David Byrne: American Utopia

DAVID BYRNE: AMERICAN UTOPIA

Back by popular demand, the unorthodox virtuoso returned to the cottonopolis of culture - 134-dates into his marathon American Utopia tour - gracing Manchester Arena with an ambitious and technologically advanced production. TPi’s Jacob Waite was on site…

Having passed through the city at the more intimate O2 Apollo in June, David Byrne returned top-to-barefooted-toe with a dapper troupe choreographed by Annie-B Parson, the driving force behind St. Vincent and David Byrne’s on-stage routine for the Love This Giant tour. Fittingly, the brainchild of the latest American Utopia show, which has since been upscaled to arena and stadium venues across the UK, opened proceedings with a handful of pink cerebral matter clutched firmly in his grasp. It was the only element of colour on an otherwise grey, virtually naked stage; illuminated by a single spotlight and boxed-off by a metallic KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain. And you may ask yourself, “Well... how did I get here?”

ONCE IN A LIFETIME Assigned with ensuring the unyielding artistic project ran reliably and efficiently, was Production Manager, Mark Edwards, whose relationship with David Byrne and his management team spans over two decades. “The initial idea of the tour was germinated back in 2016, while David was in the process of developing the American Utopia record. I was then called and asked if I’d step in and do some budgeting in October last year,” he began. “David is prone to collaborating. During the R&D process, he found a

whole new set of collaborators, which pushed the entire tour back between 8-12 months but improved the overall show, I believe.”

However, the unique production came with a testing set of challenges. “The main challenge came with the percussion elements of the production, with the stage being completely wireless, we needed six percussionists; which meant we had to contact a manufacturer of American college marching bands who ultimately created a harness which could hold the instrument and simultaneously project sound. It took months to get the harness modified for each individual drum, a trying process of trial and error, which eventually worked.”

The result was an impressive collection of 12 musicians in perpetual motion with percussion at the focal point: a fusion of American high school marching band come Brazilian carnival procession.

The tours travelling backdrop, a KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain, also provided a litany of challenges. “For the chain, I was given two vendors, there’s really only two people that could make it. We went through the motions of finding it and getting enough of it, because we needed miles of it! Friends at Litestructures provided one side of the chain, and the rest came from a Las Vegas-based company, Daisycake.

“We set-up a rental version of the chain two months prior to the tour

PRODUCTION PROFILE

and brought in a Clair Global rig to test it in every variation to make sure the vocal mics, in-ear monitors, and guitars could work through the chain, including antenna placement; it was definitely trial and error.”

He continued: “It’s the lightest material to freight around the world, and it’s durable. The chain was never intended for touring use, so I was informed I’d get around 70 shows out of it, and here we are... 130 plus shows later, with just 11 shows left. I’m hoping it makes it until the end!”

Edwards praised those responsible for supplying wares to the mammoth undertaking. “I’ve worked with our audio vendor, Clair for many years, and they’ve been great. They, and Britannia Row Productions - now part of Clair - in the UK and Europe, became our audio supplier because they were the only one which could put in the Shure Axient Digital rig required to counteract the chain’s RF interference,” he added. “They were literally unboxing brand-new products out of the cardboard and shipping it over to us an hour before its arrival at their offices.”

Neg Earth Lights in Europe and the UK and Upstaging in the United States supplied the lighting elements. “Neg Earth and Upstaging are longstanding relationships; we’ve been going to them for many years so Rob Sinclair approached me to ask about vendors. It was a case that we had mutual preferences and contacts in-mind. We knew that the products would be correct and available from those vendors.”

A wireless stage called for BlackTrax software to be drafted in as a solution. “It was determined from the outset that with 12 musicians moving on the stage, followspots were never an option, so BlackTrax it was. Oli Metcalfe, who owns Dark Art Creative, visited us as a fan and ended up covering the first six shows of the tour for us while our Automation Engineer, Sam Augustus, was touring with Queen + Adam Lambert in Australia,” Edwards mused. “I found it incredibly humbling to have Muse’s LD, and the owner of a company was putting up cameras in tiny theatres in America during the early shows of this tour.”

