These were the first major music events in Bristol's Harbourside for 10 years: open air concerts featuring Paolo Nutini on 25 June, with The Pogues 26 June and the promoters have since announced their intention to establish an annual Bristol Summer Series event.
The stage was framed by a tall ship, the Kaskelot, where Paolo Nutini played a combination of his hits with tunes from his latest album Caustic Love to a sell-out crowd of 5000, while The Pogues were also a huge hit, attracting 3500 people who danced the night away to Irish punk-folk classics.
Utopium's Colin Bodenham and John Newman combined their skills to design and deliver the stage lighting design along with architectural lighting using the canvas of the amphitheatre building and Tall Ships in the harbour.
Colin stated, "It was great to be lighting a gig of this size back in the Amphitheatre, with the opportunity to a unified ambience between the stage, the Lloyds Building and the Harbourside with co-ordinated lighting.
"The incoming LD's (Paolo Nutini - Jason Hyne, The Pogues - Ian Turner) were both a dream to work with. They co-operated with us from the design stage right though to delivering very individual shows."
Utopium supplied the lighting equipment drawn from the company's inventory, including the recently acquired SGM X-5 LED strobes, Chauvet Legend 230 SR beam and Chauvet Q-Wash Quad coloured LED 419-z fittings, offering increased creativity with reduced weight loading and power consumption. The stage rig also comprised Martin MAC 700's, Molefays, Fresnels and Showtec fixtures. They also supplied four roof trusses and side trusses to create a lighting rig that suited the arched stage for both nights.
Behind the audience, the Lloyds Amphitheatre pillars were lit using 24 x Chauvet Colorado 1 Quad LED IP rated fixtures and the centre was lit using two Colorkenetics ColorReach LED Floods. The masts of the Kaskelot were lit using a Colorkenetics ColorReach LED Flood at the base of each mast and the cranes on the other side of the harbour were also lit using a Colorkenetics ColorReach LED Flood for each crane.
Conal Dodds, music promoter for Metropolis Music, commented, "I've worked with Colin and Utopium for over 20 years and they've always been great to deal with and very professional. From a promoters point of view the company make it very easy as they can come in and create the look we want, which is exactly what you need from a supplier."
Utopium Rigging supplied the riggers to ensure all installations at height were carried out professionally, also supplying a range of hoists.
(Jim Evans)
