Production Profile

Music, Lights and Video, in Four Acts

Carrie Underwood tour-goers would not be blamed for mistaking this concert for the kind that is associated with a pop diva, as opposed to a country artist who first sang her way into American hearts on a TV show just a few years ago.  

Steve Cohen is one of the few in the industry who really know what it's like to light a show without the benefit of today's touring technology. Having worked with Billy Joel since 1974, he's keenly aware of the distinction between art and the hardware with which it is produced. But he's equally adept at designing with state-of-the-art gear, having done so for Joel, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Van Halen and Paul Simon, to name just a few.

LD Systems Uses I-Mag and Video to Conquer an Ocean of Dirt

For most people, the word "rodeo" does not conjure up the image of high impact concerts with cutting-edge technology, but the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is actually well known for the excellent concerts that cap off every night of the competition.

Daughtry, the group fronted by Chris Daughtry – and also, incidentally, the group who has embraced my favorite font, Bleeding Cowboys – is on tour in 2010. After finishing up some shows in the U.S., the tour is moving to Europe and then on to unspecified locations to entertain U.S. troops. Then it's back to the States for more dates in the U.S. As Daughtry's LD, Matt Mills, says, "This one is going to go for awhile."

In 1980, Sean "Motley" Hackett saw a Kiss concert and he was immediately hooked on the spectacle of it all. That was the moment he knew he wanted to be a roadie, or do whatever it took to be involved in big rock shows. The Australian eventually became the lighting designer for INXS and toured with them for many years.

U2 has never been afraid to explore new avenues in production technology. Their 1997-98 PopMart tour broke new technological ground by using an LED video display screen rather than video projectors. Their Vertigo tour in 2005-06 introduced the concept of spherical LED pixels in a beaded curtain look.

I recently got an e-mail from the editor of PLSN asking if I would mind covering The Monsters of Folk show for him while he was out of town. Would I mind?! The band has just released its first self-titled album in September and had seen it climb to number 15 on Billboard's Top 200 list. Its members include M. Ward, a personal favorite. Its LD, Marc Janowitz, was a part of the design team for the Blue Man Group, another one of my favorite acts.

It’s not supposed to be like this.  Let’s just get that straight.  I have enough friends who tour.  I’ve listened to plenty of tales of woe, exploding egos, tree pissing contests and the misadventures of local crews with expensive gear — enough to know that load-ins are not supposed to be so easy.

"Number one, and something that isn’t often talked about in these types of articles,” says creative director Ray Woodbury, “is that No Doubt is an awesome band.”

In January of 2002, Ed Wannebo resigned from his production manager position for Tim McGraw to be the manager of a new production, the first headlining tour of McGraw’s opening act, Kenny Chesney.  Since that tour eight years ago, Chesney has evolved into one of the biggest names in country western music and the touring industry at large.

As the lights go up on stage in the Atlantis Resort’s expansive, Imperial Ballroom, 51 teenage girls dressed in matching cobalt blue dresses are waiting nervously in the wings. Only one of them is going to get exactly what she wants tonight; the title of Miss Teen USA 2009.   The crew, in contrast, is feeling fine.  The stage looks great, the girls look great, and after the show is done, there’s load-out, and then, well, then there’s the Bahamas and the lazy river ride. But more on that later.

Simon Sidi is a well-respected lighting designer, but he’s made a mess of his latest tour — on purpose. After handling the design of the American Idols Live tour for a long time, he went away to pursue other projects. But now he’s back as the production designer and he brought with him some fresh ideas.