It is the first time that HSL has worked with Sasic, who has a reputation for innovative and interesting designs. HSL project manager Mike Oates says, "We are extremely pleased to be working with Susanne, who is known for her exceptional creative flair and style. The design looks stunning and in addition to that, the whole visuals package has been very well thought out to make it practical and tourable."
Looking after all the kit is Rob Starksfield, a regular HSL technician, who has also worked with Sasic on previous projects including REM.
Sasic's overall design has evolved with the different sections of the tour and on this one started with the set, which is modern and grey - and excellent for taking light and colour. It consists of a 30ft wide upstage custom shaped riser for the keyboards and drum kits, creating a neat and tidy centrepiece.
Underneath the riser is a row of nine i-Pix BB4 LED wash fixtures, which blast through the textilene mesh fabric masking its front.
There are 15 Vari*Lite VLX LED wash lights, six on an overhead truss, used for the basic general stage, riser and band washes and nine on the floor.
On the floor are eight Jarags, six positioned upstage behind the riser and two downstage left and right shooting across the front. Run in six-channel mode, Sasic uses some of their inbuilt effects and particularly likes to create a glowy, footlight low-level wash across the front and utilise the jaunty pin wheel effects of the rear ones.
There are 11 Atomic strobes, four on the floor and seven on the three mini-beam trusses, together with 15 Martin Professional MAC 101 LED units. Two trusses are flown stage left and right with the third underneath the lowest screen. Sasic makes the most of the speed, lightness and brightness of the 101s with a collection of zappy, sparkly club style looks and effects.
There are also four 4-lamp bars containing ETC PARnels, two used as side washes across the set and the other two focussed on the drapes flanking the screens upstage.
For control, HSL is supplying two grandMA series 1 consoles - a main and a backup plus 19 points of rigging to fly all the lighting and the three touring onstage Pixled LED screens that come from XL Video.
(Jim Evans)
