"And as a live attraction they look great too. I saw right away that the show would be far from conventional; these guys project a lot of energy and more than anything that needs to be expressed in the visual context. The big T shaped forestage stretches the performers into the midst of the fans. Losing the weight of a regular 'end on' emphasis allows the show to become totally immersive."
Rodgers, with collaborative input from lighting designer Marc Brickman, has called upon the services of set builders Tait Towers to realise his design. "The T stage element might look simple," he said, "but Tait has packed a lot of technology into it for me. Audiences have high expectations these days and rightly so. But for me, switching emphasis from the conventional main stage and shifting it to what are essentially two narrow intersecting runways could have been restrictive. I knew what I wanted to achieve and thanks to Tait's expertise I got what I was looking for.
Ultimately this looks to be a custom built set, but the fact is I was able to draw on what I think of as the Tait Toolkit. Where I wanted a lifting, turning DJ booth, they already had parts of the machinery that, with a little modification, could fulfil most functions perfectly, and in spectacular fashion. That left me with greater budget to apply to a full custom-built booth design, which Taits pulled off with real panache. Think of it as a slick automobile; nobody cares what's under the hood so long as it looks great and hits 60 in under four seconds. Tait provide that under the hood motive power, and then they built the slick bodywork to my design."
Tait Towers also provide the rolling main stage designed by Rodgers; a high tiered environment providing a mix of vertical layers for the band. This stage supports a number of devices from Taits - freight elevator, personnel elevators, an abundance of ramps and stairs, as well as supporting and integrating other equipment from scenic builders.
"For a designer in my position, the ability of Tait to absorb the electro mechanical requirements of Marc Brickman's excellent lighting design, and additional set elements into one coherent whole is irreplaceable," said Rodgers.
(Jim Evans)
