TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
www.tpiawards.com
TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM SEPTEMBER 2014
ISSUE 181
LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • SEPTEMBER 2014 • ISSUE 181
OSHEAGA
FESTIVAL DE LA MUSIQUE ET DES ARTS
THE FRENCH CONNECTION....
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NEXO • COLDPLAY AT THE RAH • QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT • ON THE ROAD: MONTREAL PSA • MONTY PYTHON LIVE • SPACE TURNS 25 • CALLING FESTIVAL • STAGING MARKET FOCUS
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
GENTLEMEN OF ROCK EARLIER THIS YEAR, QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT HIT THE ROAD IN THE USA TO GLOWING REVIEWS AND SOLD OUT ARENAS. AS SPECIAL AS THE TOUR IS FOR THE BAND AND ADAM LAMBERT ALONG WITH THEIR COLLECTIVE HOARDS OF FANS, ITS SIGNIFICANCE ALSO EXTENDS TO THE BAND’S ROAD CREW. WHY? BECAUSE FOR MANY THE EVOCATIVE STORIES AND UPLIFTING ANTHEMS OF FREDDIE MERCURY AND QUEEN FORMED A SIGNIFICANT CHUNK OF THEIR EARLY LIFE SOUNDTRACKS AND FOR THAT REASON ALONE IT’S A THRILL FOR MANY TO BE TOURING WITH BAND. SARAH RUSHTON-READ CAUGHT UP WITH THE TOUR IN NEW YORK CITY. On a hot humid afternoon in New York - where Queen had played before many years ago - today a very excited, again sold out crowd waited at Madison Square Garden: “Unbelievably Queen has not played Madison Square Garden since 1984,” explains busy Tour director Juliette Slater. “It’s an emotional return for them.” Slater has toured with Queen, on and off, since 2005 and understands more than most the boundless energy the band has for touring. Brian May shows no sign of tiring; he told iHeart Radio that while he knows the tour can’t go on forever, he wants to keep going until his “fingers stop moving”. The pairing of Adam Lambert and Queen has proved to be a successful symbiotic blend both musically and in terms of the audiences they attract. Lambert is clearly a big fan of both Mercury and Queen, and makes a vibrant and revitalising foil to the super accomplished 38
gentlemen of rock. So successful has this tour been that they’ve already added dates in Asia, Australia and New Zealand with likely further touring in 2015. Contributing to the success of the show’s delivery is the simple yet effective way it has been staged. Summoned by the creative minds of the creative team at Stufish and lighting designer Rob Sinclair, the concept has been built around the ubiquitous line drawing on the back of a fag packet - or napkin in this case - created by Roger Taylor and Brian May. The result is classic rock, cleverly and discretely served up with some of the latest developments in entertainment technology. As with any Stufish design it’s stagecraft at its best, deceptively simple, yet able to deliver a plethora of looks. A huge ‘Q’ shaped backdrop, frames a 30” square of WinVision 9 LED screens, supplied by VER. The squiggle of the Q curves around the
front of the main stage to resolve in a B stage. The concept is smartly balanced by Rob Sinclair’s rocktastic lighting, which bursts from the stage at all angles and heights. Queen and Adam Lambert are effectively touring two entirely separate acts. For Slater this brings its own set of challenges as she explains: “We’re dealing with two separate management arrangements. The artists have great creative ideas, which we have had to accommodate within a budget, which then has to be agreed by all parties.” However nothing really seems to phase Slater, as far as she’s concerned the success of the tour is all about the team you put together in the first place. “Rick Lipson and the team at Stufish with Rob Sinclair have been fabulous. They’ve offered realistic creative solutions from the start. Rob and I have worked together on many projects so we understand one another well.”
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
Opposite: The Stufish design wowed crowds in NYC. Below: Queen guitarist, Brian May.
