Saturday, June 25, 2011
Bristol Evening Post
AS US rockers Bon Jovi, power their way through a three-hour set of their classic hits, in front of more than 75,000 enthusiastic fans packed into Munich's Olympic Stadium, the backstage area is a hive of activity.
A crew of more than 190 people prepares to take down the huge stage set, pack it into 1,000 flight cases and load it on to one of the 18 trucks waiting outside.
Within minutes of the band leaving the stage and fans heading to the exits, the Bon Jovi crew descends on the stage like ants on a discarded piece of ripe fruit, in what backline crew chief Mike Rew refers to as "organised chaos".
As the forklifts roll in, and the trucks drive onto the stadium floor, the designated crew teams, lighting, video and sound get to work.
For stage manager and veteran roadie Mike Devlin, this is the final part of a 21-hour working day, which started at 6am when the trucks were unloaded on the stadium floor, as the eight-hour process of building the stage began.
"On a show day we unload the trucks in order of set up, the lighting comes off first, as that takes the most time to build, then the video and sound gear follow. "It's a game of layers," explains Mr Devlin.
As the 18-month Circle World Tour, enters in last six weeks travelling across Europe, including a show at Bristol's Ashton Gate this coming Monday, these unsung heroes work hard to make sure that the fans get to see a spectacular show; the current tour is mind blowing in its scale and size.
The band has four structural stages, taking three days each to build leap-frogging across Europe.
It's these stages that the rest of the equipment is built onto on the day of a show, including 9,872lb of video screens, with the world's largest complete screen, 115ft wide, directly behind the band on stage with over 750,000, pixels, making sure that wherever you are in the stadium you will still get that all important close up of Jon.
The sound system will generate 800,000 watts of sound via 9,200 amplifiers consuming a total of 905 kilowatts of power and the crew will get through 500 cups of coffee a day.
By mid afternoon the band's equipment is being set up on stage by Rew and his team, amongst it is Tico Torres' custom-made drum kit and Richie Sambora's 24 guitars which are put through their paces by the techs. "It takes me about an hour the get the kit set up and ready to a point where Tico can just walk up on stage and play without any problems" explains his drum tech JD.
Being on the road for so long, the crew has got the construction process down to a fine art, but they can still be the victims of the unforeseen.
Video crew chief Mark 'Marko' O'Herlihy said: "On this tour Jon didn't want any camera guys walking around the stage during the show blocking the fans view, so we now have several radio controlled cameras that move around the front of the stage on a track, operated by four guys backstage.
"For the first few shows we realised that they were top heavy and as they moved they were shaking a lot, which gave a really bad picture on the big screens.
"We finally resolved the problem via a visit to a local sports shop and brought up a load of ankle and wrist training weights, which we then strapped to the top of the camera unit, problem solved."
Other situations this band of road warriors have had to deal with include being escorted around some South American stadiums by security guards carrying shotguns, while in Australia one of the truck drivers turned up to a show with an empty equipment truck after picking up the wrong trailer and driving several hundred miles.
But it's not only external forces that can cause problems, as sound engineer David Eisenhauer found out to his cost, when a guest in front of house spilt a drink over the mixing desk during a live show.
Although the issue was quickly resolved Eisenhaur has since endured being the recipient of several children's drinking beakers, culminating in the rest of the crew presenting him with his own custom made pink Disney cup complete with mixing dials.
"Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the film Spinal Tap is just a movie and not an instructional video," says David Byran's keyboard tech Bill St Amour.
Practical jokes aside, life on the road is tough, long working days, months away from family and friends surrounded by the same people day after day.
On this tour there have been casualties. Some crew members who started on the tour in February 2010 have fallen by the wayside, as the pressures and environment took their toll.
But for the rest of the crew the pain of the road is eased by the strong family bond they all have with each other, something that Jon is keen to install.
He said: " I spend more time with these guys than I do with my own family.
"You work all day with them, you eat your meals with them, sometimes you break away for a bit of quiet time, but on the road they are family, it's what gets you through the rough times."
A sentiment echoed by production coordinator Meg Macrae: "I've done a lot of tours where people just haven't got on. On this one there is a strong family vibe. The only other time I have felt it as strong was when I worked with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne."
It is not only the crew who are grateful for this sense of family, as the band's guitarist Richie Sambora explains: "A lot of these guys have been with us from the beginning when we started to headline. We try to keep as many things constant as we can, and keep them as a family. It is important to have familiar faces around you."
For other members it's being away from family and friends that can sometimes make life on the road a bit tough.
"Going on tour is the hardest thing for me now," says drummer Tico 'The Hitman' Torres.
"My young son Hector does come on tour with us as much as possible, but when it's a big world tour it's better for him to stay home. As all dads will tell you, it's hard to be away, so for me it's important to have him out with us as much as possible."
Back at the stadium, as the clock approaches 2.30am, the final truck pulls away.
Devlin and production manager Jesse Sandler make the short walk across the parking area to one of the seven tour buses, in the vain hope of grabbing a few hours sleep before it all starts again tomorrow.
As the Emerson, Lake and Palmer lyric says: "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends."
The winners of our backstage tour on Monday afternoon are Gary Shepherd and Will Powell.
