Stage Right: Production Designer Marc Brickman On David Gilmour’s High-tech Gig At Intuit Dome

It’s been eight years since fans got to see the atmospheric rock from David Gilmour live, and the lead guitarist of legendary English band Pink Floyd isn’t going through the motions for his first proper trek since 2016’s “Rattle That Lock Tour.”

Gilmour launched the tour to promote his latest album, Luck and Strange, in Rome on Sept. 27 and will start the U.S. leg of his run Oct. 25 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. He set out to create a memorable experience that felt familiar but fresh with a state-of-the-art production, which is why the musician opted to bring his classic rock to the shiny new $2 billion home of the Los Angeles Clippers. The high-tech production at the NBA venue is only there for one show, followed by three nights at the Hollywood Bowl, LA’s iconic outdoor amphitheater, Oct. 29-31, and five shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Nov. 4-6 and 9-10.

Intuit Dome’s unique features sparked the creative mind of renowned lighting designer Marc Brickman, who visited the venue as it entered its final phase of construction in January.

“I realized it was a basketball court and you immediately felt how intimate it was,” said Brickman, who has worked with Gilmour and Pink Floyd for about four decades. “It felt like a Roman amphitheater, where it was really close. I got on the phone and told everybody how great it was and that we had to play there.”

Brickman revisited the arena in August as it was loading in for the grand opening with Bruno Mars, and he was mesmerized by the possibilities of the various screens, including the one located outside the venue.

“I could hook up to the screen outdoors for the public because I’m drawing live in the moment, and we could come up with something with a video feed for the people who haven’t bought the tickets and are outside hanging out,” he said. “The outside screen turned me on to do some things pre-show there.”

Inside the arena, the Halo center-hung board, the largest double-sided video board to date in sports, boasts 4K resolution across 38,000 square feet. It serves as another tool for Brickman to project his wizardry. He thought about integrating another feed into the large screen inside to complement the experience, but not distract from Gilmour’s action on stage. The production designer hopes to use various images and videos that harken back to Pink Floyd (but without the floating pig) while also highlighting Gilmour’s solo career, which spans more than 40 years and includes five albums.

“It’s a small version of SoFi (Stadium), bordering on another version of the Sphere,” Brickman said of Intuit Dome’s video technology. “But it’s a cooler version because you’re not so captive in it. For David’s show, it would be hard to do a lot up (on the center-hung).”

Gilmour’s show will use PixMob’s LED lights on the seats and lasers to transport the audience to the level of performance they expect to see from one of the most celebrated psychedelic rock bands of all time.

Brickman continues to be in awe of Gilmour’s presence on stage and wants to highlight the high-tech setting as much as possible. His team had no comment on the cost of the production but promised it would be different from the other venues they’ve worked with.

“There are no tracks, no backing vocal tracks, no click tracks,” he said. “It’s all real; in the moment, and that’s why I wanted to do it because in this technology-rich age we live in it’s rare to see anybody who goes on stage without the click tracks and backing vocals. The basis of this show is not only the incredible album that he and his wife Polly put together.”

“The music is stunning, and the lyrics are great, but I was also able to take a different view toward the visual,” Brickman added. “It still encompasses all the excitement that the audience wants because I always design for the audience, not for myself. You’re still getting that Pink Floyd aesthetic, but it’s way different than anything else out there right now.”

Brickman, who runs the art and design company Tactical Manoeuvre and re-lit the Empire State Building 12 years ago, has worked about every venue out there, but after visiting Intuit Dome, he wished he could spend more time there, especially the premium spaces.

“I wish we were playing there more than one night, but we can still do some great stuff,” Brickman said. “What I really want to do there is mix from one of the cabanas (courtside luxury seats), because when they told me what the cabanas were, I was like, now I gotta have one of those.”