On the road to nowhere, Stagetruck navigated the kit across a series of checkpoints. “Stagetruck is the only company I’ve used over the 15 years. They’re a great company, they take care of you and they’re well maintained with excellent drivers. We’ve only got five trucks for this tour; it’s how David and I prefer to work. We don’t have the bells and whistles such as lasers and confetti, its straight-forward and simple,” Edwards explained.

Will Johns, Stagetruck Manager, commented: “We have worked with Mark Edwards for many years on various tours. American Utopia was split into two parts. We supplied four 45ft mega cube tractor trailers for the UK in June and July run, while three trucks went to Europe. For the latest arena legs, we have supplied five 45ft tractor trailers,” he enthused. “We are delighted to be involved with such a prestigious artist as David Byrne. This show is truly innovative.”

Phoenix Bussing was also brought into the fold to ensure that the band were on the road to paradise. Edwards added: “I go way back with Phoenix Bussing, I remember working with them when they started out, although the first wave of drivers retired, their standards are just as high and it’s a great company to work with.”

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE For the creatives tasked with bringing the theatrical production to life, the brief was clear: “Fundamentally, the foundations of this tour are based on David Byrne saying: ‘I have this idea, it involves wireless musicians, we’ve done some research - make it work,’” Edwards said. So, naturally, the crew made it work, doing so with artistic endeavor that harked back to the ex-Talking Heads front man’s seminal early ‘80s Stop Making Sense concert film, in which David Byrne once professed: “…music is very physical, and often the body understands it before the head.”

Lighting Designer, Rob Sinclair, whose myriad of tour credits include LCD Soundsystem, Kylie Minogue and MØ, picked up the story. “I was

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David Byrne and a meticulously arranged and stylish ensemble serenade audiences.

introduced to David in summer 2017 and very fortunately we got on. Some of the fundamentals of the show were already in place ahead of my arrival, such as the mobile band, Annie-B’s choreography, and the idea of covering the walls so the wings couldn’t be seen.”

When it came to the tour design, David Byrne adopted a hands-on approach. “David is very literate in all aspects of production. He’s also a very gracious collaborator who allowed me to bring many of my own ideas to the show,” Sinclair recalled: “We needed to be able to cover the edges of the stage whilst allowing the band access. We were also worried about wind proofing for outdoor shows. After looking at a series of flats and louvers and a bit of head scratching, we arrived at the chain.”

However, despite the increased popularity of the tour and an upscaled production on the cards, Sinclair recounted the show’s primary focus: “We have kept the same show. It was always designed to be flexible, within limits. The show is about people and not effects or technology. Increasing the scale or adding things would have lessened the focus on the band.”

A requisite of any David Byrne show design is the costume department. Notwithstanding the challenge of devising the next ‘big suit’ was Wardrobe Assistant, Abigail Lester, who, despite being a dab hand with a sewing kit, also added several feathers to her occupational cap. “I was brought onto the tour in Trenton, New Jersey. While I was touring with the crew, I started taking some pictures with my iPhone, and David and the production team quite liked them, so they gave me a camera to take professional photos of the tour for their social media channels.”

The integration of textile and tech also played a vital role in ensuring the production went off without a hitch. “We had removed patches of the grey Kenzo suits, under each armpit, so David and the rest of the band can move freely and breathe easily. We also had to figure out how to tailor the suits to work in correspondence with the wearable parts of the BlackTrax system. The stringers are sewn into the suits, we currently have two sets, which we alternate and replace daily.”

Sinclair echoed the importance of BlackTrax: “When I first met David,

I brought a BlackTrax stringer (part of the wearable technology of the BlackTrax system) with me. I knew the premise of the show so knew that it would have been a nightmare to light with manual followspots. I described BlackTrax to David and we spoke about some of the opportunities and pitfalls. It was the solution to a problem he never knew he had.”

