... last words on the Bowl
As these
things usually go, the game is a bit of a let down though my New
England roots were pleased to see the Pats rack another one up. The
halftime show was a sight to see; the video screen crew had plenty of
pressure as far as I can tell. Those things don't work on a good day,
let alone driving across a football field in a hurry on it's back. At
least if you had to work on it you could lie on the ground!
I spoke with someone involved with that performance
and found out some of the details in the how it was done. I bet the
average viewer at home doen't know and doesn't care. For an event like
that there is much planning, many rehearsals, too many meetings and the
wide spread of territorial pissing that comes with the cross section of
music, sports, TV and corporate presentation. The guy in charge of the
grass can be a putz and cost the show thousands of dollars out of his need to make sure no one yells at him about divots.
I was involved in a show at Texas Stadium which
occured after a Cowboys game that was going to be broadcast for
Thanksgiving. As a backline guy, it was odd to be affected by so many
different layers of concern. The building guy was a control freak; the
event manager was in over his head; the set was built out of box truss,
plywood and bailing wire; the Cowboy cheerleaders at one point had us
remove the entire show off the field so they could practice a routine
for 45 minutes; did I mention that most of these events are staffed by
volunteers to keep costs down?
Believe me, most major problems will go unnoticed
unless your clothes fall off or the sound of you crashing to the ground
would effect the mix adversely (Bitterman?) I personally cringe when I
hear a guitar out of tune or see fingerprints all over a glossy ax, but
most folks go "Isn't that the guy who dates that girl from the OC?" The
Ashlee Simpson thing was such an exception to the rule. There were
e-mails flying around before 1:00 am on whether they needed a new crew
guy, a new drummer or if everyone on that project was looking for a gig
because her career was OVER...
One of my road friends (semi-retired) called and
said that it was typical for the finger pointing to begin because they
were too cheap to hire qualified professionals to insure them from
looking like idiots. I guess paying someone a decent wage would seem
like a bargan compaired to the loss of revenue from pimping your other
daughter out like a Bankok karioke whore. Actually, we're both pretty
sure that Dad would still not get it. At least she still has a source
of gigs from the acid reflux convention folks... "Don't let acid
reflux ruin your career; use Gagamet! Here's a medley of our greatest
hit..."
9:26:40 AM 
|
|
