17 minute read
Kaiser Chiefs
KAISER CHIEFS: DUCK TOUR
Famed for their theatrical and raucous stage shows, Kaiser Chiefs embark on a string of sold-out dates across the UK and Europe. TPi’s Jacob Waite reports from Hull’s Bonus Arena…
Following Kaiser Chiefs’ landmark homecoming show at Elland Road – celebrating 100 years of the group’s beloved Leeds United – the multi aw ard-winning Yorkshire outfit embarked on a tour in support of their seventh studio album, Duck. During the early stages of the tour’s UK leg, TPi caught up with the crew gearing up for a second consecutive so ld-out show at Hull’s Bonus Arena. In the production office, TPi was greeted by Chris Markland. A veteran of the touring circuit, having curated the band’s past two arena tours, the To ur Manager recounted the “radical change” to Kaiser Chiefs’ live show. In order to keep the audience engaged, Markland underlined the importance of balancing both performance and production. “The band performs in a range of venues, so it’s about keeping a happy medium.” The supplier roster, comprising fresh and familiar faces, was spearheaded by Adlib, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ of audio, lighting and video kit and crew. “Having just one point of contact has been a dre am,” Markland enthused. Hauling the kit and crew across a series of pit stops were three csuk buses and four Fly By Nite trucks. “csuk has been a fantastic addition to this tour,” said Markland, adding that Fly By Nite had been with the tour “s ince day one”. The Pantry Maid provided sustenance on the road, while Pyrojunkies rounded off the supplier roster, providing confetti and CO 2 jets. Earlier in the year, the crew spent four days rehearsing in Production Park, in Wakefield. “The band are based down the road in Leeds,” Markland explained. “Brilliant Stages has built the set and fabrication pieces, so it made sense for us to use Production Park’s fantastic rehearsal facilities.” The TM praised Production Manager, Phil Murphy, Tour Rigger, James Wright, and Set Carpenter/Stage Manager, Nigel Dobson. “They have been instrumental in fitting the production into the variety of different sized venues.” Without them, he said, “it would have been virtually impossible”. MODERN WAY The lights darkened and the curtains were drawn to reveal frontman, Ricky Wilson sitting on a deck chair on the roof of a building, surrounded by neon lights with the band in situ, who gleefully belted out People Know How to Love One Another. The location, dubbed Stage B, was a clear nod to the Duck album artwork, an abandoned beach hut torn straight from the pages of Martin Parr’s Think of England. Li ghting and Production Designer, Rob Sinclair explained the concept behind the show’s scenic elements. “Ricky Wilson sent a beautiful pencil sketch of the stage last summer,” he recalled. “It’s pretty recognisable to where we ended up. My job was dealing with scale, helping it fit and attaching the show elements.” The main stage was adorned with abandoned fairground fodder, fabricated by Brilliant Stages and The Scenic Labs. “We wanted to do something more theatrical, that was more of a set and a little less rock ’n’ roll. It can never feel too contrived, but the stage always needs to be a bit of an adventure playground.” Sinclair then handed over the design to the touring team, led by Lighting Director, Jason Hyne, who Sinclair described as the ideal candidate to run an “unpredictable and timecode-free” show. Hyne’s nine-year working relationship with Sinclair comprises lighting credits including MARINA (FKA Marina and the Diamonds), Jessie Ware, Will Young and The Queen Extravaganza. “He keeps me busy,” Hyne joked. “Every Kaiser Chiefs show is different. The lighting changes to keep the audience and the band interested.” During Modern Way, a crooning Ricky Wilson declared Kaiser Chiefs as “the greatest band on the stage, at the moment” – candour which struck a chord with Hyne during rehearsals. “They’re a really fun band to work with,” he shared, and as if to prove his point, four inflatable air men were wheeled on to the stage – “this is the first time I’ve seen them,” he laughed. Despite