Monitoring the BlackTrax system, owned and supplied by Dark Art Creative, was Automation Engineer, Sam Augustus. “My first introduction to BlackTrax was with Oli Metcalfe on Muse’s Drones tour, where I looked after the wearable aspects of BlackTrax. Each of the drones had devices on them [BlackTrax Beacons] which were individually addressed and thus uniquely identifiable by the system. For this tour, each of the band has a BlackTrax Beacon in a pouch in their jacket, with two stringers (a cable with an infrared LED) sewn into the garments, one on each of the band members shoulders. The system works by having an array of cameras on the back truss and the front truss that work together to triangulate the position an object in the performance space and utilise this data to provide lighting tracking.”

The BlackTrax system comprised 2 BlackTrax servers (main and spare) running the latest version of BlackTrax, 2.3.3. Power distribution and conditioning was handled by an APC 15002U smart-UPS (which can handle a wide range of input voltages – fantastic when on a world tour in so many different venues).

Networking within the rack was handled by Luminex Gigacore 16xt and Luminex Gigacore 14r managed switches, while DMX distribution was achieved with a Luminex DMX8 MkII. The servers, DMX Node, Switches and UPS were housed in a custom rack mount case manufactured by Packhorse cases; which featured a support case that contained the cameras, BlackTrax Beacons, charging stations and maintenance tools, which is also supplied by Packhorse cases. The system also comprised 18 BlackTrax Beacons; 12 packs were used in the show, with 6 provided as spares. For the hardware side of the motion capture system, there were 8 BlackTrax Slim 13e cameras, of which 4 were located on the front truss and 4 on the back.

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Rock meets theatre, art and dance in a visually striking and technologically-impressive production.

The cables responsible for connecting the cameras back to the BlackTrax system were Cat6e spec cables, manufactured by TMB.

“Since the [Muse] Drones tour, the software has come on leaps and bounds. I have recently upgraded the system to version 2.3.3, which boasts the continuous calibration feature,” Augustus delineated. “In past iterations of the software, once the camera rig (for the motion capture part of the system) had been calibrated, if any of the cameras were to get knocked or somehow moved from their intended positions then it could negatively affect the accuracy of the camera system and could compromise the quality of the lighting tracking.

“The only way to effectively address an incident such as this would be to recalibrate the camera system, which in a time dependent ‘day of the show’ context could be very difficult to accommodate. However, the new continuous calibration feature essentially allows the camera system to constantly evaluate and update itself in real-time, using the tracked performers as a reference. I now use this during my shows to ensure that best possible accuracy all the way from start to finish. It really is a fantastic feature in the constant quest for high accuracy,” he explained.

Augustus lauded the communication between end-user and the software developer. “If I see something suspect, I can message them saying ‘this is wrong’ or ‘we don’t have a fixture profile for this’ and they will fix it. Overall, the interaction level with them is really good and it always has been, ever since I began working with them four years ago. The software has also been integral to delivering David’s vision.”

Resident Video Director, Jack Banks, joined the tour on the back of a successful run with The xx in New York this year. “David Byrne’s management got in touch and I was blown away to be asked to come and meet with David to discuss working on his show. As I find with some artists, he wasn’t overly happy about having two large visual distractions either side stage but since they are a requirement of the larger venues the video element was well worth embracing and making part of the show.

He continued: “It was great to talk to David about what he wanted and how I could help translate everything that is happening on stage. Every detail is important and thought out, from small choreographed moments from Chris and Tendayi to the larger details of where on-stage members of the band are standing in relation to each other. It was also important to David to balance the informative nature of IMAG with the reactions of the performers, this is something I really like to play on. The relationship between musicians on stage is truly fascinating to me and I think you can

really get a sense of that at a more intimate sized show, so I try to use video to bring that feeling to the more cavernous arenas!”

