” said Nolan. Aside from the overwhelming talent of the


musicians, getting the opportunity to form a show’s visual design around black and white tones has been a pleasure for Nolan. “I think every Lighting Designer wants to do it once in


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