United Kingdom
2014
N/A
Creative Drapery, Manufacturing, Festoon Curtain
Concert Touring & Live Music
Kaiser Chiefs are a British indie rock band from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Formed in 2000, they quickly rose to prominence and have since achieved multiple UK Top Ten albums, with two achieving the number 1 spot. Additionally, the band has won many awards, including multiple BRIT Awards.
In support of the Kaiser Chiefs’ UK Tour, J&C Joel was commissioned to manufacture a bespoke Austrian curtain. This acted as the backdrop for the stage. Lighting Designer, Richard Larkum, chose the curtain and selected a silver Trevira CS Silk. A fabric that is known for its refined appearance in lighting performances.
At 12m wide with a drop of 7.5m, the Trevira CS Silk drape was measured and finished with 100% fullness. To ensure both durability and ease of rigging, the curtain was finished with hemmed sides and base. In total, it consisted of 12 individual panels, each fitted with D-rings to the rear of the drape.
What is an Austrian curtain? You may also know it as a Reefer or Festoon curtain. It’s a striking yet delicate type of drape. It is manufactured with vertical and horizontal fullness sewn into the horizontally pleated swags. Doing this enables the curtain to be raised evenly.
Throughout the tour, the curtain was lit in myriad colours. This allowed the backdrop to be transformed into an imposing waterfall of iridescence cascading towards the stage. It meant that the mood of the backdrop could be instantly altered with lighting. It could be powerful and striking one moment before turning it into a calm yet breath-taking sea of colour the next.
Ian Tobin, Project Manager at Prism Lighting, said:
“We were so impressed with the Austrian curtain for the Kaiser Chiefs tour that we just had to purchase a further 540m² for our hire stock.”
This isn’t the only time that J&C Joel has worked on a Kaiser Chiefs project. We also provided the drapery solution for the When All Is Quiet exhibition at York Art Gallery. The unique exhibition, which ran from December 2018 to March 2019, examined the boundaries between art and music, creation and performance. You can find out about that project and more by exploring our Project Profiles further.
If you would like to talk to the J&C Joel teams about how they can help you with your concert touring, then get in touch. We have a range of fabric and stage solutions that can help, and a wealth of knowledge with creative drapery.
Feel free to fill in our contact form or call us today: +44 1422833835.
