Talk About Pop Music: On The Road With Neon Trees Pop Psychology Tour

Photo Credit: Marian Sandberg

Neon Trees, the pop synth band that makes no apologies for catchy tunes like “Everybody Talks” and “Animal,” has been touring the last two months in support of Pop Psychology, its third studio album. The band’s production manager, Mike Bangs, worked with the musicians on an overall concept for the look of the show, bringing on Kristie Roldan as production designer and Matthew Guminski, who has worked with the band the last two years, as lighting designer.

Roldan joined the creative team a bit later than normal in the design process, after Bangs and the band had already worked out a rough sketch of what they wanted. “The video panels were specified when I came on board, and Mike had a plan in place for content creation,” she says, adding that the look the band was going for was clearly defined. “Coming into the project fairly late, I was actually presented with a series of research images from the band and management. They gave me a number of pop art images—Lichtenstein-, Ruscha-, and Warhol-inspired images—along with some very geometric room treatments in bold colors. The band had a very good idea of the style and elements they wanted to see on the stage but weren’t sure how to make it all come together.”

Photo Credit: Emilie Campbell

Challenges of the time crunch were abundant for all departments, according to Roldan. “I had about one week to pull together an approved design and get bids for approval,” she says. “The band had bookings just prior to the beginning of the tour, and production rehearsals had to be done well in advance of the tour itself. We started out hoping everything could be custom-built for the show, but it became clear that, to meet our deadlines and keep to our budget, we would need to compromise on a few items.”

Guminski, whose background is in theatre—he has a BFA in lighting from Boston University—also toured in support of the band’s second studio album Picture Show, which was much smaller, often relying on house rigs at smaller venues. “They very much wanted to make a statement about this record and elevating themselves to the next level,” he says. “This tour is completely self-sufficient and ground-supported. Now, when we get into venues, I use front-light ellipsoidals, house spots, Molefays, and maybe some fixtures in the air, if they have them. I’m running an entirely LED rig at 50 amps, and I get the texture and color I need, and I don’t have a single profile.”

The set is based around several video screens: four 4'x8' PixelFlex 20mm FlexCurtains (three hang vertically and one sits horizontally on the center riser for a floating effect) and eight Elation Professional EVLED 1024 SMD 20mm LED panels. Video is managed by a High End Systems Axon HD Pro media server, all controlled along with the lighting from a High End Systems Road Hog Full Boar 4 with a DP8000 DMX processor. Content is mostly stock, but tweaked by Guminski for a more custom look, from the Axon media server.

Guminski’s lighting rig features the first touring use of the new High End Systems ShapeShifter, of which he has four, two that sit on road cases in between the FlexCurtains and two more stage left and right. “They cut through daylight really well,” he says. “I use the ShapeShifters primarily like a profile, and they do really cool rotational looks, but I also use them for color break-ups and like a wash. Their center module blends perfectly with the MAC 101s, and on camera, they are amazing.”  Guminski also has 16 Martin Professional MAC Auras, eight Martin Professional MAC 101s, eight Eurolight LED PMC 16x30W COB RGB fixtures, and an Ultratec Radiance hazer for atmospheric effects. “The video part of the rig goes up in less than ten minutes,” says Guminski, who is also the lighting director for the show and programmed it at Digital Sound Systems Inc, the lighting and video vendor.

Photo Credit: Marian Sandberg

“Everything the band tours with is in two trailers,” says Roldan. “This includes the backline as well as scenic, lighting, video, and audio. All of the elements needed to pack down tight, and a number of decisions were driven by the amount of space we had in the trailers.” All Access provided the staging and worked closely with Bangs to build the custom set of stairs which, Roldan says, “allows the soft video panel to mount behind it, giving visibility to the video, while remaining lightweight and small enough to fit in our trailer with the rest of the staging.” The framing/mounting for the faces was created by the touring crew. Tom Meacham at Landmark Creations created a center set piece of an inflatable brain, inspired by the album cover artwork, and Sew What? provided the custom printed platform facing for the upper catwalk area, as well as the band platforms, printed soft goods for the faces, and the custom cut and printed Marley floor.

Read and see more in the July issue of Live Design, available for free download for iPad and iPhone at the Apple App Store.