The PPU was made up of a 4k-capable 2M/E Ross Carbonite Black Switcher running through a Ross Ultrix Router also running the multiviewers, combined with a TSL TallyMan this system packs a serious punch. Banks had been using this PPU on The xx during the summer and it seemed the obvious choice for him for this project. “It’s a great PPU that CT have built, I have been using the Carbonite Switcher for a few years now and I find it to be quick and easy to use with the Dashboard software. The air support, quite literately, check their website, from Ross is great as well, there is always someone on the end of the phone who can answer questions or help you through whatever technical problem you have found yourself dealing with.”

Cameras took shape in the form of 5 Sony HDC-4300 cameras. Wanting to avoid busying the very clean aesthetic of the stage Banks located 3 cameras at Front of House with with Fujinon 107 4K Lenses and two either side of stage with Sony CJ20 4K lenses. “The Sony cameras and 4K lenses are truly fantastic. The colour depth of these cameras really helped to ensure that the IMAG was true to the colour being used on stage by Rob and Doug and the depth of field in the lenses allowed focus to shift and really helped to show the performers in relation to each other on stage. Rod Martin is doing a fantastic job shading this show and has really helped finesse the finer details of the look I am after.”

To add to this package there are 2 Q-Ball 3 robotic cameras and a Marshall Electronics mini camera, the Q-balls, flown, one giving a birds-eye perspective from centre stage and the other on the the top corner of the chain truss.

“These two robotic positions give a view of the stage that no one in the house could possibly have! Some of my favourite moments come from the centre stage robo, the transition from Here to Lazy being one that comes to mind immediately”

Projection was formed by 2 Panasonic 21K projectors with a smorgasbord of lens suitable for the arena circuit. “With colour being partially important the Panasonic’s were the clear choice. The projectionist and camera operators Lewis Quain and Steve Earle took particular care to line-up and balance these on a daily basis.

“CT have been fantastic, Graham Miller and Nick Knowles really go above and beyond to make sure everything is delivered as spec’d and all bases have been covered, including the things I haven’t thought about! It’s

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FOH Engineer, Peter Keppler; Lighting Director & Associate Lighting Designer, Douglas Green; Automation Engineer, Sam Augustus; Video Projectionist, Lewis Quain, Video Director, Jack Banks & Video Engineer, Rod Martin; TM, Keith Anderson; Production Coordinator, Sari Miller; PM, Mark Edwards.

the little things, which set them apart from other suppliers, for example, we had a few cables that broke, and we were very low on spares, CT sent replacements all the way to Dublin to make sure we were covered. It’s just those things that stick in your mind, that they’re willing to go the extra mile and ship some cables to Ireland rather than wait until your show sets up somewhere that’s a little easier to reach, I think really counts,” Banks concluded.

Looking after the show’s lighting on the road was Lighting Director and Associate Lighting Designer, Douglas Green, who was brought in by Sinclair. “I met Doug through friends and we got on really well. I then happened to run into him at an awards ceremony in New York the day before I first met David. The next thing he knew he was crawling around on the floor with David playing at shadows in our test week in Pennsylvania and the rest is history. Doug has been a real star throughout the process and always has a smile on his face.”

Before taking to the road, Green was the in-house Lighting Designer for Imagination, in New York. He drew parallels between designing in the corporate world and touring: “There are similarities and differences: colour temperature consistency and attention to minute details, for example, were a massive part of designing corporate environments, it’s the same with this show. The differences come in areas like scheduling: we might have a number of days to light an international scale exhibition stand but on tour, everything happens very quickly.”

Green cut his teeth studying Lighting Design for Live Performance at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and worked mostly in theatre and dance before joining Imagination. “Being a part of this tour felt like coming around to theatre again: sitting in an auditorium staring at a proscenium arch and having discussions with musicians and choreographers. Having recently made the transition into live touring,

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working with Rob and David has been a really exciting opportunity to apply skills and experience from other corners of the industry. This being my first tour I really want to thank everyone who has supported me through the process and helped me navigate this very unique touring experience.”

