Since the resumption of live performances with in person audiences in Denmark, dozens of live events have drawn thousands attendees, none more so than The Minds of 99’s landmark performance at Parken Stadium in front of 50,000 fans, complete with a show design featuring over 300 Robe fixtures – a mixture of Tarrantulas, BMFLs WashBeams, MegaPointes, Spiiders, BMFL FollowSpot LTs and RoboSpots – curated by Jannik Kenneth Skov Jensen.
Jensen has worked with the band since 2017, curating the visual elements of their stage performances – including staging, scenic and video – in collaboration with the band’s Manager, Ole Nørup Peteresen.
Parken marked the largest show which Jensen has designed and operated to date. The rising star LD studied to be an actor and director before turning his talents to the more technical disciplines of lighting and visuals in 2016. While this event was originally planned for 2020, as the band’s only date that calendar year, it was soon foiled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jensen’s starting point for the design involved examining the band’s past performances at the venue. As this show was going to be a one-off, he set out to create something that used the full potential of the venue. “I wanted a design that felt as if it had been almost squeezed inside Parken!” he explained.
The production design area was extended with the creation of wings on both sides of the stage, covering an 80m span beyond the portrait format left-and-right IMAG video screens, effectively filling the entire width of the stadium.
The look was complemented by a B stage just in front of the FOH platform and a C stage at the far end of the stadium, as well as two catwalks from the main stage, which served for the set’s more intimate moments.
Jensen’s workhorse fixtures of the rig were 132 Tarrantulas, purposed as primary wash lights, rigged in trusses above the stage and wing areas – marking the first time the designer was afforded the opportunity to use the fixtures in front of an audience.
114 BMFL WashBeams were the main hard-edged fixture of the show, with 36 lined on the floor along the upstage edge of the stage and wings, with the remainder dispersed across the trusses. “I simply needed the output and lot of it,” he said. “They are among the best high-powered fixtures on the market.”
Jensen ensured there was space on the rig for 20 Spiiders, which were used as up lights and side lights across the drum and keyboard risers as well as side stage lighting. The set was a network of integrated risers that resembled one large sculptural piece, especially in combination with the lighting – one of the big advantages of designing multiple visual elements of a show rather than just one department.
“I really like the products – BMFLs, Spiiders, MegaPointes – I have toured with all of them, and they are well made and reliable,” he stated, referencing 12 MegaPointes purposed as specials beaming onto a two-metre diameter mirror ball that descended from the ceiling above the B-stage during the track, En Stemme (One Voice), as among his favourite looks. Six fixtures were on the floor and six hung from the stadium roof.
Jensen specified four RoboSpot remote follow spot systems for the show. BaseStations were positioned behind the stage with three were linked to 12 BMFL FollowSpot LTs and BMFL Spots.
Four spotlights – one positioned in each corner of the above stage rig – were allocated to each of the five band members, amassing 20 units – including 12 controlled by RoboSpot. BMFL FollowSpot LTs were on the advanced truss throwing around 50m to the front of stage, while the BMFL Spots were on the upstage trusses.
The lighting rig was controlled by an MA Lighting grandMA2 full size console. Three weeks previsualising the show in WYSIWYG preceded two nights on site with the full rig. Light and screen production was coordinated and managed by 4K Projects, while equipment was provided by Victory Tour Productions with audio supplied by AllRound – Lyd & Lys.