He’s not the band’s LD per se and is a bit rusty on the desk, so having listened to what I’ve created for him work with, he requests a couple additional tools to be programmed and we leave the question of who is running the show open for now. I run through the kit, the programming I’ve done and we discuss who will run the show. The usual conversation takes place, more often in a leaky Kwikform FOH tower as sounds of rain and crowd anticipation filter though the earplugs.
#CONCERT STAGE LIGHTING DESIGN FULL#
Standing there, between the TM and myself, we had the full picture: I’d used the rig a few times before and had programmed a few pages of subs for busking, he knew the show and the music, down to the last beat. A bit of busking programming done, palettes checked and tweaked, faults sorted.Īn hour or so before the support act went on, I’m stood the desk and feel a presence before seeing the familiar sight of a hand to be shaken, names to be exchanged – the aforementioned Tour Manager.
For lighting, I checked and prepared the house rig in anticipation of either having to run the show myself or hand it over to their regular Tour Manager who was arriving later in the day. The band to play that night had all the usual, sound crew, backline techs but no dedicated LD as such. I was recently called in as “house lampie” at a local venue. A lot of shows are done on the fly by people who really should be paid more for their talent and creative techniques. Wrangling a lack of information is the stock in trade for many techs in the concert and events business. It’s a secret kept from the Billy Bunters, but a large proportion of concert lighting is the product of the unknown.