Vasco Rossi Live Kom returns with Robe
- Details
Leading the creative production team was lighting designer Giovanni Pinna, who has worked with the artist for many years as part of a team ensuring that the live shows are constantly exciting, interesting and innovative and meet the massive public expectations each year.
A master of making impressions - Giovanni chose to use over 340 Robe moving lights - 152 x MegaPointes, 122 x Spiiders and 72 x LEDBeam 150s - to assist in the visual impact.
Video screens / content director and disguise server operator Marco Piva and disguise tech whizz Nicolas Di Fonzo worked directly for Giovanni who also collaborated closely with live camera director Peppe Romano from Except to create the wow factors and aesthetic highs.
The initial visual inspiration for this years’ tour design was the 2018 tour - as the artist wanted some continuity in that raw, industrial look with towers and large video surfaces. “We simply wanted more and more out of everything that was visual,” stated Giovanni.
To some extent, the design was tailored to the San Siro venue as it hosted the most multiple shows. The large central LED screen was flanked by four massive surfaces - two a side - creating a 97m-wide stage - effectively 40m wider than the 2018 tour.
The roof lighting was completely new, with an 18 x 8m grid providing the main over-stage lighting positions - upstage of the four moving LED header pieces - with a 24m front truss, plus lighting ‘top pods’ stage left and right tucked in between the side screens.
With this much LED in the environment, Giovanni needed super-bright lightsources and that’s why he chose the Robe fixtures.
MegaPointes he had used for the first time on the 2018 tour and was “highly impressed” with their power and functionality compared to the compact size.
Robe Spiiders had been a core fixture of the Modena show, and Giovanni has been using them on various design projects ever since.
The little LEDBeam 150s once again proved themselves to be agile and flexible, carefully deployed across the riser positions on the decks and along the front lip of the stage in the footlights position. They didn’t intrude at all due to their small size and they had max effect in highlighting band members from the low angles.
The MegaPointes and Spiiders were scattered all over the rig – on the main grid, in the side pods and along the impressive back wall, which featured scenic mesh banners and had the whole surface area outlined in square and rectangular shapes utilising LED strips, a look revealed during some of the more architectural moments.
Twenty four of the MegaPointes and 12 of the Spiiders were working in conjunction with a BlackTrax remote follow system, highlighting the guitarists and bass player.
“Using all these Robe fixtures helped achieve the powerful, clear, coherent feel I wanted to set the scene at the top of the show. When I ventured into a few colours during a couple of the slower numbers, even contending with daylight their visibility was amazing.”
In addition to this high concentration of Robe fixtures on the rig, Giovanni had around 350 other lights, all supplied by rental company BOTW. Lighting crew chief was Fabrizio Moggio, with whom he’s worked on previous Vasco shows and a diversity of other projects.
ER Productions supplied lasers to Giovanni’s spec, including LazerBlades and BB3s, all controlled by Giovanni’s grandMA2 full size console, plus five 15W units run separately by Harry Boyde using one of ER’s Pangolin Beyond systems.
This year they canned the confetti, CO2 blasts and flame jets and instead opted for two breath-takingly effective pyro moments.
Vasco’s core creative team also included FOH sound engineer Andrea Coresellini, who together with Giovanni and Marco Piva has worked with the artist for over 10 years.
(Jim Evans)
