Metric with July Talk – Art of Doubt tour

When two of Canada’s most popular indie alt-rock bands, Metric and July Talk, teamed up for a tour in North America in 2019, fans and music aficionados took notice, as both bands share well-deserved reputations for their high-energy live shows. The three-time Juno Award winning Metric, with special guest and two-time Juno Award winning July Talk, had just completed a Winter US tour leg with Grammy winning Mexican alt-rockers Zoé, before crossing the border and co-headlining the Canadian leg of their tour with July Talk.

The team from Solotech worked closely with both creative teams to meet each of the acts’ tour requirements and solve various production challenges. Meagan Metcalf handled production and lighting design for Metric while Susanne Sasic was the Scenic Designer for July Talk. Louise Simpson is behind the lighting desk and the design of July Talk’s lighting, while the band’s video content was a collaborative effort by Video Director Tyler Sammy, Peter Dreimanis, Jared Raab and Calm Elliott-Armstrong. Overseeing the production elements were Production Managers Matthew Fish for Metric; and Doug Wilson, for July Talk.

Solotech, in addition to supplying the lighting, video, and rigging equipment for the tour, which included Robe MegaPointe automated luminaires, GLP X4 Bar 20, and GLP JDC-1 strobes, also custom designed and fabricated a collapsible up-stage LED wall featuring Martin Sceptron fixtures and JDC-1 strobes. The Sceptron wall was an innovative design of Metcalf’s, who turned to Solotech to assist with a rigging system that allowed the wall to be modular and scalable, as it needed to be used in many different venue sizes during the tour. The wall also had to be as light and compact as possible to meet air cargo requirements.

The Solotech team that went out in support of the Metric and July Talk tour included Head Electrician Yolanda Do and Lighting Technician Alfred Ho. Technical Specialist Martin Kyncl handled the custom design and fabrication, while Rob Kennedy liaised with both bands as Account Executive.