the contrast in lighting design between older tracks and newer material, Hyne ensured that there was a continued narrative. The LD pointed out the strobes on Na Na Na Na Naa a n d aggression of the faster numbers such as The Angry Mob and I Predict A Riot, as w ell as Oh My God as key looks. “It’s an energetic and fast-paced show,” he commented. The lighting rig was adaptable for the wide variety of spaces that the production visited throughout the tour. “Our main challenge is the transition between each room,” Hyne acknowledged. In smaller venues, video elements are removed, and the back wall was scaled down. “Every day is a challenge, but that’s why we do the job.” Moving lights came in the shape of 55 Martin by Harman MAC Quantum Washes, 10 Viper Profiles and four Viper Performances. LED lighting comprised 36 GLP impression X4 Bar 20s and 16 JDC1s, along with Astera AX3 LightDrop spotlights. A pair of HazeBase Base Hazer Pros provided atmosphere and haze, with the dynamic movement of frontman Wilson tracked by a Robert Juliat Merlin 2,5000W followspot. For control, the LD turned his hand to a MagicQ MQ500 Stadium. “I’ve got this console on demo. It’s ideal for the larger shows, but I still love the compact MagicQ boards because you can carry on as luggage and plug and play,” he gestured to his personally owned MagicQ PC Wing Compact board. “It fits in a peli case and goes on as hand luggage. When you run off to play clubs, you never know what desk you’re going to get, so it’s easier to take your own.” He praised the support of Adlib Account Handler, Jordan Willis, commenting: “I can’t fault Adlib’s gear or staff. They have got a hardworking mentality, which trickles from the top down.” I PREDICT A RIOT Video Director, Dan White joined Kaiser Chiefs team after supporting them as a guitarist in his old band, Tribes, where they hit it off instantly. Now, in addition to playing a key role in producing and directing visual content for Kaiser Chiefs, the designer (and founder of the record label, Buff Records) has swapped his six-string for a video switcher. “My old tour manager was Chris Markland,” he reminisced. “That was four years ago, and the rest, as they say, is history...” White worked closely with Ralph ‘Grainfreeze’ Fuller to devise surreal motion graphics and video content, which tied in with the album artwork. A giant on-stage billboard housed 75 Unilumin Upad III H05 5.9mm pixel pitch LED panels in Unilumin brackets, powered by a HD LED processing rack. During the opening two tracks, the video content flickered and entered with the Kaiser Chiefs’ logo from the album’s back sleeve. The old, wooden distressed sign then peeled away to reveal a live camera, sm ashing on the opening of Na Na Na Na Naa. With the band keen for the video content to have a sense of otherworldliness, the video team worked on a striking rock ’n’ roll theatremeets-abandoned-carnival concept. “When the screen blows, the audience is transcended into the live world.” The designer drew inspiration from the iconic Saul Bass title sequence for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, with scenes such as the characters falling through a wormhole and rotating heads. “The wormhole motif is revisited on a number of songs,” Grainfreeze explained. “I nitially, characters were designed to fly through the wormhole as a nondescript representation of the audience as colourful morph shape characters.” In line with Grainfreeze’s penchant for vintage overhead
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Video Content Designer, Ralph ‘Grainfreeze’ Fuller; Lighting Director, Jason Hyne; Systems Engineer, Alan Harrison; Tour Manager, Chris Markland; Camera Operator / LED Technician, Rob Bickerstaff with Camera Director / LED Technician, Mark Taylor.