Slater says the band is a joy to work with: “Queen’s manager, Jim Beach, has been with the band for 40 years plus. He’s a force of nature, and a wonderful mentor. Collectively I can honestly say Queen are true gentlemen of rock. Adam is a delight to deal with and the principles have a great vibe together both on and off the stage. “In addition we have a great support team on the tour from head of security Dave Sauter to Brian May’s PA Sharon Ashley, Adam’s PA Rob Valenti and Tour Manager/ PA to Roger Taylor, Justine Ellis,” continued Slater. “I was also delighted to introduce Production Coordinator Jil Aram to our Production Manager Joe Sanchez - she runs the office for Joe and is a great team player to have on board.” Slater says one of the most rewarding aspects of being part of this tour has been seeing the evolution of the stage design from the napkin drawing to the physical stage show. “The initial ideas have been realised in an elegant way by Stufish. Rob’s lighting has slotted in seamlessly and we have some stunning effects.” LA-based Production Manager Joe Sanchez heads up Slater’s dream team and has assembled a relaxed team of professionals who make the technical complexities and logistics of a 13-truck tour look more like a day trip to the beach. Both Slater and Sanchez have an impressive roll call of top international touring acts tucked firmly
INSTRUCTIONS Please install the font Nexa Slab Bold from the font folder supplied Click on the (STAND XXX) text and enter your relevant stand number.
STAND L1
TPI Ad.indd 1
12/08/2014 17:14
39
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
Below: LD Rob Sinclair is touring his design with the band.
under their production belts and you can tell: “We started band rehearsals in May at Cato Music in Wandsworth,” Sanchez explained. “Then we moved over to LA for production rehearsals. The band have been great to work with, they understand how touring shows work and they have a lot of time and respect for the professionals behind the scenes.” Like Slater, Sanchez’s key ingredient of a successful tour is his team. “I’ve worked with a core group of 10-15 guys for the last 10 years: carpenters, stage managers, head riggers. These are the people who get me in and out with as little fuss as possible. Key to me are Technical Stage Manager Roger Cabot, Show Stage Manager Jim Webb along with Head Rigger Todd Mauger, Rigger / Automation Operator Frederic Jacques Head Carpenter Tom Keane” And when it comes to suppliers Sanchez regularly works with John Bahnick of Upstaging: “John does a brilliant job. Upstaging supplied the lighting for the three year Rihanna tour I just finished and the Pet Shop Boys before that.” Audio comes from Clair Brothers, video from VER, while UK based ER takes care of Lasers, Quantum Special FX takes care of special effects and 5 Points is doing the rigging and automation. Like many of the crew touring with Queen, the band was an important part of Sanchez’s early life: “I saw Queen at Wembley 40
Stadium when I was 16. It still amazes me that 20-plus years later I am production managing their tour!” SHOW STOPPING DESIGN Entertainment Architects Stufish has been involved with the band for a long time. Old friend of the band, Mark Fisher, designed most of Queen’s early tours including tours alongside Paul Rogers. He also created the set for the Queen Extravaganza. However Rick Lipson and Ray Winkler have taken over since Fisher’s death last year. Rob Sinclair joined the team more recently: “I first met Queen through their official tribute show The Queen Extravaganza. I also designed the Queen and Adam Lambert Shows in 2012 so I was delighted when they asked me back.” Sinclair approached the design from a number of perspectives: “The band wanted a easily identifiable yet epic signature look. I wanted to reference the Queen legacy, it was important for the feel to be clean and old-school. I’m using a lot of Molefays and a fair few hard-edged sources including a floor package of Clay Paky Sharpys, a big wall of Martin MAC Vipers and SGM X-5 strobes which span each side of the Q. Much of my key light is provided by Philips Vari-Lite VL 3500 Wash FX luminaires. Featuring a sumptuous palette of warm reds, golds purples and
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
Below: Video Effects Chief, Nev Bull; Camera Director, Steve Price; Lighting Designer, Rob Sinclair; Queen’s Monitor Engineer, Kerry Lewis used a DiGiCo SD7 desk; Production Manager, Joe Sanchez; Adam Lambert’s Monitor Engineer, Gary Stokes with a Midas Pro 6 console.
