Glassjaw - Live In Brixton

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GLASSJAW - LIVE IN BRIXTON

Post-hardcore luminaries of the early 2000’s, Glassjaw delighted fans last year by returning with their new album Material Control - their first in 15 years. Armed with their new record, the band joined forces with Lighting Designer, Hayden Borgars, and hit the UK. TPi’s Stew Hume reports…

It’s an exciting time to be a post-hardcore fan, with several bands ending their extended hiatuses. Whether you’re a fan of At The Drive In, Thursday or Refused, there seems to be a renewed appetite for the genre in a live setting. One of the latest to re-join the ranks is Long Island’s Glassjaw. To the surprise of fans, the band dropped their new album, Material Control, in late 2017 - their first in 15 years. As ever, with a new release the question of live dates was inevitable.

This summer the band played 2 back-to-back shows in the UK with headlining slots at ArcTanGent Festival on 17 August followed by a Brixton Academy show the following night. Lighting Designer, Hayden Borgars, was tasked with running the lighting for both performances. He only graduated Rose Bruford in 2016, but Borgars has already amassed an impressive resume of artists including The Amity Affliction, Me and That Man and The

Pineapple Thief. TPi caught up with the Borgars as he aided Post Malone’s crew, ahead of the singer’s Reading and Leeds appearances, to speak about his time with Glassjaw.

“I can’t really remember how the conversation with the Glassjaw camp started,” laughed Borgars. The LD had already worked with the band’s Tour Manager on other projects and he put his name in the running to operate the UK shows.

The LD knew he wanted to have a fixture able to produce a really tight beam which could also backlight the artists on stage. After a trip to this year’s ProLight+Sound, he found the solution. “I saw a demo of the Philips Vari-Lite VL800 BeamLine at Frankfurt and knew it was exactly what I was looking for!” enthused the LD. The VL800 is the first LED effects unit from the Philips Vari-Lite brand. Consisting of a linear strip of 12 RGBW emitters,

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GLASSJAW

Below: Lighting Designer, Hayden Borgars opted to use an Avolites Tiger Touch II for control.

the fixture is able to produce a flat sheer of lighting in a 3.5° beam. “Despite being made up of 12 cells it really looks like one source of light,” explained Borgars. In total, the LD deployed 9 of the fixtures across the front of the stage, which were supplied by Philips directly. “During the show I used the VL800’s to create several lineal shapes using the tight beams to backdrop the band.” The LD was also impressed with the fixture’s colour range. “The band specifically requested certain colours to be used throughout the set - namely blues and red along with the occasional pinks for the songs Pink Roses and Strange Hours. The VL800’s colours were far brighter than some of the other options I trialled.”

With the main workhorse in place, Glassjaw’s production put its faith in Ian Livie to provide the rest of the lighting rig for the Brixton date. In total, this consisted of 12 Elation Professional Platinum Beam 5R EXTREAMs and 12 Platinum Wash ZFX PROs. “The team from Ian Livie were really helpful,” complimented Borgars. “We were rolling into the Brixton show having played ArcTanGent the day before but when we rocked up to venue everything was in place and ready to go.”

For control, Borgars opted for an Avolites Tiger Touch II. “For virtually every show I work on, Avolites is my go-to platform,” said the LD, who owns a Titan Mobile, which he programs on at home. “I love how versatile the Avolites desks are and their customer support is unbeatable. If I ever have a question, I know the solution is just a phone call away.” Borgars explained how the Tiger Touch II was particularly useful for Glassjaw as the majority of the show was busked live. “It’s how I prefer to work rather than having a list of cue stacks,” explained Borgars. “It just means I can lock in with the

band and adapt if there is a change in timing or they throw in something different.”

Borgars recalled lighting Brixton Academy for the first time. “I’ll be the first to admit I was slightly nervous before these 2 shows,” said the designer, who said the experience was “a bit nerve-wracking”. He continued: “But as soon as the festival was over I was a bit more confident and I’m really happy with the looks I got in Brixton.” Borgars also had help from some of his seniors within the industry, who gave him advice throughout the process. “Tom Campbell (LD for Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes) and Jon Eddy (Deftones’ LD) were particularly helpful. They’ve both done Brixton many times before and had a lot of advice to give,” recalled the LD.

He concluded by telling TPi how much he enjoyed playing with the room to achieve the ultimate looks. “After the show I got compliments from the in-house photographers and production alike, commenting on the rig, especially the VL800’s. They certainly lived up to my expectations!”

Likewise, the UK fans were satisfied with their Glassjaw fix, and the band headed back stateside while Borgars went on with his busy festival season. No rest for the wicked! TPi Photos: The Fifth Estate www.glassjaw.merchdirect.com www.ianlivie.com www.haydenborgarslighting.co.uk www.vari-lite.com, www.avolites.com

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