PHOTO : MIKE HOMER
The Tragically Hip ’ s Man Machine Poem Tour
BC : Well , I went to theatre school in the early ‘ 80s , so that ’ s where my training is , so it was very interesting to dip my toe back in the water last year and design a theatre tour . The hardest part about doing the theatre tour was the hierarchy . I ’ m not used to the design team being the end answer , because when you ’ re doing a live concert , it ’ s the band that you have to answer to , so it just took a while to get used to that .
The thing about a live concert that still gets me to this day is when the house goes black and the crowd erupts . That sends a shiver up my spine every time that happens . I still get butterflies every night and I look forward to that first cue all the time . It ’ s the adrenaline rush I love and the crowd response that is immediate when you throw up a great cue that ’ s perfectly in time with what the band ’ s doing .
PL & P : You were a go-to collaborator for The Tragically Hip for many years and did the design for their final tour – the Man Machine Poem run – that was immortalized in the CBC ’ s A National Celebration production . How did it feel to be able to help cap such a storied career , and what does that tour mean to you looking back now ?
BC : First off , to have been able to collaborate with Gord [ Downie ] and the Hip has been one of the best things to happen in my professional career . I love all those guys like brothers and can ’ t say enough good things about them . They are some of the best bosses ever . Gord was my friend above all . Miss him every day .
Designing the Man Machine Poem tour was pretty hectic . After meeting with the management team , I had come up with a design that was based on a normal arena sell for a tour . Then , at the 11 th hour , it was decided to sell 360 , so that design was scrapped . So over the course of the weekend , I had to redesign the tour and at the same time the Stereophonics were in the midst of a stadium show in Cardiff , so it was a little busy [ laughs ]. I was very lucky to have help from Tyler Pigeon . He came out and directed the tour for me because I was busy with the Stereophonics in Japan and Asia .
It was a great collaboration between Gord and Nick [ de Pencier ] and Jen [ Baichwal ] at Mercury Films . The idea all along was to create different looks for every album and to represent the band from their beginnings in the clubs to the rise of the great arena band that they ’ ve become .
In the end , I think it was an amazing tour and has a special place in my heart . A National Celebration ended up winning a bunch of [ Canadian Screen Awards ], which I am very proud of . All departments got recognized , which was awesome . It was a once-in-a-lifetime event . I don ’ t think it will ever be re-created and I just feel so honoured to be a small part of it .
PL & P : You also collaborated with Gord on his Secret Path shows . I ’ d love to hear a bit about your creative approach for that , considering the album ’ s vivid narrative and its accompanying graphic novel and film . To what degree did the fact that there was an extensive visual component associated with those songs inform your design ?
BC : The Secret Path shows came right on the heels of the Man Machine Poem tour . I think it was maybe three weeks after the Hip tour was done that Gord and I were talking about doing the Secret Path shows .
The direction from Gord was always that the film would be the centrepiece and that the band was more like a band from a silent movie in the ‘ 20s that just plays the soundtrack . The film is very stark , very blue , very cold looking , so I tried to re-create that on stage . It was all about the film , so there was no haze , there were no followspots , very minimalistic lighting – side light and floor light so that nothing can interfere with the film .
My goal in the shows was to try and make the audience feel that they were on the railway tracks with Chanie [ Wenjack ] and the band . The stage did not look like an inviting place to be ; I tried to make it cold and stark .
Those shows were so hard emotionally to do . It was really like nothing I ’ ve ever done before . You could feel the emotion in the room every night . Again , I was just so honoured and felt privileged to be involved . 2016 was a very interesting year for working , that ’ s for sure , and one that I will never forget .
PL & P : You ’ re amidst a pretty lengthy run right now with Stereophonics , who you ’ ve been collaborating with for well over a decade . How did that creative relationship first come to be ?
BC : Well their management is Nettwerk Management out of Vancouver and their manager is an old friend of mine . He was tour managing Avril Lavigne in 2003 and I was working for the support act in Europe , who was Our Lady Peace . He really liked how I lit OLP and a few years later , Stereophonics were looking for an LD and he called me up and offered me the job . That was 2005 and I ’ m still kicking around .
32 | Summer 2018