projectors and ’80s analogue video, the design duo ran the bespoke video content through Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, which was th en “spat” into VDMX, and triggered by MIDI keyboards. This allowed the designers to separate assets to be set in time. During The Angry Mob, content flowed with rich shades of red, with newspaper headlines spinning, closing with Record Collection’s photo montage world of cut-outs from ’60s, as well as ’70s Top of the Pops-style tube camera filters, desert landscapes and stars. “I expand on what is already there and take it to the next level,” White said. Using simple stop frame animation techniques, pop art half tones and mod-like ’70s looks – a nod to lyrics in Everyday I Love You Less and Less – from a static billboard, the duo presented a portal into a bygone era. “There’s tonnes of depth from a conceptual point of view,” White stated. The enigmatic nature of Wilson’s stage presence provided the designers a platform to expand on. “They’re quite a lyrical band,” Grainfreeze added. “Ricky crafts surreal stories with the lyrics, which gives me the opportunity to go in multiple directions. During our first night in Hull, we filtered some of the live content through a monochrome filter and it looked amazing.” A li ve camera feed and animation was imported into a Blackmagic video switcher, enabling White to layer and cut between the two. “The most important thing is having the ability to respond to the performance – it really contributes to the energy of the show.” During the set, drummer, Vijay Mistry was urged by the frontman to play hook a duck, with each duck revealing a mystery Kaiser Chiefs deep cut for the band to treat the audience to. “The great thing about Kaiser Chiefs is their willingness to invest in their show,” White concluded. “They enjoy the theatrics and putting on the best show they possibly can.” Adlib’s Camera Operator and LED Technician, Rob Bickerstaff manned a PTZ camera system under the direction of Camera Director and LED Technician, Mark Taylor. “With only four cameras and quite energetic songs to contend with, it was imperative to keep the shots moving as quickly as possible,” Taylor commented. “Thankfully, Rob does a great job, always giving me something to cut to.” One of the challenges for this tour, Taylor explained, was finding a solution for the fourth, wireless lipstick camera during Target Market – a track which saw Wilson roam around the perimeter of Hull’s Bonus Arena, immersing himself in the gleefully recipient crowd. “We wanted something for Ricky to carry – something subtle but that still provides a good-quality shot.” The solution, largely down to Adlib Technical Manager, Nick Whitehead’s input, was a Marshall CB200 lipstick camera, which was mounted onto Wilson’s mic and run by a Wireless Broadcast system. “Our main aim is to make it look like there are more than three cameras,” Taylor explained. Of equal importance was making the screen look like an authentic billboard. “Trying to get the right rigging elements while hiding the truss was a challenge. We worked closely with Brilliant Stages and The Scenic Labs to get the rigging, including the set pieces, to look as authentic as possible.” Bickerstaff commended the Adlib warehouse team for making their lives easier, all while maintaining the high standards that clients expect. “Engineers and the warehouse both have high expectations, and they don’t get the recognition they deserve,” he commented. “It’s a service from the very start until the finished article.”
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Adlib Audio Crew Chief and Monitor Technician, Kenny Perrin with Monitor Engineer, Ilias Andriantos.
live sound for over a decade, Leckie was also familiar with supplier, Adlib, having been one of the company’s founding touring engineers back in ’84. “I t’s the longest I’ve ever been with a band,” he explained. “We don’t often talk about sound because we’ve got such a strong level of understanding, which has developed over time.” Leckie’s brief was to both replicate the sound of the records and make sure the band’s lyrics were intelligible. “If somebody has gone to the trouble of writing lyrics that mean a lot to the audience, it’s essential that I carry that message – it must be dynamic and loud, while also not sending people home with ringing ears. It’s as simple as that.” For control, the engineer debuted an Allen & Heath dLive. “I tried out this desk on the recommendation of other engineers I trust, and it’s been brilliant,” he gleamed. “Having Adlib on my doorstep meant I could go to the facility and test out the console… it does everything I want it to do and more.” As the band doesn’t really soundcheck or rehearse for very long, Leckie explained that often the