Pearl Jam

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PEARL JAM

Seattle rock band Pearl Jam, crossed the Atlantic this summer for a few select performances ranging from headline arena and stadium slots, to sought-after festival stages. TPi’s Stew Hume spoke to long-time LD, Kille Knobel, about the band’s distinct and scalable look for their 2018 campaign...

Last year was a landmark period for Pearl Jam; after nearly 3 decades of touring behind them, the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Far from taking their foot off the pedal, it seems this new status has ignited a fire and presented new goals. Not only did 2018 see the band drop a new single from their forthcoming album, but they also announced their longest European tour in recent history. The tour, saw a varied schedule and the band played several 360° arena shows along with their festival appearances. Despite moving through a variety of performance spaces, each show had a distinct feel and style that was unmistakably Pearl Jam.

Design-duo Kille Knobel and Spike Brandt have overseen Pearl Jam’s visuals since the turn of the millennium. Speaking prior to their final night at London’s 02 Arena, Knobel spoke of her time with the band so far, and the vision for the tour.

With Pearl Jam’s visual show becoming more ambitious over the years, the LD asserts that she still remembers that the focus still has to remain on the band. She recalled how, last tour, frontman Eddie Vedder encapsulated the vision he had for the band’s live show in a single metaphor. “He said to me, ‘Think of the band like the main meal and the lighting as the seasoning… too much and you can no longer taste the meal!’ It’s all about the balance, in essence.”

This meant Knobel sometimes had to pull on the reins of the lighting rig to ensure the band and music remain at the forefront. Just as they have for previous tours, the 2018 run saw Brandt and Knobel split design responsibilities down the middle. “Simply put, I deal with lights while Spike handles the scenic elements,” stated Knobel. She explained that neither department takes priority, working harmoniously to create a cohesivelooking live show. Helping create the Knobel-Brandt vision were suppliers

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PEARL JAM

Below: The dedicated visual team on the last day of the European tour.

TAIT Towers for staging and Upstaging for lighting.

Knobel wanted to ensure that each show had a variety of looks, with automation playing a key role in its development. Using TAIT Towers’ Navigator system, Knobel was able to control several moving parts including 11 trusses, 14 custom LED spheres, a mirror ball and the gigantic, ‘Hero’ sphere (more on that later). Yes, you read correctly - Knobel is controlling automation, all via her trusty MA Lighting grandMA2 desk. “I just think of each piece in the same way I would a moving light,” explained the LD, modestly. “To explain what shapes I want to create with 95 plus songs to program, to another operator would be a disaster!” she laughed. Admittedly, the LD sometimes needed backup juggling the roles. Watching her back throughout the tour was Automation Crew Chief, Mike Rock, who was able to take over the automation elements if Knobel had to throw herself into the design aspects or manage an on-the-fly song changes. “Working on Pearl Jam is worlds apart from most shows,” Knobel explained. “We get the set list 10 minutes before they hit the stage - if they even keep to it!” In that vital 10 minutes Knobel, Rock and the rest of the visual team look through the 2-hour set, highlighting any potential

issues, such as songs that may not have a solid design. “They simply have too much material to create cues for every song,” she stated. “If they play a track which we haven’t programmed, then I often repurpose a vetted design of a similar tempo, editing on the fly.” The show file that has been created for the tour is “not for the faint hearted,” the LD stated, while discussing the size of the show. Aiding the veteran LD in the programming was Lead Programmer, Eric Marchwinski along with Joe Bay, Andrew Giffen and Joe Cabrera who took on the gargantuan task. The rest of the visual crew consisted of Franklin Antonio, Dave Sulch, Neil Smith, Stuart Lee and Darragh McAuliffe. Finally completing the autoamtion team were Andrea Espinoza and Barbara Pinnow.

This season’s major workhorse fixtures included 42 Claypaky Scenius Unicos, 39 Robe Spiiders and 11 Philips Vari-Lite VL4000’s. All 3 fixture types were rigged on the automated trusses along with the TMB Solaris Flare Q+ LR fixtures, which created the backbone of the design. “The original Scenius had been my favourite ‘hard edge’ fixture for some time,” stated the LD. “When Claypaky brought out the Unicos I was intrigued and immediately began putting them on the rig. I’ve not been disappointed!”

