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Bandit Lites for Brian McFadden
Bandit Lites is supplying lighting production to ex-Westlife heartthrob Brian McFadden’s first solo UK tour, promoting his ‘Walking Disaster’ album.
Bandit’s Lester Cobrin is once again working with Production North and lighting designer Arturo Ollandini. Bandit has also supplied all Westlife’s tours to date.
McFadden’s musical direction has changed dramatically in his move on from Westlife. Ollandini’s lighting brief was left wide open, apart from the fact that he was asked to make it a bit rocky and raw, to suit McFadden’s gritty new style and his dynamics as a solo performer. “There’s plenty of creative scope,” he says. “The set really rocks out one minute, gets bluesey and ballady the next and also gets stripped right back at times to just him and his acoustic guitar.”
His challenge was to design a rig that was easy to install, fit a compact budget as well as half a truck and be adaptable for a variety of venues – from 1100 to 4000 capacity - and also accomplish all the required creative elements.
“Bandit was able to offer a neat package deal,” he says. “And as always, they have been excellent to work with, really supportive, and the gear is in great condition.” Ollandini is working alongside lighting technician Martin Garnish.
It’s a two truss rig. The front one features Martin MAC 2000 Performances used to light and project gobos onto the back drape and MAC 500 profiles used to key light the band - McFadden plus five musicians.
The 40ft rear truss has four legs of mini-beam hung vertically downwards - for a contemporary metalwork matrix look. Attached to each leg are Pulsar ChromaBank LED strips, MAC 500 and MAC600 moving lights, and at the top of each leg are ChromaQ ColorBlocks used as truss toners. In the gap between each of the four vertical legs, hanging off the back truss, are more MAC 500s and MAC 600s.
The fixture count is completed with additional MAC 500s on the floor. Bandit is also supplying two Lycian 1200W HMI followspots. Ollandini runs the show using a WholeHog II console – his desk of choice.
Upstage is a grey crushed velvet drape that was specified by Ollandini. This takes light really well, giving the stage a textured and dimensional upstage aspect, and effectively enlarging the stage space. As well as the already mentioned gobo work onto this from the MAC Performances, the drape is colour washed with the back truss MAC 600s.
He wanted a clean looking rig with definite lines, which also leant itself to a bit of illuminative anarchy at the appropriate moments. “I wanted to avoid any clichés,” he emphasises.
Colour-wise, he sticks to bold and simple combinations that contrast and complement well. The first song is lit entirely in white with lots of strobey effects getting the set off to an edgy start as McFadden establishes his considerable stage charisma in Liam Gallageresque style. The final song before the encore ‘Real To Me’ is also lit in white. For the countryish ‘Up and Down’ he maximises the Chroma Banks.
Ollandini and Garnish prepped everything at Bandit’s Bedford HQ beforehand and now have the get-ins and outs down to slick and quick streamlined operation.
The tour itinerary has included some lesser visited venues on the circuit including Dundee Caird Hall – Ollandini’s home town venue. The last time he was in there, he reveals was for his school Prize Giving Day 20 years ago!
Sound is supplied by Wigwam, with Nick Warren mixing FOH and LJ on monitors. It’s a d&b system with Digico D5 consoles at both ends. Tour manager is Paul Higgins and production manager is David Bond.
11th July 2005
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