Creativity was in abundance for the lighting department – Green operated from an MA Lighting grandMA2 fullsize console with the integration of the BlackTrax system. Green said: “The show’s lighting design is very efficient, we spent a lot of time in rehearsals distilling the design down to whatever the simplest, strongest and most refined version of an idea was. It is not uncommon for a song to be lit with just one light or to have only one or two cues. Set list changes are rare because of the throughchoreographed nature of the show: so, it is programmed as somewhere between a conventional theatrical cue stack and a busked gig.

“BlackTrax is integral to the design; every member of the band can be tracked by any Viper Performance in the rig. It’s really opened up a whole world of other creative possibilities and options,” Green enthused.

“Many of the ‘tracking orientated’ ideas came from messing around with the software and testing its capabilities during an R&D period. The show would be completely different without BlackTrax, it’s so much more than just a replacement for manual followspots. Tracking information merges with the desk generated DMX information at the Luminex artnet nodes so I still have control of many of the attributes of the light: colour, gobo or framing shutters for example. A very cool feature is being able to cross fade between a light tracking and not tracking, we have one song where the band are all stood in static down light spots for the first half of the song, then fade up the ‘merge’ and those down lights smoothly become tracking spots.”

The lighting rig consisted of 53 Martin by Harman fixtures. Specifically, 12 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 LED’s (6 on the mid truss and 6 on the rear truss) and 41 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Performances (19 positioned on the front truss, 11 on each of the mid and rear truss). “The reason we use Performances is because the stage is very square, so the shutters are very useful,” Sinclair detailed.

An additional 82 GLP fixtures were used. In particular, 62 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s (62 situated on the U truss, 4 on the floor); 8 GLP X4S’s (fixed

to the U truss); and a further 8 GLP impression X4 Bar 10’s (make up the U truss). Green illustrated: “We utilised a combination of X4 Bar 10’s and 20’s to allow us to break the pre-rig truss for transportation while maintaining a continuous line of light and not having to re-hang many fixtures each day. The X4S situated in the corners of the rig, fill in the empty pockets of light. In the corners, we’ve got 4 X4’s because you can’t join rows of X4 Bars, so we rig them adjacent and put 4 lights in the corner to fill in the gap,” he continued: “We needed a continuous line of lights, so the X Bars were the only real choice.”

Sinclair added: “I think I’m actually happiest with songs that have really simple lighting and allow the band to be prominent. I’m also very grateful to David and Annie-B for the opportunity and for welcoming me into their already tight knit relationship. I can’t let an opportunity go past to thank the amazing crew and suppliers. Doug, Mark, Robin, Tony, Upstaging, Neg Earth - I am forever grateful.”

David Oldham, Tour Rigger revealed the logistical elements of the tour. “It’s my first-time touring with David Byrne. I have a very good friend who sadly left the tour while touring Mexico in April, and I was brought in to assume his role,” he reflected. “It’s a very simple and innovative rig, there’s only one Kinesys move, the rising and lowering of the chain at the beginning and end of the show, which Sam runs, and I set it up to get it going.

“It’s a nice show to be on. We began touring theatres that’s why the aesthetics are very theatrical. This time we’ve got a series of versions across the UK and Europe, because we play differing sizes of venues. We’ve a splayed version, which we’ll be taking to Amsterdam and France to get a wider viewing angle. The stage perimeters shift between 35ft wide x 22ft-deep and 65ft-wide x 32ft-deep versions. Our standard in building like tonight is around 55ft-wide x 32ft-deep. It’s also a really light rig; I think we’re only up to about 26 tonnes. Neg Earth have been great and have invested a lot.”

EVERYBODY’S COMING TO MY HOUSE FOH Engineer Pete Keppler began working with David Byrne in Australia during the early 2000s on a project called Here Lies Love, a musical

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RF Coordinator, Jamie Nelson & Monitor Engineer, John Chadwick; Rigger, David Oldham; Wardrobe Assistant, Abigail Lester; The Sarah’s Kitchen catering crew; The bespoke marching band harnesses each musician wears with a grey Kenzo suit (pictured above).

documentary about Imelda Marcos. In 2012, Keppler again worked with Mr. Byrne to deliver Love This Giant, the collaboration between David Byrne and St. Vincent, which resulted in a record and two tours in 2012 and 2013.