blues, the look is clean, sharp, crisp and epic. An almost architectural positioning of fixtures supported by sensitive cuing and perfect timing ensures the show journey is seamlessly smooth and increasingly exciting. “Originally the set was going to have a more industrial feel, but Adam wanted it to be gold and we all thought - why not? The gold gives us a very unusual look from some familiar materials” said Sinclair. Sinclair uses four house follow spots on the principlals all the time. “The band want to be seen. Originally we had a lot of video content made by Really Creative Media to chose from, before management and the band selected the elements they liked, some of which was
42
replaced with IMAG, however it was mostly cut during rehearsals and the first show. The consensus was that the band should be the complete focus of the show.” Lasers play a massive part in the design: “ER Productions, especially Marc Webber and Ross Marshall, have been very helpful on this tour,” explained Sinclair. “We’re using TriPan 21W lasers, rigged across the back wall and upstage edge of the stage, while 24 of ER’s new - and rather brilliant - RGB Burst Boxes are rigged around the Q.” “Everyone’s been delighted with the colour mixing of the Burst Boxes,” added Marshall. “It’s just one beam that can be changed to a rotating burst effect. Also thanks to the increasing
portability and reliability of lasers they’re often a big part of the show. The burst boxes are controlled from a HedgeHog 4. This is the first tour that they’ve been used so there’s been quite a lot of programming to pin down the personality of the fixture, however it paid off as the show looks amazing.” Sinclair continued: “We have a few Magic Panels around the oval of the Q and we’ve had some new software written - which makes the beam look round rather than square. For me the ever-present challenge is always holding enough back, every song needs to start big and get bigger!” Unusually Sinclair he has chosen to go out on the road for the whole run of this tour: “It’s
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
Below: Poppy Lauer of the Wardrobe Dept; Feedback Event Cuisine’s Pete Bailey; Queen hasn’t played MSG since 1984. Opposite: ER Productions’ Ross Marshall in action; Queen’s Tour Manager, Juliette Slater.
the only tour I’m programming and touring with this year. It was originally meant to be a two week USA tour but then it became a month long tour, then two months and now I’m off to Asia and Australia!” On the other side of the stage to lighting is Camera Director Steve Price. “I only started this element of my career eight years ago. All the way through my 30s I was a music video director. This last year has been amazing. I first saw Queen when I was 20, 1984 - The Works tour, it was the first arena concert I ever went to. If somebody had told me then I would be doing this 30 years later I wouldn’t believe them!” Most live camera directors are ex-engineers, Price is not and while he admits his engineering skills are limited what he does know a lot about is how to cut music to cameras, which for this show is essential. Originally Price came on board to cut IMAG but as the pre-recorded content was discarded Price’s skills were increasingly relied upon: “I was told that around 25% of the show would be my cameras and the rest would be pre-recorded content. However I now cut cameras to the centre screen for about 95% of the show! As it’s 2.5 hours long it requires a lot of concentration. I get a small break when Brian sings Love of my Life but that’s pretty much it.” Price is mixing five live-operated Sony Page GX3 100’s HD cameras plus three remote on the drum kit. “On Fat Bottomed Girls we have a ninth RF camera positioned on Brian’s guitar neck, which films his hands. When he walks down onto the B stage he bends the camera out and films the audience. Then he comes back and films Roger and Adam, it’s a great effect.” Price’s eye for a good shot, his ability to get the right camera
44
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
angles from each camera and his perfect timing reflect the pace perfectly: “I decide the shots, the angles, the placement. For me cutting a show is primarily about the pace at which you cut from camera to camera. That changes for each song. My favourite numbers are the proper rock anthems and also I love ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ because Spike gets a piano solo in that as well - it’s a busy song and everyone is doing something. VIDEO WORLD Back at FOH alongside Sinclair and in charge of video effects is Nev Bull: “We have three screens on this show, one LED central screen and two side IMAGS with back projection. I take the line cut from Steve Price and then we process it, colour it up, play around with it and mix live content with pre-recorded. Basically I am the last stop before the video hits the screens.” “Our focus is the treatment of live camera output ie colourising, black and white, adding in overlays, boarders.” Bull favours the Catalyst media server: “It is more about the amount of inputs we have access to and the amount of layers. We’re using two HD inputs on each server but then we can split those into many more layers.”
