i-Lite Ltd

Blunt spent much of the year scouring the globe on the Back to Bedlam Tour. In Paul Normandale’s production design, the show has a unique look based on the style of English seaside resorts. “The premise started from a couple of visuals James found,” says Normandale. “I coupled them with a modern slant, within a broad brief, including a regal theme, to tie in with some existing artwork from the album.” The imagery includes a monkey symbol from Blunt’s family’s crest.

The set changes throughout the show and the scale of the video widens as the night goes on. The video is sometimes partially covered by an AC Lighting Color Web LED curtain, creating a layered look. According to Normandale, his strategy was one of frequent visual surprises. “It’s sometimes quite odd, I think, to be faced with a theatre box situation within an arena environment. The idea of the closed-in element of the show evolving into the panorama of the final song is central; the projection ranges from an introduction of animation that is 16 x 8' to a final wide screen of 56 x 30', largely due to the use of a motorized drape system of legs, developed and refined over quite a few years now on different projects.” Regarding the use of Color Web, he adds, “I felt that every three songs should see a shift in interest, from kabuki to Color Web, to projections on the cyc. It seems a pity to have all the technology and not explore the ramifications.” Upstaging, one of the tour’s many gear providers, supplied risers and a curved cyc for the production.

Normandale’s rig for the final leg of the tour consists of 19 Martin MAC 250 Wash units, 18 Mac 2000s, ten Omnilites, and six Lekos, along with four followspots (at Radio City, the four house units, Strong Gladiators, were in use). It’s a relatively restrained lineup for a big show—“Paul’s not one to throw moving lights up there,” says lighting director Glen Johnson”—but more than enough for to create a variety of looks. Also on board is a set of nine Color Kinetics ColorBlaze units. Interestingly, the lighting is controlled by the High End Systems Wholehog III, which, according to lighting director Johnson, has proved to be “unbelievably reliable.” He adds, “I’ve never had to use the backup.”

The Hog III has had a bumpy ride in the concert market, possibly because, Johnson say, “The syntax confuses people. They expect to jump straight on it,” particularly if they’ve worked on the Hog II. “But it’s a different beast,” he says. “Once you get into it. It’s a very powerful way of programming.”

At any rate, Johnson notes that the lighting has been designed by Normandale to support the star, not to overwhelm him. “When James sings with emotion, you don’t need any toys,” he adds.

The video is delivered via an ArKaos media server, which is linked to the Hog 3. Speaking of the media server, Johnson says, “I can’t praise it enough. It has unlimited layers. We’ve never failed with it.” The server is used to run seven layers of video imagery, plus the three IMAG cameras. The video screen consists of R18 blocks from Barco. (On another control note, the lighting director notes that the Color Web, which uses 11 channels of DMX, is run using the Pixel MAD system off of a G5 computer.

Many hands were involved in providing the gear for the tour. Part of the lighting rig came from UK-based Lite Alternative, with the rest from Upstaging. (Johnson also did additional programming at Upstaging’s Sycamore, Illinois home base.) The tour’s fabrics are by Hangman. Video gear was supplied by XL Video. Sound gear came from both England’s Skan PA Hire and America’s Sound Image.

It’s been an extraordinary year for James Blunt. Johnson notes that the tour originally was booked for a few weeks, then kept growing—as did the size of the venues—until he became, he says, “the most extended tour I’ve ever known.” Still, he says, “James puts his heart and soul into every performance.” The Back to Bedlam Tour finally closes for this season this month.

 

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