Brad Alcock of BAAC Light has been on a rollercoaster of a journey that allowed the show to happen as well as the experience of watching it get shut down entirely – for now.
“The start of 2020, like for all of us in the entertainment industry saw the sudden and total destruction of our livelihood,” said Brad. “For the first time in my career, I seriously wondered what I would do next. Losing your staff and watching all your assets go into deep storage for an unknown period was a great way to trigger a mid-life crisis but at the same time makes me seriously appreciate the fortunate position that Andrei my business partner and I built our company into.”
Just one year earlier, in 2019, a dear friend who manages Guy Sebastian and Human Nature, Jen Fontaine, approached Brad to ask if he would be keen to work with Human Nature. At the time things were moving along at a pace and whilst Brad felt like it would be a great fit for all, the chance to turn my attention to them at the time felt like it was a bridge too far based on the number of shows he was already looking after. Turn the clock forward a year, and the phone call from Jen in the middle of Victoria’s long lockdown asking for a Zoom meeting with herself and the Human Nature lads to discuss several projects felt like the greatest lifeline ever.
“Anyone who works as a designer knows that the first meeting with a new artist, whether it be face to face or online can be an interesting moment – what are they like, how does the group work, will our styles fit etc,” related Brad. “However, our first meeting on Zoom included comparing lockdown strategies and the hilarious experience of having work meetings wearing dress-shirts but maybe PJ bottoms and slippers off-screen – so I felt right at home. The key to the lads was for us to design a theatrical show. A show that would be flexible enough to work at the scale for both the regional and city venues and suit both audiences.”
Over the next few weeks in lockdown, Brad had plenty of time to complete the lighting, visual and staging design. What is less obvious is that they designed the show backwards – based on the core criteria that all the elements had to fit on a single 3-tonne truck.
“So starting with that criteria, I needed to ask myself how will those elements be used on stage, what projectors and surfaces will I use, how many lighting elements and what in-venue equipment would I need, how much space does Dave Rudder the Audio Director need, how much space is needed for merch and costumes, how long would it take our team of two to set up the show and in all this, what are the creative needs of the show?” explained Brad. “It took a long time to be able to consider all these critical elements. The incredible Natasha Jackson “Tash” was engaged to turn my scenic design into the beautiful storytelling moments that are visually in the show and Wayne Harrison is the creative director. In the space of just a month, with many Zoom calls, we created this show. The pictures you see in this article are actually from the regional shows but as yet the full design has not been delivered – as we haven’t been able to roll it out to the major cities.”
BAAC Light provided all the scenic elements for the show including a grand piano shell that houses all the shows media servers, show computers and props as well as being played now and then also! BAAC Light also provided all the lighting equipment, projectors, control and of course Brad acting as truck driver and LD each day.
“Our first show for this tour was at the Concourse Theatre in Chatswood, Sydney,” added Brad. “During this brief period back in March, everything felt like it was returning to normal. Big mistake – if only we knew. At the time BAAC Light had several shows happening in Sydney including the APRA awards and Human Nature at the ICC for the Premier’s Gala. Finding experienced crew was our biggest battle at the time, a small indication of how much damage has been done to the industry and what may be one of our biggest challenges when the pandemic finally ends.”
Working in the middle of a pandemic brings a whole other level of stress to touring. They were halfway through a matinee performance in Orange when the restrictions came into force in NSW and suddenly the evening show was cancelled. A stressful five days of uncertainty followed about whether they could get into SA. The Victorian shows have been scheduled and cancelled twice now because of the COVID outbreaks and related devasting shutdowns.
“For everyone involved in our industry there is a breaking point and it is scary to wonder how close we are,” remarked Brad. “In amidst all this, one of the biggest gifts is that the show has allowed me to travel some 15000 km around Australia – not in the air but on the ground. Being able to travel around our great country with the Human Nature crew and connect again with all the incredible people in regional venues with whom I have made great friendships over the last 10 years is and will always be, what brings me back. These regional crews are incredible, on some days they teach me and on others, I teach them – and most importantly give some of the best laughs around. I could write an entire article about what these people do and just how critical they are to any tour.”
AUDIO
Audio director David Rudder got the tour started but then handed the show over to Cam Elias. It’s the first time Cam has mixed FOH for the band but he has worked with them on different shows over the years when David was mixing them. Kez Kesby filled in for Cam on a handful of shows.
Cam reports that the band like a big full sound with their vocal blend strong in the mix. This particular show has showcased their entire career across the multiple genres they have adopted so he has tried to represent those various genres with respect to the original artists as well as adding the distinct sound that Human Nature has, while also retaining the consistency throughout their own original and latest music that the audience loves to hear.
This tour was in mostly regional theatres where they utilized in house Pas with Cam saying he had everything from d&B, Meyer, JBL, L-Acoustics to Bose and some more preferable than others!
“Apart from managing the Covid shenanigans, trying to get the desired result from some of the more compromising PAs was the biggest challenge on this tour,” Cam commented.
It was necessary to keep the FOH mix area as compact as possible but without over compromising.
“We had a DiGiCo SD9 doing FOH and monitors from FOH mix position,” added Cam. “It allows enough surface control and brings a good quality signal path and nice reverbs without needing anything external. For me, getting familiar with the many nuances of the vocal arrangements was key.”
The vocal mics are Telefunken and Heil capsules on URD transmitters. Guitars are direct out from a Kemper and Acoustic preamp whilst keyboards are into Radial DIs.
“We are touring an IEM package and the guys use a mono IEM each with one earpiece,” said Cam. “They also have a stereo sidefill supplied by the venues. The MD is on a stereo IEM mix.”
Cam says that overall the shows have been a great success adding that the audiences have been very receptive and grateful that they have all put in such an effort to get these shows to them in these times.
“Everyone involved has been a pleasure to work with and had an admirably positive attitude throughout and I hope it continues,” he said.
The latest COVID outbreaks have meant that, for now, the Human Nature show is on hold. But our industry knows how to get the shows back on the road. So the guys do not doubt that their time will come and they hope as many people as possible can join them on the journey.