Bull’s favourite part of the show is Radio GaGa - the whole look is from the Metropolis film. “We had to match the IMAG in with the old film style. We use an overlay of film scratching and de-saturate the images to black and white. We also added a shutter effect to match the old footage, it looks great.” Bull takes one main feed from Price and uses the Catalyst to control the Matrix: “I can choose what I take from Steve and I then use an MA Lighting grandMA 2 desk for control and speed. It’s a very quick way of programming. My background is lighting anyway so it is a natural progression to use this programming method with video.” CONTENT IS KING Jack James from Really Creative Media produced video content and although much of the pre-recorded content was cut, what was left was a crucial element in the narrative of the show. “It’s always better to have more content than you need. We used a lot of archive footage of the band and Freddie Mercury, which we then had to filter and cut together with the audio the band wanted to use.” Rob Sinclair didn’t want to pin too much down before tech rehearsals so James flew five animators out to LA to work with
45
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
the band and Sinclair during rehearsals: “We originally had a lot of content to deliver in a very short space of time, we were cutting old existing footage together, shooting bespoke film and creating 3D animations - it was full on.” Queen doesn’t play to a click or track that video can be sync’d to so James and his team broke the video content down into components for different moments in the show. For us it is about giving Rob enough building blocks to be creative so if the band decides to do an extended solo they’re ready for that. Rob knows exactly what he wants, he is the driving force behind the overall concept, however the band also have final veto over what is included,” concludes James. RHAPSODY IN SOUND Crucial in delivering Queen’s signature sound is FOH engineer Robert Collins. Collins has worked with the band since 2012, when Adam first joined and says: “With this show there are no hard drive vocals, click tracks and definitely no dancers! This is Rock’n’Roll - no fluff.” Collins chooses to use a Digico SD7 console: “I use it in the same way as I would use an analogue desk. It’s an awesome console. What I love more than anything else is that it’s so musical, I still feel like I’m physically connected to the stage, it’s so responsive.” Collins uses a mixture of on-board processing
46
and his normal little rack of Summit TLAs, which he uses on Adam’s vocal and some DBX 160 SLs plus a TC Electronic M6000 digital reverb. The joy of the project for Collins is that he knows all the songs of old. “It’s a real privilege to mix Queen, so much so that sometimes I forget I’m in charge! Madison Square Garden is a great gig; I’ve done many shows here and there are few gigs round the world that are as special as this one.” On stage Collins has a good mix of old and new microphones. “I like to use Audix, AKG and DPA on drums, AKG 414s, Shure and various Audio-Technica models on percussion plus Sennheiser 421s on guitars. Brian’s been using the Sennheiser mics forever and they’re excellent, so why change? I’m using Telefunken vocal mics, for the quality and rejection, as it’s quite loud on stage.” Adam and some of the band are on in-ears. However, in true rock ‘n’ roll style, they’ve also got 32 monitors strategically positioned on stage. “This makes it quite hard to get the separation I would like but that’s live work for you,” Collins sighed philosophically... Backstage, Queen and Adam Lambert each have their own individual monitor engineers. Kerry Lewis for Queen and Gary Stokes for Adam I wondered if this caused issue: “We have a fairly clear delineation of duties. 80 inputs split to all consoles so we each have our own
