Alexandra
Palace in North London was the venue for the Wombats’ largest production during
their current tour, which has encompassed the UK, Europe and Australia since
the beginning of 2015.
Dan
Hill is the lighting designer at the helm. “This was essentially a larger, more
intense version of the lighting rig we’ve had out lately. In London earlier
this year, The Wombats played Brixton Academy and the show at Alexandra Palace
really grew from that, nothing crazy, but extensions of what was already there
to cater for both the larger crowd and the bigger, wider stage that Ally Pally
provides. I wanted to keep things as dynamic and as fun for the band on stage
and for people in the crowd as it was back in Brixton.” Hill is using a
grandMA2 light for control.
Hill
takes a fairly prosaic approach: “A lighting designer or operator can often be
judged on what desk they choose to use, which I don’t really subscribe to; at
the end of the day, they’re a tool to make lights work and a stage look good.
However, after trying out and using most of the other leading console options,
the grandMA2 just works best for me. Programming my own shows, this is
important as it needs to be intuitive and I want to be thinking about how the
show looks – not with my head tied up in console queries. The cue stacking and
editing is powerful and the live control side of the console works really well.
Once set up, the intelligent elements within the grandMA2 mean programming is quick,
intuitive and the flow between ideas and how it works onstage happens without
too much brain strain!”
Hill
is already looking forward to his next projects, run, naturally, by his console
of choice, the grandMA2.
Ambersphere
is the exclusive UK distributor for MA Lighting.
Photos: ©
Dan Hill
