Corey Easterbrook Powers Multi-Layer Looks on Taking Back Sunday's Fall Tour with ChamSys

	Photo: Salma Bustos

What you see depends on where you stand: Corey Easterbrook has subscribed to this theory when lighting Taking Back Sunday's 16-city fall tour of North America, which kicked off in Nashville on September 16. Busking over the top of a "skeleton show" on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 console, Easterbrook is conjuring up looks for essentially two different groups of fans.

"Technically there are two shows happening at the same time," he says. "The pit and GA crowd are seeing one, and fans in the mezzanine and above are getting the treat of seeing another. I'm really happy about that! As they say, 'from mosh pits to mezzanines!' If you are sitting up top on this tour, you're getting your own show, so to speak."

Regardless of where fans find themselves, they are going to experience a lighting design that creates a rock-solid connection between them and the raw, powerful music on stage, thanks to Easterbrook's bold approach to working light angles with his JRLX- and Upstaging-supplied rig.

"I played a lot with just the stage decking design, and it really started to come together when I landed on a 45-degree angle for the decking," Easterbrook says. "Upstaging was then able to source me the acrylic grid decking. Then, with the addition of some linear fixtures, it all fell into place."

At times, Easterbrook transforms the deck, covering it with intense amber light, often layering his washes to create added depth. Then, just as readily, he crosses different levels of light angles in the air, treating the audience to different looks, depending on where they're sitting.

There is no video in this show, just the lettering of the band's name. Easterbook is fine with that. "How do I feel about not having video on this show? In a word, it's freedom," he says. "For video to really shine, you have to be incredibly flexible, and there's a lot of give and take. In its absence, I have more control. And I like that."

Filling in for his friend Eric Price (on the road with Mastodon), Easterbrook credits his light tech James McMahahon with making the show click night after night. "I couldn't have done this without him," he says. "James is making this tour a breeze."

Features in his ChamSys console are also helping the tour run smoothly. Notable among them is the Group Cues feature. "The speed of getting the show up with group cues has been incredible!" Easterbrook says.

The ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium's Fader and Executer features comes in for praise. "I really love the Executer real estate with the new chunks and grid options," said Easterbrook. "I'm getting better at the transition to it every tour, and the power of it is exceptional. When we talk Faders and Executers....Let's just say I'm over 40, so mashing on tactile surfaces is my jam! Building and adding to the show with chunks and grids is just a dream.