In celebration of The Mountain, the four animated cult-heroes: 2D, Noodle, Murdoc Niccals, and Russel Hobbs, go on a journey of love, loss and everything in between. Nowhere was the evidence of the devotion fans have towards the fictional band more on show than in Dublin’s 3Arena, where the final night of the UK and Ireland leg of the tour took place and where TPi met with some of the creative and technical minds behind the run.
Tour Director Neil McDonald and Production Manager Tyrone Brunton enlisted the help of Lights Control Rigging (lighting), Entec (audio), Opto (playback, network and timecode), Creative Technology (video), Dart Rigging and Projekt (rigging), TAIT (rolling stage), and Illusion Design & Construct (top set). On the creative side, SWEAR Studio worked closely with the band to deliver the creative concept, direction and show design for the tour.
“It is great to be back in the Gorillaz camp once again,” Brunton said. “It is a pleasure to be working alongside Neil, whose wealth of knowledge and experience made it much easier for me to navigate through the advance process as i was mostly on the road working with another artist during this period.”
Accompanying the Production Manager once again was Production Coordinator, Sinead Madden. Describing The Mountain Tour as “clever”, Madden said: “Everything about this camp is thought through and clever; the minute those characters come on the screen, it gets loud because people love them so much. It’s a fantastic show; it is wonderful to be involved.”
Supported by a team made up of London Mars and Gabriele Power, Tour Manager, Marcus Duffy entered the industry following in his late father’s footsteps. “I knew I liked the industry because my dad worked within it; he showed me what the live music industry was truly like,” Duffy explained.
Moving from Assistant Tour Manager to Tour Manager, Duffy has embraced the extra responsibility with The Mountain Tour seing the introduction of two additional band members as well as, in true Gorillaz fashion, an array of special guests. “That’s what Gorillaz has always been for me,” he stated, going on to show his appreciation for the team. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without the people around me – they are the most important thing.”
Darren ‘Tricky’ Edwards, Security Advisor on behalf of HSM Tour Security, told TPi that this tour, like any, has different needs and protocols: “Every venue or artist is different. Gorillaz comes with a large touring band and multiple features and special guests, so we are always prepared for that,” Tricky said. “Damon likes to be very mobile on the stage, and he also enjoys going into the crowd, so I’m on hand whenever he feels like doing that.”
Tricky also discussed the importance of the Showstop Procedure for HSM Tour Security. “Our security riders require us and the venue to have a Showstop manager onstage, so if we need to stop the show, we can straight away,” he stated, noting that he was at the first Showstop Procedure course in Southampton and has since gone on to host another course in Wales.
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Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: Luke Dyson
