Joel has worked with the trio - classically trained brothers Pene and Amital Pati and their cousin Moses MacKay - for the last two years, and this was a completely new design involving a greater LED screen element than previously, together with more lighting. Set and video was designed by Pak Peacock and included a thrust stage that dropped to reveal three different levels - plus various height risers onstage to make the environment more off-beat and interesting.
Joel first listened intently to the music to get a feel for the flow and rhythm of the set and then started designing the lighting which also had to complement the video content which was produced by Lotech.
The main design comprised a V-shaped truss that mirrored the layout of the LED screens below. On each side of the V were 5 x BMFL Spots, so a total of 10 in the air. The other six were positioned three per side on the deck behind the side LED screens.
The overhead BMFLs were used for a multiplicity of tasks - anything from backlight specials to aerial beam effects and a couple of times for silhouetting the three singers, particularly effective in the final song which was extremely moody with lots of smoke.
He used the animation wheel to create a flickering flame effect in the same song - Ed Sheeran's I See Fire
The tour played a mix of venues from basketball stadiums to assorted arenas so the rigging weight limits were variable.
Joel chose to work with BMFLs - supplied to Oceania via Robe's Australian & New Zealand distributor, the ULA Group - for several reasons, primarily because "they are technically very versatile - and so light in weight."
(Jim Evans)
