ing north for another three in Saskatoon on June 27 th .
For the initial round of eight performances in Edmonton , 180 vehicles spaced several feet apart filled the parking lot for each show . By tuning into 89.5 FM , fans heard the live feed from FOH through their car stereos and were invited to honk and wave – even hang out of windows and sunroofs – while staying in their vehicles through the hour-long performance .
Onstage , meanwhile , Kissel had full reign over a Stageline SL260 with a big
PHOTO : BEN DARTNELL , @ ITSDARTY extension – an 8 x 16-ft . runway down to a 6 x 24-ft . T-thrust – while his band was anchored to the stage with each member surrounded by Plexiglas partitions . While that part may have been strange for the performers , it wasn ’ t the most unusual aspect for the wider crew .
“ The biggest difference for us on the technical side is that there was no PA ,” begins Moore . “ Of course , me being an opportunist , I decided to hang lights where the PA would normally go [ laughs ] so the stage just looked incredibly massive , which I think played a big part in the excitement and experience . We knew from the start that , since you ’ re relying on sound from people ’ s car stereos , this had to be a very visual show . I mean , obviously the music and sound are important , but the big energy would come from the visual aspects .”
In addition to his work with Kissel and other clients , Moore maintains a close working relationship with Hamilton , ON ’ s
Soundbox Productions . As Kissel ’ s longtime provider , Soundbox was approached about supplying production for the drive-in shows ; however , that meant sending gear halfway across the country for a series of fundraisers with a very tight budget and an array of variables and unknowns .
“ Soundbox agreed to send one truck , and however much gear we could fit into that one truck , we were gonna make it happen ,” Moore says with a chuckle .
To supplement the audio , lighting , and onstage video wall provided by Soundbox ,
the team connected with River Cree ’ s go-to AV provider , Production World , to supply a camera package and a massive LED screen to the right of the stage for IMAG . That screen , sub-rented from Edmonton ’ s M31 Productions , is dubbed “ Titan ,” spanning 39 ft . across and 22 ft . high . For the Saskatchewan dates , Saskatoon ’ s IKS Media & Technology took over that role , opting for a pair of IMAG screens flanking the stage . In both cases , Moore says “ it was great having partners that skilled to fill those gaps .”
As far as what was packed into the Soundbox truck , Moore ’ s main fixture for the drive-in design was Robe ’ s MegaPointe hybrid moving head , with 30 loaded above the band and an additional 16 flown on each side of the stage in lieu of the line arrays .
“ I ’ ve been playing around with hybrid fixtures for some time ,” Moore begins about his choice . “ The MegaPointe is a more profile-based fixture ; it looks like a profile and interacts like a profile and feels like something I ’ m used to . It was really cool building around that because it ’ s a smaller fixture and still really powerful with decent beam looks , but I can also throw a gobo in it and use it for a big profile show .”
Moore explains that Kissel often references pop and EDM artists like deadmau5 and The Chainsmokers when describing his ideal production design – big beams and big colours – “ but then on the slower ballad tunes , I want to open up those fixtures and create a really cool vibe onstage ,” Moore tacks on , “ so having that versatility in the MegaPointes was really cool .”
Continuing on with the hybrids , there were 20 Martin MAC Axioms as part of the floor package – eight behind the band and risers to create depth and connect the floor and flown rigs and the other 12 on the ground lining the runway down to the thrust , “ So when Brett walks down that runway , the big look was tight , solid beams framing it .” Those also made for some exciting IMAG shots from the jib camera , weaving in and out of the beams while Kissel was in motion . Another key component of the rig was GLP ’ s JDC1 hybrid strobes . “ That was my first time really digging into them as a fixture and understanding how they could he used effectively ,” Moore says about the Edmonton shows . “ My comfort zone is a great profile moving light and a great wash moving light above the band ; here , instead of a wash , I used the JDC1s as a base light for onstage wash , and then we could also use the pixel effects in it as well as the strobe effect . As soon as I started programming that and got to actually running the strobe , it was like , ‘ Okay , I get it .’ A lot of people look at it as a fixture that does one thing , but I think of it as a strobe light , a wash light , and an eye candy piece as well .”
Of the 36 JDC1s deployed , 16 were actually loaded into the thrust , up-lighting the performer through the grated floor . “ Brett is really animated , and there ’ s a lot of energy he throws out during these shows . I knew he was going to spend a lot of time down on the thrust , because he feeds off of that energy . If he ’ s down there and that blinding
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