Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend Jackson Browne recently wrapped another outstanding tour with a lighting package provided by longtime vendor, Bandit Lites.
Building on Browne’s last album, Lighting Designer Steve Comer made only a few changes to the previous design, including opening up the stage space by cutting side towers and placing the lights on the downstage truss. One important aspect for the lighting design for Browne’s tour is the desire for an LED prominent rig such as Bandit’s exclusive GRNLite Moving Washes, GRNLite Par 64’s, Elation 2 Lite LED and GLP X4S, giving the production a cooler, lower power-consumption look.
“The flexibility they give me with the music is perfect,” Comer said of the LED fixtures. “To have all of the colours in one unit with a nice smooth fade between them really helps me busk a song that isn’t on the set list, or one that he hasn’t played in years.” Additional gear supplied by Bandit included trussing, VL 2500 Spots, Martin MAC Auras and a Grand MA 1 full console for control.
Comer described his design process as one that focuses on creating looks that represent Browne best, going over the design with Dennis Scrimo, Jackson’s Production Manager, and then working to make sure the fixtures will accommodate both the truck space and the various venue sizes.
“I have had some great fixture recommendations from the Bandit staff, some that are a big part of my rig right now,” Comer said. “I feel as if there is some freedom in working with an artist on a small to medium size tour, and Bandit is able to pick the fixtures that will work for everyone. The crew on this tour did an amazing job of taking my design and figuring out ways to streamline the load in and out process that I didn’t even think were possible.”
Working with Jackson Browne is an incredible source of pride for the company, one that Bandit’s client representative Dizzy Gosnell has cultivated into a fantastic collaboration with Browne’s production team, saying, “Steve and Dennis have tuned the system to the get exact maximum bang for their buck without cutting corners that compromise the show in any way. Variations of this system have been built all around the world on this long global trek. It’s the modern way: designers have to be flexible to survive and Steve is an absolute master at being able to make an extremely good looking show from what he has at his disposal.”
“Bandit has always been there to help from start to finish. They always accommodate me if we need to figure out programming space and time, which is usually the case since there are never any production days,” finished Comer. “Jackson and I have both worked with Bandit for a long time and it’s just a given that’s who we’re going to use, the question never comes up about if we’re going to try a different lighting company.”