Posted on September 12, 2024
CHICAGO – A metal design should at turns be bright and bold, yet subtle and nuanced, pushing and pulling the audience’s emotions to new places, while supporting the music of the artists on stage. Rob Koenig and his team, are doing all this and more for Metallica on the second North American leg of the band’s M72 World Tour.
This is beautifully evident right from the start of the tour’s show, which bursts out of the gate with big, vibrant looks. Vivid flashes of deep, colorful light, intense strobing, pyro effects and edgy light angles are captivating audiences, while reflecting the mood of the music – and transforming the aura of entire stadiums in the process.
Elevating the show on this tour to a new, and even higher level of engagement is an innovative production design by Dan Braun that’s supported by an equally original lighting design by Koenig that features 144 CHAUVET Professional Color STRIKE M motorized strobe washes supplied by Premier Global Production.
The design’s 360-degree stage brings the band closer to the crowd and affords clear views from anywhere in the big stadium. Those views are also bold, as Koenig pours volumes of bright light on the stage, impressively without having any truss mounted fixtures, except for a small number around the drum riser.
“This kind of stage was all part of Dan Braun’s vision for the tour from the start,” said Koenig. “Dan has embarked us into a territory where we don’t utilize traditional truss — coming up with more unique ways to hang a show other than sticks of truss/lights attached. Dan has pushed for that ‘clean’ stage look for quite a few years now. We’re fortunate enough to have those kinds of freedoms.”
The openness of the stage is not impeded by video screens. In place of walls, the design features eight very large video panels on high towers positioned at different points on the stadium floor. This arrangement not only presents the audience with a clearer view of the stage, it also adds a new visual dimension to the design.
“I love the way the video is more of a set piece on this tour, more akin to a character in the show, rather than just another video surface,” said Koenig. “While it’s a massive video display, the positioning truly gives us enough negative space to punch through with light, and augment together rather than fighting to get over the top of massive, emissive surface.”
Having the videos positioned high above the floor, offered another benefit, according to Koenig “For a load of people in the high seats they are in the sight line of the stage,” he remarked.
The video towers also create ideal hang points for the Color STRIKE M fixtures, which are “married” to profiles on the structures. From this position, they serve as strobes and color washes, to cover the tour’s big venues with light.
Koenig put together this powerful and versatile rig working with Premier Global Productions account rep James Vollhoffer, project manager Anthony Kordyjaka, and crew chief Mat Gass.
“The fixture choices were a decently long process,” said Koenig. “Coming out of the pandemic, most companies were focusing on new fixtures that would sell. Solid fixtures with robust features. We focused on what was being offered, as we also need to concentrate on IP rated fixtures as much as possible, as we’d be traveling with no roof.”
Of course, Koenig was also intent on using fixtures in ways that were intense, nuanced and constantly flowing and changing in sync with the performance on stage. That, as he will tell you, is essential to any metal tour design.