independent control,” explained Stokes. “I’m focused on Adam’s in-ear monitors and have a couple of lines driving into Kerry’s console so he can send Adam’s voice to speakers as necessary. Kerry drives all the speakers on stage - I can feed sound into them if I need to but we have a gentleman’s agreement that I won’t unless it’s an emergency!” “Beyond that Adam might pull out an ear to hear a bit more guitar solo rather than ask me to turn something up. Thankfully he doesn’t do it when he is singing. Generally I’m riding those levels so if he’s not singing and wants to hear a little more guitar I can take care of it.” Collins says it’s been an adjustment for Adam and himself to find a balance that works on a relatively loud stage. “Typically you would turn up the in-ear system enough to over power the stage sound, but that is problematic for Adam as he doesn’t like it too loud! Turn it down too much and the stage sound bleeds through.” Stokes says Lambert’s mix is very similar to a full FOH mix. “A monitor mix would typically feature more references for time keeping. However Adam likes exaggerated reference points for pitch such as a piano intro or bass line. I mix the band a little bit brighter, and a tad quieter than a full FOH mix so Adam can easily identify everything he hears.” Lambert’s choice of in ears depends on the kind of performance he’s doing: “He has a
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert
couple of pairs,” said Stokes. “The main pair is the JH Audio JH 16’s, which are great when he needs more isolation. The others - Future Sonics - he uses for media appearances. In terms of mics, Adam uses a custom gold-plated Hole RC35 capsule on a Shure wireless system, as he particularly likes the tight sound.” Right next to Stoke’s DiGiCo SD7 sits Lewis’s Midas Pro 6: “I wanted to use Midas as I’m more comfortable on it. The SD series and the Midas Pro are pretty similar when it comes to sound quality, they’re both extremely flexible and both have powerful features. For me the Midas desk is just a touch more user friendly and it’s easier to change stuff on the fly.” Lewis uses a mix of on-board processing and outboard. “I use an outboard Reverb TC Electronic 4000 for the primary reverb, I prefer primary reverb outside of the desk because I don’t want to have to page to it, I would rather know exactly where it is.” For both engineers standing 10 ft from Brian May’s guitar amps is quite a buzz. Queen records are the soundtrack to my youth,” laughed Lewis who is working with the band for the first time: “I love it. We have an extensive fold back system on stage, it’s not too loud but there’s lots of it. Brian doesn’t use in ears, most of the other members do but they all have speakers as well.” Also on tour with the team are System Techs
48
Dave Coyle and Kenneth Cubby McDowell from Clair Brothers utilising a Clair i-5 PA system. The system design comprises 14 boxes of i-5 per side, eight i-5’s per side for the side hangs and six Clair BT218 subwoofers per side. It’s clear that the team work very well together and that Sanchez is happy to rely on every person to take care of their own domain without fuss. OTHER KEY SUPPLIERS Beyond the core stage team he has Rock-it Cargo doing freight, Truck ’N Roll is trucking the kit. Tour buses are from D&S Coaches and Feedback Event Cuisine provided catering expertise. “We’re not touring catering,” added Sanchez. “Primarily because America still hasn’t got to the stage where it’s set up for outside catering. However we do have Pete Bailey from Feedback Catering on board who ensures what we get on the road is the best it can possibly be as well as being personal chef for the band.” “We try and do it a little bit differently,” added Bailey. “We send suggested menus in advance and work with the in-house caterers to produce a balanced and varied diet that accounts for individual dietary needs. Not only that we look after the bands requirements when it comes to flights and hotels so I am pretty busy.” Next door is Poppy Lauer who takes care
of wardrobe for the team: “My job revolves around maintaining the illusion of clean and new! There’s not too many costume changes. Brian and Roger have chosen most of their own clothes, some are specially made but not that many. A lot of Adam’s costumes are custom made. He has got some Versace, styled in LA by stylist Jen Rade He also has a lot of his own ideas; he knows what he likes and what suits him. Most of the design revolves around his input.” The relaxed happy vibe and positive energy on this tour is palpable; every individual involved seems genuinely thrilled to be part of it. Backstage the sense is that this excitement comes as much from the artists as it does from the technical team that supports them. The Australian leg of the tour has been aptly named The Once in a Lifetime tour - it’s certainly felt like that to me. TPi Photos: Sarah Rushton-Read www.queenonline.com www.clairbrothers.com www.verrents.com www.trucknroll.com http://www.stufish.com www.feedbackeventcuisine.com www.dandsclassiccoach.com www.rockitcargo.com www.upstaging.com www.er-productions.com www.q-sfx.com