“I officially started prepping for the American Utopia tour in July 2017, we started rehearsals in February. I’ve been touring for a few years and have never had a tour that’s condensed such a vast amount of dates into such a short period of time. Most of the tours I’ve been on are 150 shows or less per year… This one will be 144 shows in 7.5 months.”

Keppler wound back the clocks. “The original schedule had the tour ending in August, but it sold ridiculously well, and the tour was extended not only in length, but also from theatres to arenas. The shows and the people are great. I’ve been mixing anything from clubs to arenas for a long time, so you get used to the transition. My take on it is this: my mix is my mix. As long as the PA is decent and well-maintained it should translate, but it doesn’t always play out that way,” he chuckled.

Keppler utilised a Waves SoundGrid Extreme server with a Waves card and network switch (MOD-DMI-SOUNDGRID, DMI Waves SoundGrid 32-channel I/O card). “I started using waves in the late ‘90s, and I’ve developed quite a relationship with them. I use them is because, quite simply, the plugins sound great. One plugin of theirs I’m using which has absolutely saved the show is called F6. We have 6 headset vocal mics on stage, and a lot of percussion. F6 allows me to get rid of most of the spill from that into the vocals.”

Several microphone brands came into play for this tour including DPA, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Shure. “The DPA 4088 headset vocal mics we’re using sound amazing. There was no way we could have used handheld microphones; there’s too much choreography involved.”

The entire control package and PA was provided by audio vendor, Clair Global, which utilised its partnership with the Britannia Row in the UK, to supply the tours wares. “One of the reasons we use Clair Global is because they’re exactly that: global. Basically, it’s a one-stop-shop - you give your spec to the guys in Pennsylvania and they’ll send it on to supply everything

around the world.

The main speaker arrays comprised 32 Clair CO-12’s Cohesion line array. The side hangs boasted 24 Clair CO-10’s new Cohesion 10-line arrays (12 per side flown per side). In fill duties were covered by (4) Cohesion 8 per side on the downstage corners.

Clair Audio Technicians Elad Kleiner and Stephen Tang joined up for the UK/EU portion of the tour. “Elad goes through and time-aligns the system and then I do the system EQ, which is my usual workflow and something I’ve gotten used to doing over the years.”

Keppler avowed: “Clair spent a year working on calculations for the CO- 12’s and 10’s on paper and in the computer before they ever started actual construction, and their hard work really shows. You can tell that it was designed by audio engineers.”

In the caverns of monitor world, John Chadwick, Monitor Engineer and ‘custodian of the Shure RF system design’ was joined by RF Coordinator, Jamie Nelson. “It’s my first time working with David. I was brought into the picture towards the end of 2016, when the idea was formulated. Jamie was brought in during the rehearsal process in February 2018. However, we started properly working on the tour in May 2017, to see if we could come up with an audio concept of making David’s vision for the show work. Of course, at that particular time, the technology used in this show didn’t actually exist.”

Chadwick opted for a wireless RF system solution in the shape of Shure Axient Digital, which was still in its development stages in mid- 2017. “Nowadays most musicians and productions are using wireless microphones and in-ears, but to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had a full band stage, which is totally wireless. All of the inputs from the band are completely wireless.”

The challenge of utilising the technology was equal parts thrilling and daunting. “The remit was: the stage is going to be empty. No mic stands, cables, pedal boards, or speakers. The stage had to be completely blank. The brief became reasonably daunting at that point, meaning everything

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The talented troupe of musicians successfully burn down the house.

had to be wireless including the drums. There are six percussionists, and because they switch instruments throughout the show, our input count sits at 44 - 32 of which are just wireless drums. The guitars, bass, mic packs all run via Shure Axient Digital, coordinated by Shure’s Wireless Workbench 6 software. All but 4 channels run in High-Density mode which radically reduces the amount of bandwidth needed to around 25% of what would be needed with a traditional system.”

