Robe shines for George Ezra in Auckland
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Eleven Robe MegaPointes on the upstage truss have been present throughout the whole tour which kicked off in Spring in the UK and Ireland, then extended into a lengthy festival section as Ezra and his band delighted audiences across Europe.
The original show and lighting / set design by Cate Carter is being overseen and co-ordinated on the road by Chris Taylor, and the earlier sections of the tour have also featured two Robe RoboSpot systems running with two Forte moving lights.
The Auckland show, staged at the Spark arena, was an all-Robe rig – apart from the strobes and 10 2K fresnel ‘specials’ on stands – with all kit supplied by leading NZ rental specialist, Spot-Light Systems.
This was the only New Zealand date, preceded by a show in Dubai on the way there and followed up by the four gigs across Australia.
A total of 38 x BMFL WashBeams on the rig in Auckland were distributed on two side torms with the balance of fixtures along the floor at the back and on the front truss. They were used for front and cross-stage washes and specials, and the ones on the deck for high impact effects, both integrating and contrasting to the high level MegaPointes on the upstage truss.
Five Robe LEDWash 600s a side were positioned on the downstage corners of the stage for front kickers, and all the lights worked hard throughout the show which was a lively and dynamic mix of new material and some of the chart-topping bangers that have helped rocket George Ezra to prominence.
One of the practical design modifications to the full show for this segment was running without a large upstage LED screen and a scenic LED-lined frame, two major aesthetic elements that were replaced with a printed backdrop from Showtex covered by a gauze to allow it to be front and back lit, appearing and disappearing through the set.
This meant a lot more work to ramp the drama and excitement was down to lighting as the bespoke video content had been directly related to the show narrative, and Chris Taylor created plenty of presence and atmosphere. Ezra is also renowned for his connection to his fans especially when playing live, and the energy of the performance was ideally suited to this more utilitarian setting.
Kit for the Australian shows was supplied by MPH Productions for Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane, and Showscreens for Perth. Chris programmed and operated lighting using a grandMA2 console.
Big things are on the horizon next year in the George Ezra camp, with an arena tour and another extensive festival run being lined up.
