LOS ANGELES — Garbage has never been a band to play it safe, whether it involves their music, or live concerts. Prowling the stage from end-to- end, the iconic rockers fearlessly turn on a dime, going from optimism to vulnerability, theatrical to dark- down grunge. The jumps, both musically and emotionally, are breathtaking.

Imagine busking an entire Garbage show! Intimidating? Perhaps… but Emmanuelle Gigi Pedron found it to be a joyous, invigorating ride on the band’s recently concluded 37-city Happy Endings tour.

“With Garbage, the music swings from gritty to cinematic in a heartbeat,” said Pedron, the tour’s lighting designer. “I am busking the show, so I get to ride those mood swings in real time — it’s chaos and control, just like the band.”

Helping Pedron on this heart-pounding journey is an all CHAUVET Professional rig supplied by Christie Lites. To accent the dramatic quality of the show, she follows a “lighting 101” principle of playing with intensity levels, moving starkly from bold brightness to more shadowy looks.

Pedron also uses a stunning backdrop curtain made of aluminum chains to add to the kinetic feel of the show. “The backdrop moves nicely,” she said. “It moves with breeze from the fans and shimmers. I love how it catches light in unpredictable ways — the perfect mix of glam and grit, plus a little sparkle. It totally fits Garbage’s edgy, beautiful chaos.

Also contributing to the artful backdrop are six Maverick Storm 1 Flex moving heads arranged on the deck behind the band. Pedron positioned six additional units of this fixture stage left and three stage right to wrap the stage and backdrop in texture and depth.

Speaking of the Storm 1 Flex, Pedron noted, “it’s a small fixture but super versatile — perfect for a touring setup. The color mixing is great, really smooth, but I especially chose it for the abstract gobos. They add this beautiful, textural layer that feels almost cinematic without being too literal. They also were used to create silhouettes.”

Silhouettes were one of the evocative elements that Pedron used to captivate attention. Another was the art of the reveal. This was evident at the very start of the show when only the legs of the artists were visible as they entered the stage. At other points, she obscured parts of the band in bright monochromatic light, split colors, or shadows.

“Show Progression! You gotta give the audience something to discover,” explained Pedron. “The slow reveal at the top just sets the tone. As for the monochrome and color choices, I’m a total James Turrell nerd — I love how he makes light feel physical. For the use of split colors That’s me channeling Ellsworth Kelly.”

Color splits along with some artful asymmetry combined in one of Pedron’s favorite looks of the show for ‘Bleed Like Me.’” The mix of asymmetry and color splits make the stage “feel raw and balanced at the same time,” she noted. Another of her favorite looks was during “No Future,” which brings the show’s first big backdrop reveal.

Contributing to the looks that Pedron conjured up were 16 COLORado PXL Curves and six Maverick BeamWashes. She credits much of the show’s success to her crew, notably lighting tech Robert (Radar) Gilbreath, “super skilled and extremely funny, ” along with Evan John Mcintosh and Billy Bush on backline, monitor engineer Paul Johnson, PA Katie Moran, PM Jason Trabue, and Levi Tecofsky.

Making the tour nicer for Pedron: her husband, David Gaume was the FOH and sound engineer. “It’s pretty special being on the road together,” she said. “You’re not homesick when home is right there on the road with you.”

Going beyond family matters, Pedron had this to say about the tour: “Overall, I’ve really enjoyed designing and programming this show. It has been a blast to build something that moves with the music like that.”