When Gordo’s Facebook popped up an image of this show, it got him thinking about this iconic show he was fortunate to be a part of.
We were part-way through the Life is Fine Tour (2017) when word came that the ABC wanted to do a live broadcast from one of our Sydney Opera House forecourt shows.
As “luck” would have it, the show they wanted to film was the first of our two shows on the SOH forecourt.
Not too many things worked in my favour with this decision. The previous night we had a show in Hobart, the forecourt was an outdoor venue with dusk being during Steve Earl’s set directly preceding Paul’s set and being an outdoor stage the front wash was crazily “toppy”.
All these factors meant that the first time I would see how any of it looked on camera, it would be too late to fix any major errors. I would have no chance to see the balance between all the lighting elements until the band hit the stage, leaving a mad rush in the first few songs to set these levels as the broadcast was already taking place.
In what has become the standard fashion whenever I’m doing shows at that particular venue, the venue had informed us that they did not want to supply our lighting package. The day after our shows, Lorde was playing in the forecourt and they wanted us to use her rig.
Obviously this proposal was completely unacceptable as both artists have completely different lighting needs and objectives. I politely but firmly stood my ground and was backed by both Greg and Ozzie in this. After a bit of resistance, we were able to convey the importance of using our lighting design to our spec for these shows.
On the day of the show, we arrived on-site, CTS had bumped in the previous night. I did my best attempt at a daylight focus of the front profiles (this was prior to Mac Encores existing), quietly freaking out that an incorrect shutter placement would ruin the show and be unfix-able once the band hit the stage.
With nerves growing as the support acts hit the stage, I conducted my standard pre-show rituals backstage. In one conversation with Vika and Linda Bull, Vika said to me, “Gordo, we’re shitting ourselves.” hearing this from consummate professionals who we all are constantly in awe of, helped me come to terms with my own nerves.
After a hectic focusing session during the half-hour changeover, Paul hit the stage, strumming the opening chords to ‘Life Is Fine’ and the rest is history ……
Main Photo: Prudence Upton
www.manyhands.lighting
