NEW YORK – “So how is my English?” Ishay Ribo asked the audience at Madison Square Garden. Not waiting for a response, he said cacha, cacha, the Hebrew term for “so-so.” The multi-platinum artist might not have nailed his English perfectly, but there was nothing middling about his performance this September when he became the first Israeli artist to headline a show at the “world’s most famous arena.”

With his uplifting, spiritual vocals, charismatic stage presence, and extraordinary ability to connect to the crowd, Ribo created a transcendent atmosphere that resonated throughout the big arena. Enhancing the experience for the 15,000 in attendance was an inspired lighting design by Tal Frid.

Working with an Audio Spectrum supplied rig that was anchored by 146 CHAUVET Professional fixtures, the Israeli designer created a soaring 24-universe, mostly timecoded, show that mirrored the essence of Ribo’s deeply moving music, while also reflecting the excitement that the charismatic star brought to the stage.

At the heart of the production design was a 17m x11m overhead transparent LED screen slanted in a downward, upstage direction that had a revolving circle below its center. This circle, as well as columns leading up to the overhead structure, all flashed messages in Hebrew about forgiveness, reflecting the Yom Kippur theme of the show.

A collection of 56 COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorized battens outlined the screen and columns, helping to define their form. The high output linear fixtures also set the big LED screen off from its surroundings, which added to its impact.

“The idea behind the design and the timecode of the show was to convey the prayers that we say to go up to God wherever he is,” said Frid. “Creating the transparent LED screen on top of the stage with the hole in the middle and the columns of prayers going up to the sky, while using fanning and other movements behind and on the sides of the sky, created a heavenly, 3D feeling. The show was largely timecoded, so having the right effect at the right time always creates nice moments and good ways to deliver your ideas.

“By having the PXL Bar 16 with its amazing optics. I was able to frame the sky and give it more of a heavenly feeling,” continued Frid. “Changing the zoom, position of this fixture, I had it act like a one long piece. It felt like a spiritual experience.”

Supporting the connection that Ribo has with his fans at a show, a show that included many spirited singalongs, Frid created engaging audience lighting, touching the Madison Square Garden crowd with colorful washes. “Every artist in my opinion wants to feel and see the crowd and so does Ishay,” he said. “The idea of having lights on the audience all the time is not an option. Therefore, I used different colors and positions, so I have a diversity of ways to connect Ishay to his crowd, and make the show feel more intimate.”

Contributing to the audience lighting were the rig’s 34 Color STRIKE M motorized strobes and 56 Rogue R1 BeamWashes. Frid positioned 24 of the Color STRIKE fixtures on top of and behind the LED screen, and arranged the remaining 10 units on the stage deck behind the band. All of these fixtures were used as blinders and color wash lights, while those behind the LED screen did double duty as top lights for some songs.

As for his Rogue R1 BeamWashes, Frid described them as “amazing,” using them to create a powerful wall of lights. “We still don’t have this fixture in Israel; so, I really wanted to work with them, because I heard so much about them. Their optics are truly impressive, creating a clear beam. They’re not only an impressive wash. In some songs I had to have a fast-moving fixture, and the Rogue R1 did an outstanding job.”

Madison Square Garden also came in for praise from Frid. “It has an enormous height to it,” he said of the arena. “This allowed me to create my ‘sky,’ very high while maintaining nice proportions to the stage. MSG has a perfect circle floor plan, too.”

Given these virtues, Frid would love to light a show at “The Garden” again. Based on the warm and enthusiastic reception this concert received from fans, it’s a good bet that he and his client will both be back.