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Above: Andrew Giffen and LD Kille Knobel sitting at FOH.

The crew used GLP’s impression X4 and X4S and conventionals to fill out the set, being placed into every “nook and cranny” of the stage. Also featured on the rig were, 6 Philips Color Kenetics Colorblaze 72’s and 16 Robe Spikies.

Knobel also had several other lighting sources at her disposal. Expanding on a concept explored on the last tour, the LD commissioned Upstaging’s Travis Shaffer to produce 14 LED spheres which, alongside the automated trusses, created a changeable landscape. The largest element at the scenic department’s disposal was the Hero. Aptly named, this giant structure, created by TAIT Towers, contained the 16 Robe Spikies and 6 TMB Solaris Flare Jrs. The 360° emitting structure was used at various points during the show, giving a modern take on a traditional mirror ball gag.

For followspots, Knobel opted to join forces with Follow-Me. Due to all the automated elements, the LD needed a solution where any light could be used as a spot. Having used other remote follow spot systems, she is well versed in the technology. “But the Follow-Me system gives LDs a tool that has never been available until now,” she enthused. She explained how the system gives LDs a chance to move away from the traditional ‘one fixture to one operator’ paradigm, really opening doors for the designer. She continued: “I have to praise the team at Follow-Me. We were asking a lot as they had to figure out how to use the real time data from the TAIT Navigator system to calculate where the lights were in space at any given moment on this fully automated rig. What they produced meant the fixtures could accurately follow when trusses moved positions or were in motion.”

The tour’s Video Director [and TPi Award winner] Blue Leach, handled IMAG content. “What Blue produces is far from regular IMAG,” said Knobel, as she described the artful treatment of the director. Leach’s relationship with the band goes back a long way too, after he became a fan in the early ‘90s. Having been a bucket list job for the director, he finally got his shot in 2013, dropping a whole year’s schedule for a chance to work with the band for a one-off show. A gamble that thankfully paid off...

“I approach Pearl Jam shows as a film shoot rather than a live performance,” stated Leach, who looks for more interesting angles than typical front-facing footage, allowing the screens to capture the feeling of the various tracks. Helping the Director achieve this goal was a team of

camera operators provided by supplier video vendor, Creative Technology [CT].

The company also provided a camera package consisting of 4 Marshall Electronics Minicams, 2 pit cameras with track and dollies, 2 Camera Corps Q-Ball 3 and a Panasonic ENG camera for a locked-off wide shot. Lastly, there was a Wireless Guitar RF camera which has been developed by CT. Also on the rider were 7 Black Magic Design HyperDecks and 2 H.264 video converters, enabling the crew to handover full footage to the band via USB at the end of each show. The cameras and content was all run via a Panasonic AV-HS6000 2ME PPU system, which was adapted to connect via fibre to the bespoke FOH control unit, allowing Leach to mix out front. “It’s something I demand on every show,” he stated. “It’s important to see the IMAG screens, rather than use a HD screen backstage as a reference. This way the fans receive the ultimate visual experience.”

Jim Liddiard, CT Project Manager, commented: “Blue is an extremely talented Video Director and the end results were stunning. It was great fun adding bespoke grip to find some unusual angles of the band. They’re so dynamic, it makes for some incredibly filmic shots which really brought the show to life.”

With the European leg coming to a close, Knobel expressed her sadness at saying goodbye to another dedicated crew. “This tour has been fantastic,” she smiled. “I’m only as good as the crew that works with me and I have nothing but love and gratitude for everyone that joined us on this run.”

With the UK and Europe conquered, Pearl Jam return to America in early August for two hometown shows in the birth place of their genre as well as stadium shows in Montana, Chicago and Boston. The Seattle Home Shows mark the first gigs of the US dates and no doubt fans expectations will be met when the iconic rock stars take to the stage. TPi Photos: Andrew Giffen and Rob Skinner www.pearljam.com www.upstaging.com www.taittowers.com www.ct-group.com

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