Faithless 2010: Rock Werchter, Belgium
It's a privilege to be with a band who are playing main stage at each of the biggest festivals in Europe this summer. Glastonbury, Sziget and Rock Werchter.
80,000 people are expected this year each day, with 65,000 of those doing all three days. So it's pretty big in numbers, but having a small site means that when it's full, it feels and looks like it!
We were on after Muse, who are touring a very comprehensive lighting and video rig which isn't designed to be taken down in a hurry! We rigged our screen and lighting the night before and arranged an extended changeover period to allow Muse's crew to strip out their 'Blockbuster' style rig which was hung in front of ours.
The changeover was pretty manic but we all made it in once piece! 4am finish, straight to Amsterdam for a 9am load-in...
James
Faithless 2010: Glastonbury
Big Glastonbury Show? Done.
The crew often mark their tours by the 'Big London Show' (Brixton etc..) and Glastonbury, I guess really as a right of passage for the band. Faithless however are no strangers to the Pyramid Stage but I'm pretty sure this show was the best to date.
For myself, there are few better feelings in life than standing infront or amongst 1000's of people 'going off' at a big moment. Last year, Pendulum's set on the 'Other Stage' blew me away for this very reason, the large crowd and the energy 0f the set just hit the right chords. This year, the Faithless crowd hit whole new levels...
I wouldn't like to guess at numbers, but there were people as far as the eye could see, and those at the back were giving it just as much passion and action as those down by the barrier. You'll notice below a number of attempts to capture the crowd on camera, but I'm afraid no photo could really do it justice.
Gladly I made it out to see a few friends on site, and check out another couple of stages. My favourite of which was seeing Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip at the Queens Head. There are certainly perks to the job.
There's a few big festivals to go, however Glastonbury will always hold a well deserved place among the best in the world.
James.
Faithless 2010: Hurricane Festival, Germany
A view from behind the screen...
Today finds us in at the Hurricane festival in Germany after a day off in Hannover. The day started nice and dry but in true German style, torrential rain hit mid afternoon without any notice.
The show went off without any problems although for the first time the performance was infront of 1000s of wet, poncho covered festival goers.
Back home tonight for some work locally and a break from the road.
James
Faithless 2010: St. Petersburg
So, after arriving late at night on our Boeing Business Jet (specially chartered for the band and crew), we headed over to site to check out the stage and technicals.
Seeing as there is only about an hour of darkness at this time of year, we could see the magnificence of the courtyard the show was in as soon as we arrived at 2am. Surrounded by dramatic state buildings, the stage looked very out of place. Even more bizarre was the crowd arrangement, with rows of seating in front of stage and the standing area not starting until behind the front of house tower. The event was for the Russian government's financial event in the city as a treat for the delegates, hence the seating.
Once the show kicked off the atmosphere wasn't what we'd come to expect from Faithless shows, with only a few people sat stage right in the VIP area and about 50 or so stage left in the guests area. The standing crowd in their thousands couldn't seem to get into the show until Maxi ran down the divide between the seating areas and brought the show to them! A very admirable move.
After this the crowd showed a little more energy, peaking for Insomnia and God is a DJ. They never really seemed to connect that much with the show though, how could you when the crowd starts 100ft from stage?
A very strange show in a beautiful place.
Faithless 2010: Caribana Festival, Geneva
The Swiss seem to have a knack for festival locations; Gurten Festival is on the top of a hill surrounded by the stunning, snow-capped Alps, and this weekend's festival 'Caribana' is on the shores of Lake Geneva.
The practicalities of these locations seem to be wholly immaterial, normally involving swapping all our equipment on to smaller vehicles or a very long push over grass. Worth it though.
Caribana is in a small spot, in the area between a boat club and a private residence, for 9000 party goers. With lots of high platforms for bars and VIP areas, and the band catering suspended over the lake itself, I quite like this place.
We finished the load-in for lights and video at 7:30 am and came back to the hotel to rest for the day. Just leaving for site again now, looking forward to an easy show and a great reaction as we have come to expect for the band.
James
Faithless 2010: Selector Festival, Krakow
So, first full festival (I'm discounting Radio 1's big weekend as there was no video involved) and we're in Poland for Krakow's 'Selector Festival'.
All the kit went in first thing this morning (1am), so after a good sleep I decided to get out and about and have a look round Krakow. Ignoring the ever present human statues and street sellers, I headed down to the river to catch some sun and see the castle. Beaming sun and not a cloud in the sky made a beautiful city even more pleasing to the eye. I recommend anyone to check it out.
After a great dinner in a local restaurant and a long sauna, it was time to head back to site and do the show...
James
Faithless 2010: Southampton
Tonight was the last show of the short UK tour, now we ditch the production lighting and stick to video and floor lighting only. Joy!
All went well bar a couple of lighting desk issues but I doubt any of the crowd cared by the looks of them.
Homeward bound now in preparation for festivals...
James
Faithless 2010: Wolverhampton
Welcome to your first glimpse of the world's largest 'Etch-a-sketch'!
Tonight we were blessed with the large stage of the Wolverhampton Civic so all of the back screen went up and all of the riser video strips went out. A perfect chance to get a few photos for you.
From the beginning it was planned that 'Pilot' would be used as the media server for the tour, based on it's ability to do some funky pixel shifting. Due to time constraints and other influences, Intro were commissioned to produce the content for the show rather than use Pilot's built in rendering system. After a few teething problems at Brixton, I decided to try using Catalyst to run the show off my laptop. After a quick programming session at Doncaster, I had the show ready to go, all frame synced to the backing track and no issues at all. A real testament to the flexibility of the Catalyst system.
Check out the photos below to see the LC screen at the back and the MiTRIX panels on the risers.
James
Faithless 2010: Brixton
Big London show, done.
A massive hit with the crowd, the show looked and sounded amazing. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any photos, I had to stay side of stage to look after the video kit and run the visuals.
Using 'Pilot' (the media server chosen for the tour) for the first time was interesting. Always a little unnerving using something for the first time on such a big show! For the most part the show went without a hitch; the video for 'We Come One' (which was changed just before the show) wouldn't fire but seeing as the lighting was so strong for this song, I don't think it mattered at all. I'm always against last minute changes, a little out of my hands on this occasion.
There's still work to be done, good job this was only a warm-up!
James
Faithless 2010: UK Tour Preparations
So after 4 days at PRG in Longbridge, the lighting and video prep is complete.
I've had the entire 10m x 6m Martin LC screen hanging in the warehouse to build the cable looms that will allow us to rig the screen in as short time as possible (so I can get back on the bus and get some sleep!). The control rack with processors for the LC and MiTRIX screens is built and wired.
I've experienced the typical video problems over the past couple of days; phantom flickers, shifted images, dodgy cables and connectors. After a few phone calls and some extra kit, we're there.
All that remains to do now is install it all at Brixton on Thursday including building the MiTRIX screens to go along the risers, a job which could take a while while using a lot of cable ties and even more patience...
James