Bandit in the round with Carrie Underwood
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“This tour is by far the most ambitious design yet for Ms. Underwood and it has certainly paid off in terms of visual artistry,” said Bandit Lites vice president, Mike Golden. “Carrie has a veteran staff in tour Manager Geoff Donkin, production manager Graham Holmes, show producer BarrymLather and lighting director Nate Cromwell, and with Nick Whitehouse and the visionary team at Fireplay, this year’s production is unmatched and flawless.”
Drawing inspiration from the Cry Pretty album artwork, Fireplay designed a stage using the eye logo and infusing an impressive pod design that held the majority of the light fixtures.
“When lighting in the round, each side of the stage needs to have key lights, effect lights and audience lights as each person’s perspective of the lighting show will be different,” explained Whitehouse, “so each pod contains just that: an amount of each. The rest of the design came out of the necessity of lighting around the screens.”
Bandit Lites supplied nearly 400 fixtures for the design, including GLP JDC1 Strobes, Martin Professional MAC Viper AirFX, Claypaky Sharpys, Claypaky Mythos 2, VL 3000 Spots, Scenius Unicos and Robe Spikies. Two grand MA 2 full consoles provide Lighting Director Nate Cromwell control.
Whitehouse used Claypaky Mythos 2’s spread out over six pods, providing massive air effects out wide of the stage, while Martin Viper AirFX units in the pods supply a ‘second siren unit’ and double as stage and audience lighting. GLP JDC1 fixtures in the pods provide big hits into the crowd, and each pod also features a BlackTrax follow-spot Unico in the centre for 360 coverage of Carrie as she moves. The remaining JDC1’s, Vipers and some VL3000’s are distributed over two arc trusses that follow the long sides of the stage.
“The looks we managed to get from the pods were massive and awesome,” said Whitehouse.
“It is an extremely dynamic and elaborate show,” said Cromwell. “Over 3,500 cues triggered in a 120-minute set. Nick Whitehouse did the programming himself, and it is cued and laid out brilliantly.”
(Jim Evans)
