Pete Murray is hitting the road this July and August on his Greatest Hits Tour, which will see him head back to Wollongong, Canberra and Darwin as well as shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Lighting designer Mark Hayes was asked by Pete to create a moody show with a clean stage. Pete’s songs range from soft ballads to full rock songs and he didn’t want a flashy rock show just set looks.
“I wanted to make sure all band members were evenly lit during the performance,” said Mark. “The stage was kept clean and minimal as the focus was on the backdrop … and Pete!”
Mark’s biggest challenge was finding an image to use as for the 10m wide x 5.5m high backdrop. Thanks to Sandlin Gaither Photography, the photographer for Pete’s album cover, and Shan Reed from Industry Media, who made the backdrop, they ended up with a great backdrop which Mark thinks looks fantastic.
For lighting, Mark uses the house system in each venue, adding a Hog4 console and a small floor package comprising six Sunstrips on vertical poles downstage (three on each side). These are used as a side wash to fill the stage and cover any dark spots.
“I also have six wash lights lighting the backdrop and these are hidden behind drum and keyboard risers to keep the stage clean,” added Mark. “My floor package was supplied by Phaseshift in Melbourne, Elite Event Technology supplied Canberra, and MPH Australia supplied the Sydney shows. Michel Parsons from MPH pulled a few favours and had Big Picture freight the floor package to Sydney and Show Trans return equipment to Melbourne. Creative is supplying Brisbane’s floor package along with Lux Events in Perth and AJS Sound and Lighting in Adelaide.”
The Adelaide venue does not have an in-house lighting system so AJS is supplying a full package that includes a front truss of six spot fixtures plus six wash fixtures and four molefay duets. Mid and back trusses run the same amount of fixtures plus a backdrop truss and the floor package is the same as the other shows.
Mark is using a ‘busk file’ for these shows as each venue has different fixtures in different configurations. He says he found it easier this way to create looks from the in-house fixtures. The set list is different for every show which adds to the challenge.
Mark says that the highlight of the tour so far would have to be having Charlie (Pete’s 19-year-old son) join him on stage in Wollongong and Canberra for a couple of songs.
Photos: Sabian Lynch
