Xtylos shines on the Brightside for The Lumineers
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Christie Lites and representative Martin Kelley supplied the Xtylos fixtures, featuring Claypaky’s proprietary RGB laser source, for the arena tour supporting the American folk-rock band’s Brightside album. The tour played dates across the UK and Europe before moving to North America for the spring and summer, wrapping at Wrigley Field in Chicago in September.
Haslauer has worked with The Lumineers since early 2019. Production designers Sooner Routhier and Robert Long of SRae Productions came onboard in 2016 and have three tour cycles to their credit. Routhier suggested that Haslauer use the small form factor Mini Xtylos HPE in his rig following her success in deploying them for Coldplay.
Haslauer mounted 48 Mini Xtylos HPE atop the whalebone scenic pieces on stage, right in front of a circular videowall. An additional 18 Xtylos were positioned on the FOH truss.
According to Routhier: “We were asked to repurpose the large, circular videowall with its geometric frame. It was important to give it a new identity, so we painted it silver and lined it with some LED neon.
“The Brightside album cycle branding features a particular blue colour that lends itself to cooler metal tones and neon accents,” she continues. “We wanted to frame the circular videowall and surround the band with an additional scenic element. The whalebones pieces were just a shape that fit perfectly with the circular wall and curved band risers. We added an Austrian curtain upstage; repurposed drapes from the previous tour formed various curved masks for the upstage videowall, the drapes’ fabric creating a buttery effect next to the hard lines of the wall.”
Haslauer reports that “the Mini Xtylos HPE did an excellent job cutting through the videowall. I really don’t know what other light would have worked there – they were so compact and powerful. The fact that the beams did not get lost is really quite unique. Also, the ability to have a throw distance of several hundred feet while seemingly not losing any intensity was incredible.”
Both the Mini Xtylos HPE and the Xtylos were responsible for the jaw dropping moment in the show when the mirror ball was revealed, he says. “There really is no other light out there that would have given us the same wow effect created by all the Xtylos on the mirror ball at the same time.”
“The Xtylos were the main inspiration for the mirror ball. We knew that they would create an unbelievable effect,” says Routhier.
