The creative theme was ‘Apocalyptic Burning Man’, as seen on the band’s AMEX Unstaged video series, with Creative Director, Sophie Mueller, who conceptualized the design and brought the theme to life. Creating the scenic and staging elements of the show required some core TAIT competencies: scenic, staging, and LED integration.
The show consisted of a number of staging elements, a variety of scenic pieces, and a band riser package comprising four individual risers outlined with multicolored LED strips. The two largest risers featured vintage cars – these weren’t purpose-built show props, these were actual vintage cars – sourced from local junkyards and modified to be able to successfully tour. Arriving at TAIT’s workshop as fully-equipped vehicles, the team gutted the interiors to create portable scenic structures with wheels for easy transportation that could be moved around easily by the production crew. The cars were fitted with custom headlights and the cars’ rust patches were clear-coated to emphasize the distressed look. Fog and smoke machines were fitted to add an atmospheric look and special effects on-stage.
A feature of the AMEX shows was a giant horse’s head and the creative team wanted to carry that over to the new tour. From an image of the original head, TAIT’s design team created a 3D replica which allowed the fabrication teams to create a full-scale version made of foam, which was assembled from 64 individual glued pieces and then carved into the final shape around a steel structure mounted on a custom dolly. The head was then primed and painted by the scenic team to look like a real horse’s head and, finally, glowing LED eyes were added for maximum, ghoulish visual impact.
Finally, two 35-foot tall scenic arches placed either side of the stage were outlined with multi-colored LED strips to complete the aesthetic, and rounding out the list were synthetic shrubbery and scenic-treated crates near the band risers to add an extra dimension to the stage.
The tour opened on August 10 at White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, WA and ran through August, September and October, closing on October 8 at Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA.
Thank you to our partners, TOUR MANAGER, FRED KHARRAZI, CREATIVE DESIGNER, SOPHIE MULLER, PRODUCTION MANAGER, ALAN HORNALL, LIGHTING DESIGN, FROM FLICKER DESIGNS, BRIAN JENKINS, & PHOTO CREDIT, BRIAN JENKINS.