live show doubled as the soundcheck, which he then fine-tuned. “I do multitrack recordings every day for virtual soundcheck, but every show is different,” he noted. “With 34 to 36 channels of live music, if Ricky’s running around, he isn’t going to be singing the same way – so there’s not a lot of room for automation.” The extensive CODA Audio setup comprised 56 AiRAYs, four HOPS8Ts, eight APS’, 16 ViRAYs, 24 SCP-Fs (12 wide, two high sub array) and a pair o f S C2-F subs. Sidefills came in the shape of six APS and four SCP-F subs. Systems Engineer, Alan Harrison, extolled the virtues of the PA system. “It’s half the weight and size of other boxes,” he said. “It’s a cabinet where they’ve made it sound as good as it possibly can be, so you don’t have to over-process the system.” The transition from venue to venue was where the CODA AiRAYs came into their own. “You are absolutely guaranteed to have the right number of speakers for the job in even the smallest of venues with the lowest weight loading in the roof, because it’s so light and versatile,” he beamed. “You’re guaranteed to have the right sound regardless of the space. It’s also great for rock music where there’s a lot of low-end content.” Harrison utilised CODA control software to tune the box, while the front-end system control was achieved by Outline Newton. “It is a ridiculously good piece of kit,” Harrison commented. “System EQ is even more
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transparent with Newton.” The engineer’s main challenge was ensuring the PA was set up and tuned in such a way that as the band got louder, it didn’t change the tonality of the speakers, as with any box. Wilson also performed in front of the PA from time to time, however, due to certain characteristics of the CODA system, Harrison believed the distortion was much lower. “Feedback is much less of an issue thanks to CODA’s special driver technology,” he explained. “It’s super clear along with the amps, so there are almost no feedback problems, even when he is stood 10ft from the PA.” Leckie recalled the last time the band were in Hull, when they played the 120-capacity New Adelphi Club as part of the venue’s 30th birthday celebrations. “It’s not generously equipped,” he reminisced. “I brought along three vocal mics and a paddle board, and the band used the support act’s drum kit, and did a stripped-back, punk rock show.” Si x years on, and the band’s latest drum kits were housed on different parts of the stage – one on a riser, the other on top of a 9ft B stage – and although they were different models, Leckie had to ensure that the sound carried like the same kit. “T his band is so successful because they always put on a good show – they don’t skimp on production,” Leckie said. “There’s a good mixture of hits and fresh material. That keeps it interesting for the band and the crew.”
NEVER MISS A BEAT A stalwart of the KC camp, Monitor Engineer, Ilias Andriantos has witnessed the progression of the band, having toured with them since 2005. “The band has evolved massively, touring on a bigger scale nowadays. It’s not just a simple rock ’n’ roll, plug ’n’ play show like the early days,” he laughed. Ad lib Audio Crew Chief and Monitor Technician, Kenny Perrin chimed in: “I’ve been involved in a number of Kaiser Chiefs tours as a technician,
but this is by far their most ambitious tour to date.” While most of the band utilised Sennheiser g3 in-ears – except for guitarist, Andrew White – the majority of stage sound came via four CODA SC2-F subs, eight Adlib MP5 wedges and a pair of MP4 subs. A mixture of Sennheiser and Shure e935 mics were used for vocals. Like FOH, an Allen & Heath dLive was the engineer’s desk of choice. “It’s a desk that a lot of touring engineers have helped design and their f e edback has shaped its creation,” Andriantos commented. “The best thing about the dLive is having the ability to get around the board – e s pecially for an old engineer from the analogue world.” Thanks to his longstanding relationship with the band, Andriantos understood their requirements perfectly. “A monitor engineer’s job is being a technician, a friend of the band and, sometimes, a psychologist,” he summed up. “It’s very important for a band to look stage left and see a familiar face there.” Wi th seven studio albums, a spate of awards and countless soldout tours, Kaiser Chiefs are showing no sign of slowing down. “They enjoy playing a sold-out O2 Arena date in London just as much as the 675-capacity Bridlington Spa,” Andriantos concluded. “They are a band who love to tour. Anywhere there’s a stage, they’ll play.” TPi Photos: Dani Beck & TPi www.kaiserchiefs.com www.adlib.co.uk www.brilliantstages.com www.csuk.coach www.flybynite.co.uk www.pyrojunkies.com www.thepantrymaid.com
