Technical supplier and coordinator Liteup Events recently supported Mercury Prize-
winning music stars, alt-J, at their first arena show of 2017 at London’s The O2 Arena,
as part of the venue’s 10th-year celebrations as one of the world’s leading live music
and event destinations. The arena show comes at the beginning of alt-J’s current
worldwide tour, which also saw them headline The Other Stage at Glastonbury this
year.

Liteup began working with Knight of Illumination Award-nominated lighting and show
design duo Jeremy Lechterman and Jackson Gallagher of FragmentNine on alt-J’s last
album cycle. Working alongside production manager Bennie Brongers and tour
manager Maarten Cobbaut, Liteup is supplying all things visual, except for lasers, on
their current EU tour. The company is also supplying the lighting and video control
package worldwide.

For the festival shows, Liteup is supplying 84 x GLP X4 Bar 20, 18 x Claypaky
Mythos2, 3 x Robe BMFL Wash Beam and 22 x SGM P5 LED washlight. Demonstrating
their problem-solving approach, Liteup collaborated with WonderWorks, Brilliant
Stages and FragmentNine to devise a custom dolly solution to get nearly 250 fixtures
and a 60′ wrap around video screen on stage in 10 minutes.

“The detail of a show’s production is integral to making the tour work smoothly and
successfully, so going above and beyond makes a big difference,” says Marc
Callaghan, co-founder of the company alongside partner Kris Box. “For example, when
alt-J played at Rock Werchter Festival, trying to get the production floor package in,
with The Foo Fighters headlining after, needed a lot of thinking about. Hence, we
helped to design the dollies and worked with everyone the whole way through from
beginning to end, rather than just being an equipment rental company.”

Video-wise, the floor package is rounded out by 42 x ROE Vanish 25 and 150 x Martin
VDO Sceptron 10mm pixel pitch LED screen modules. “The Mythos2 units provided the
core element of the show, along with the GLP X4 Bar 20 LED battens,” says Callaghan.
“For the floor package the X4 20 bars and Mythos2 are mounted behind the ROE
Vanish 25mm LED screen, so required custom fixings to get the profile low enough to
mount them.”

Callaghan continues: “For The O2 Arena show, we expanded the rig and brought in a
semi-automated lighting and video system. Liteup supplied the seven Kinesys towers
and one Kinesys triangle suspended on 17 Kinesys motors, all controlled by lighting
technician and Kinesys operator Russell Cobden.” Included in the arena show’s
lighting package were an additional 84 x GLP X4 Bar 20, 31 x Claypaky Mythos2, 30 x
Ayrton MagicBlade, 6 x Robe BMFL Wash Beam and 24 x SGM P5 LED washlight.

The show is controlled via two GrandMA Lite consoles, with DMX distribution over a
Luminex fibre optic system via Art-Net and five GrandMA NPUs. The content is
handled by two d3 Technologies 2x4pro media servers, operated by Dan Bond, all
supplied by Liteup.

About equipment choice, Callaghan says: “We want to invest in equipment that is
reliable and effective to give the most to our clients. We work closely with the
manufacturers to build good relationships, and to ensure our staff are fully trained in
maintaining and operating the equipment, so we can be sure that every show gets
equipment in its optimum working condition. All the equipment manufacturers have
been outstanding throughout.”

Liteup is based in Portsmouth and specialises in live music and event production. Over
the years it has worked with clients such as Electric Fly Productions, Nickelodeon,
NBC, Reef, The Levellers, FragmentNine and MTV.

“For alt-J we are an active part of the touring crew as well as the production hire
specialist,” says Callaghan. “Because of this, there is an extra level of care and
connection to the shows we work on.”

alt-J’s latest tour follows the release earlier this year of their third studio album
release, RELAXER, with The O2 arena show marking their first indoor gig of the
season. The band have headlined festivals across the globe and sold out London’s The
O2 as well as New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden on their last tour.