Jacob Collier’s live shows weave together free-timed segments, improvisation and fragments of playback and timecode, allowing him and his band to experiment and change their performance each night, while having the technology in tow to follow along in ‘lock step’. This approach is unorthodox, and the camp experimented with ways of scaling the show accordingly. Timecode is used unconventionally on this show – triggered via sampler with no pre-roll. The team had to come up with workarounds to ensure a smooth show, unifying control networks to blur lines between departments with JavaScript-distributed timecode, show control, RTP MIDI, digital audio and even lighting control all traversing the same network trunk.
Live Creative Director and Co-Music Director, Ben Bloomberg acted as a translator between the artist and each touring department. “We have a good understanding of one another and share a lot of the same creative instincts,” he explained. “From day to day, I am Jacob’s eyes and ears in the audience to help build the show initially, to keep it running smoothly, and to put together specialised versions of arrangements and sets for television and broadcast. Jacob is directly involved in the technical process for this run. He sits with every department and works out the details of the programming and design elements. It’s amazing to have an artist so engaged and able to think through these sorts of issues.”
The tour goes from 2,000- to 20,000-capacity venues, so navigating the leap from four to eight trucks worth of production required attention to detail. “We built this show modularly, so we can adapt,” Tour Director, Mark McNeil of Constant Touring said. He was supported by Production Manager, Jan Sienkiewicz; Production Coordinator and Tour Manager, Katie Macdonald of Well on Tour – who provided mental health and wellbeing support for the crew on the road; Stage Manager, Marco Zanolin and B-Stage Manager, Matty Roberts and Merchandiser, Jack Payne. The tour’s vendors included Solotech (audio), Liteup (lighting and staging), 80six (video and production rehearsal space), Observatory (video content), BPM SFX (special effects), Fly By Nite (trucking) and Phoenix (bussing), Mirrorball Paul (mirrorball), LED Creative (LED sign), and Travel Counsellors (travel agent). “I have worked with these vendors previously, and they all provide an excellent level of service and support,” McNeill stated.
For Bloomberg, who has shared a decade-long creative partnership with Jacob Collier, the three most special shows of the run included New York’s Radio City, the Greek in LA and London’s O2 arena. “The process of integrating the visuals was particularly gnarly and we started The O2 show with some untested programming and fingers crossed – having that show go smoothly was a great feeling and testament to how hardworking and talented our crew is,” he said. “We handled a barrage of changes, guest artists, and a complex show flow that was only confirmed the day of the show. We had 37 seconds to move Jacob from the B- to the A stage – by scooter – while one of our guests was starting a verse on stage and another one was being moved away from the B-stage.”
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Words: Jacob Waite
Photos: Nicole Nodland, Rory Barnes and Joe Okpako
