In the words of one critic, The Backseat Lovers latest Capital Records album Waiting To Spill, “doesn’t sound like something a bunch of teenagers dreamt up.” Instead, it was, as he wrote, “a remarkable artistic effort.”
Comments like these are repeated time and time again about the music of this young, Utah-based indie-alternative band. Resonating with musical influences from the past, and animating them with a dynamic rock undertone, the quartet’s sound has a depth and complexity that goes beyond what one would expect to find in a group of musicians only a few years out of high school.
The band’s evocative sound captivated the sold out crowd at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town recently on the last show of their successful European tour. Providing a warm and lively visual background that wrapped itself seamlessly around the music was a Gerry Dintelman lightshow that featured CHAUVET Professional Rogue R2X Wash fixtures supplied by Martin’s Light Ltd.
Punting the entire 90 minute 16-song show, Dintelman conjured up a continuous stream of multi-layered looks that added depth to the stage while also reflecting the mood of each song in a distinctive way. At no time was this more evident than at the close, of the show, when Dintelman, saving some of his biggest looks for last, transformed the entire room with big, bold, and incredibly smooth sweeps from his Rogue fixtures, punctuated by intense bursts of blinding light.
“The band always likes to end their show with the song ‘Sinking Ship,'” said Dintelman. “This is a high energy song, so I always keep my biggest looks of the night in reserve for it. I put movers out in the crowd, blinders stabbing the accents, and always have that big mirror ball moment. With that song I really try to leave a huge impact on the crowd’s collective mind, so they can go home with this strong impression. It’s those kinds of moments I have always remembered most as a fan, from my favorite concerts.”
To reflect mood of his client’s music, Dintelman kept his color palette warm throughout the show, relying on ambers, CTO and whites. I’ve always felt the warmer monochromatic looks have fit the best with the band’s deep lyrics, and the rock ‘n roll edge,” he said. “The guys also love any venue we go into that has conventional par cans, so I try to keep the 70’s rock show influence as much as possible.”
Dintelman had two Rogue R2X Wash fixtures off stage right and two off stage left, using them for side lighting and key lighting. He also positioned five of the workhorse RGBW pixel mappable fixtures across the upstage deck, and used them for back lighting, silhouetting and effects.
“We had to travel with a small footprint on this European run, but I didn’t want to give up anything in terms of my ability to design,” he said. “The wide zoom range and unbelievably high output of the Rogues made it easy to fill up any stage and create some bold looks.”
Among Dintelman’s favorite looks were those he created when punting to keep up with new songs that the band decided to add to their set at the last moment. “I really enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with these guys,” he said. “They take off in a direction and just go for it!”
In terms of their young career, that “direction” has been straight up.
Photo: © Nick Allan