Ingenious in concept, however, as mentioned, the KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain threw up a series of RF hurdles. “As if the high RF channel count wasn’t tricky enough, the next challenge was when David and the scenic department informed us that they were going to hang aluminum chain around three sides of the stage which would get in the way of the RF. To tackle this, we spent a couple of days myth-busting to come up with a solution. We put the chain up in August 2017 and spent two days putting crosses on the floor, swapping between different antennas in different positions and gathering hard data. At the end of that, we came up with the solution of mounting them on the truss inside the chain and pointing them downwards.”

The wireless RF system was made up of 4 antenna points (3 on the truss and 1 on the sides), which boasted a 48 channel Shure Axient Digital system with 56 transmitters, 18 channels of Shure PSM 1000 IEMs (10 channels of G-10 and 8 channels of J8) with 36 beltpack receivers. He continued: “There’s 100ft of BNC cable that carries the antenna signals backwards and forwards, so we have to wait for the lighting truss to go up to trim and the chain to be hung before we can even start thinking about coordinating the wireless. So, once that’s up it can be anything between 4 and 20 minutes to co-ordinate depending on how aggressive the RF environment is on the day.

“In the UK, we’re running on licenced TV channels because we’ve got so many frequencies it is cheaper to rent 4 complete TV channels than on a per frequency basis, which gives us little space to hop around. In the US, Latin America and some parts of Europe, it’s a bit of a free-for-all. The main thing is, this tour couldn’t happen without Shure Axient Digital,” Chadwick attested. “There are people who think I’ve had a bang to the head when I tell them the same RF system has been around the world and through plenty of festival sites.”

For control, Chadwick relied on his faithful DiGiCo SD5. “I’m using an SD5, and both myself and Pete [who used an SD10] are ardent DiGiCo users. We share the racks to minimise space and cabling more than anything. All the Shure Axient D connections are via AES so really the ‘traditional’ control

for the head amplifiers are within the RF units themselves. I like the SD5 because it allows me to see more of what’s going on quickly seen as I have control of the gains, be they AES or the few analogue inputs we have. Jamie and I are at the tweaking end if there are any RF, mic or level issues. For me, the SD5 is quicker to get around than a smaller surface, having 12 people on-stage. This entire package has travelled the world with us since we picked it up in February. We just picked up racks and stacks from Brit Row, who have been excellent audio suppliers for the UK and European legs of the tour.”

MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD Entrusted with feeding the troops was sarahskitchen. Chef, Ann-Marie Summers gave TPi the inside scoop. “I’ve been doing this job for 27 years, and Mr. Byrne has been one of the easiest people I’ve ever worked with, there are no special requirements involved and he and the crew are lovely. On tour, the crew usually eats dinner early and Mr. Byrne often comes in with a modest Tupperware container, which he washes down with a cup of coffee, while scanning the newspapers.” Very relaxed indeed!

Live, American Utopia is one of David Byrne’s most-frenetic and simultaneously well-executed productions of all time, distorting the conventions of a rock show to contain elements of theatre and dance. Boosted, by contrast, by a minimalistic approach to stage design, albeit achieved by a technologically-advanced wireless solution, the tour is a feat of shared ingenuity; from the truck drivers to the lighting, video, audio and catering departments; every cog in the American Utopia touring machine is unyielding and meticulous. As Keppler summed up: “If I wasn’t out here having fun and being creative, I’d find something else to do.” Everyone is welcome in David Byrne’s house, it seems, and American Utopia is no exception. TPi Photos: Abigail Lester & TPi www.davidbyrne.com www.clairglobal.com www.britanniarow.com www.phoenix-bussing.com www.stagetruck.com www.negearth.com www.darkartcreative.com www.ct-group.com

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