Bandits New grandMA On Tour With Mark Knopfler

Tutchener re-visited his theatrical roots for part of the design’s inspiration. He decided at the outset that the moving lights would only visibly move at a few specific punctuative points in the set, and that they should be used sparingly and intelligently in this context.

“Mark’s extremely specific about what he likes and dislikes“ explains Tutchener. “Any distractions to him and his music are a definite no-no!”, so that ruled out a whole raft of lighting staples including gobo projections onto the backdrop, rotating gobos, etc.

Needless to say when lights are seen to move, they have incredible impact and dramatic effect. “It’s absolutely brilliant working with Bandit again” says Tutchener, “Their total commitment to excellence and client service is once more underlined by purchasing the console I specified”.

The main lighting trusses are four 32ft long upstage/downstage ‘fingers’, constructed from pre-rigged truss, and angled gently outwards from centre stage. They are dressed with blue trevira borders to match the blue trevira backdrop – supplied by Blackout. The ‘fingers’ idea came from the sun ray graphics on the album cover, and the backdrop colour was specified by Knopfler himself.

Lights are distributed across all trusses – also including a 56 ft. rear truss – and the floor. Sixteen Martin MAC 2Ks – 8 wash and 8 spot fixtures – form a linear row across the rear of stage, just in front of the backdrop. They’re sat on top of their boxes which are dressed in black trevira. These units are used to illuminate the backdrop and for eye-catching beam effects.

The moving fixtures on the four fingers vary slightly truss-to-truss - the total count is 14 MAC 2K Spots and 8 MAC 2K Washes, and the MAC 2K count is completed with 6 Spots and 6 Washes along the back truss.

In addition to the moving lights, Bandit has also supplied over 100 PARS, ACLs and 8-lite blinders, plus Source Fours for key lighting. The truss toners are the new ChromaQ Colour Block DB4 LED blocks, and there are also two DF50 oil crackers and two G300 smoke machines.

The rigging and motor system comprises 16 points, including one of Bandit’s special customised motor control front fascias. The fascia is a copy of Tutchener’s design showing motor positions against the Knopfler album cover.

Tutchener is controlling everything from the grandMA. He first encountered the board during a German run of “Oh What A Night” three years ago, and was impressed by its ‘instant access’ and improvisational operation capabilities.

However, the console’s ability to map information between different fixtures was what tipped the scales in its favour for this tour. In the summer, Knopfler plays an extensive festival itinerary, and they’ll be taking the desk and plugging in to other lighting rigs.

By palletising all moving light parameters on the grandMA, and with the application of some neat techniques, it’s possible to programme your show using ‘Fixture X’ and then transfer that information to the next lighting system – whatever their moving lights might happen to be. This is hugely beneficial and time-efficient for festival work, and avoids the grim task of re-programming from scratch each day with a new lighting rig.

Apart from that, Tutchener was keen to try something new – as it’s the first time he’s toured with a grandMA.

Lester Cobrin, Bandit Lites’ business development manager, comments “I’ve been working with Simon for over a decade and he continues to surprise me with his knowledge, talent and skills. The production is led by David Wright who is a true gent and I can only describe the whole production as ‘pure quality’ and I’m very proud to be associated with it”.

Tutchener is working alongside his Bandit team, crew chief’d by Mike Humeniuk and technicians Mick Freer, Ewan Cameron with rigger, Johnny “Hotpants” Ashton.