USA - Volbeat frontman, Michael Paulson, kicked off the Los Angele Kia Forum show on the band’s eagerly anticipated Greatest Of All World Tours by apologising to the sellout crowd if his sore throat might affect his upcoming performance, but declared that he wouldn’t want to miss this show.
Paulson and his bandmates then broke out like runaway trains with a headbanging rendition of The Devil’s Bleeding Crown, followed by Lola Montez, sending the crowd into a frenzy and nearly blowing the 407ft high roof of the big arena.
It's been the same story at every stop along the way on the USA leg of their global tour, which began 17 July at Denver’s Ball Arena and ended 22 August at the Credit Union One amphitheatre outside Chicago. Matching the music is a hard-driving Niller Bjerregaard lighting design powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium Console that calls forth images of metal’s roots.
Working with a rig supplied by Premier Global Production, Bjerregaard designed the show “as a tribute to the classic rock show and truss layout.” Discussing the creative process behind the design, he said: “It was actually similar to one of the first lighting rigs I designed 35 years ago in a smaller version with Par Cans only for a band called Grobe in the mid-90s. The fixtures were hung in groups of three and are finger focused all the way. Ideally, we had a 40ft trim on the tour, as it tied the rig and backdrop/stage set together in a perfect frame. The trusses itself was staggered in a star formation to give it depth and elevation without overlapping fixtures and looks.”
The Greatest Of All World Tours represents a milestone in the ascent of Volbeat in the US, as the band is playing larger venues. Bjerregaard is quick to credit his colleagues in helping him navigate the new waters. “PM Dennie Miller, and SM Dave Marcucci were tremendous helps,” he said. “I also was ever-appreciative for the work of rigger Ryan Riordan, LX crew chief Jerome Labonte, LX Tanja Arends, LX Cy Schumacher, LX Luke Berry LX Hunter Roney, PGP Lighting, TAIT and, of course, Volbeat and the entire crew.”
Bjerregaard notes his ChamSys Group Cue and Group layout windows were also critical in helping him achieve bold massive looks he was after as the tour moved from one amphitheatre or arena to the next on the tour. “The effects I could do running across the fixtures because of the Group Grid Window were absolutely amazing and it took me no time to create complex special effects with movement - colour - intensity, absolute without spending the time setting up the desk for that.”
The Remote Focus also helped him adjust to different FOH positions that he found himself in on the tour. “Really, this has to be one of my all-time favourite features - especially on this run,” he said. “In some of the bigger venues we were quite far from the stage and sometimes had difficulty getting a clear look at the stage floor. That’s when this was a lifesaver.”
Leaving ample room on stage for the band to move around and interact with fans, Bjerregaard delivered intense lighting action from overhead fixtures. He also created theatrical looks from well-timed and colourful side lighting.