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FESTIVALS, FAIRS, RACETRACKS, AMPHITHEATRES, CASINOS, AND LOCAL LIGHTING EQUIPMENT

FESTIVALS

Festivals have contributed an immeasurable range of venues to the worldwide list of possible performance spaces. They can include one-time community events that hire artists, local or famous, to raise money for a charitable cause, such as victims of Hurricane Katrina or the Ohio flood. Or, festivals can be annual worldwide events that draw thousands of fans over the course of several days, such as Live Aid or Farm Aid. Heavy metal, jazz, blues, rap, pop, Christian rock, country music—festivals that are a growing but seasonal venue, primarily active during the summer months. The Sweden Rock Festival (Figure 22.1) is held at a dedicated site about 3 hours north of Copenhagen in Sölvesborg. It started in 1992 with 9 bands; in 2008, 75 bands performed. This well-known festival is but one in 50 for Sweden alone (see www.festivalinfo.net). Milwaukee Summerfest is touted as the World's Largest Music Festival, spanning 11 days with performances on 13 stages. Not new to the genre, the Country Music Association (CMA) celebrated its 37th annual festival in Nashville in 2008. The 4-day festival attracts worldwide broadcast media and newspapers and 52,000 fans per day to see 106 acts perform for more than 34 hours.

These festivals are by and large extremely well organized, and the bigger annual festivals are often staffed with year-round employees. A touring group and entourage can expect that all of their production needs will be met and exceeded; however, only the headliners will be able to enjoy a festival-style lighting design to accommodate their production. The main reason is that darkness generally falls at around 9:00 p.m., even later in the northern hemisphere. if a festival is designed around a touring headliner (of the caliber of Kiss or Aerosmith), the bands performing before sunset will only be allowed to use a portion of their touring system. The poster shown in Figure 22.2 is from a German rock festival where both groups performed in 2008.

A festival-style lighting design is a generic design of five primary, full-stage, color PAR washes; usually between 6 and 12 ellipsoidal reflector spotlights (ERS s) for key light specials; a few bars of 4 aircraft landing lights (ACL s); several 8-light audience blinders; and 12 or more moving luminaires, normally a mixture of profiles and washes. There normally will be a straight 12-inch box truss upstage on two motors for backdrops and sometimes corporate sponsor logo signs that can be easily moved in and out to change with backdrops that the various groups carry with them. The festival system is intended to provide a generic lighting arsenal for all visiting lighting designers to use. With so many visiting bands and lighting designers, one generic system for everyone is the most cost-effective method for maintaining a lighting rig during the course of a festival season. There will be very few color filter changes, no truss configuration changes, and, consequently, no rigging changes. In addition, if the touring artist does not have a lighting designer, usually the lighting vendor's staff designer, who more than likely is the person who designed the system, will be appointed to create and operate the festival's system for that artist.

The festival lighting systems can be adapted or customized by limited conventional lighting color

filter changes and focus positions, or not—it depends on the origin of the system. If the lighting rig belongs to a headliner, then probably not, but if it is a specific system for that particular festival then a few custom changes are likely to be approved. With any moving luminaire, groups and palettes are organized in advance, and the company or freelance programmer that is onsite can quickly alter the moving luminaire focus and customize the scenes. Even if a lighting designer brings his own console, it makes more sense to use the console that is provided. In a festival situation, there is not enough time to build a show from scratch with conventional and moving luminaire programming because the shows begin as early as noon. There can be six stage changes of other bands' equipment before the headliner takes the stage, between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. The festival schedule means that all of the bands and their crews must be conscientious and work together during these special situations.

At most all festivals, video cameras and image magnification screens are part of the stage package provided by the producer. Because they can be clearly seen in daylight, light-emitting diode (LED) screens are most commonly used, with one located on either side of the stage (size varies). A fully equipped video truck, a designated room, or sometimes a tent or trailer will be parked near the stage and manned with a director, video engineer, and camera crew expressly so audiences will be able to view the performer up close.

FAIRS AND RACETRACKS

State fairs are commonly prepared, organized, and ready for touring productions, and the conditions are similar to festival organizations. The production requirements are customarily followed to the letter. The fair may be open for several days, and each night will feature a touring group and sometimes a package of two name groups. The difference between a festival and state or county fair is that the lighting systems at county fairs are standard, having either two 40-foot pre-rig trusses with 60 PAR luminaires per truss (front and back) or sometimes three truss systems and 180 PAR luminaires. The larger state fairs, such the Minnesota State Fair or Ohio State Fair, will have the budget to add moving luminaires if so asked by the touring company. They will also change the color filters to specifications and arrange the dimmer patch to suit the touring lighting plot, which would be sent in advance of the show date by the lighting designer or production manager. Sometimes, touring lighting designers will carry their own lighting consoles and will soft-patch DMX dimmer circuits into their console channels to resemble, as closely as possible, their normal show channels' layout. This method reduces programming time and helps retain show continuity even though there will be a different lighting vendor every day.

The bands that perform at state fairs are usually out of the top radio rotation but still well known because their past hits continue to maintain their popularity. They will not carry much production. Lighting systems, risers, and audio systems will be provided for them as specified in their production riders. They are hired because they are still popular with fans, and one of the primary reasons for fairs to stage concerts is to draw people to the fair. Among the discount approaches that the marketing departments of fairs rely on to bolster attendance is including admission to the fair with the price of the concert ticket.

Tours that do not carry production will have small road crews—an equipment manager or two, a lighting designer, a monitor mixer, and front-of-house sound engineer. In the worst case, someone on the crew will double as a production manager and would also perform as the show's lighting director or the artist will rely on someone with the lighting company to bring a capable lighting designer. This would be considered a very basic level production and lighting show. Nonetheless, these outdoor situations can be very challenging for touring lighting designers with more compromises than imaginable. for the most part, the local equipment vendors that serve state fairs are professional and accommodating, and most stage crews are either union or professional stage company help. On the other hand, equipment in the lower grade county fairs can be older rental gear and in disrepair, or the staff may not be qualified to the level needed. This means that normal elementary troubleshooting will cause inordinate delays in the setup.

In some instances the house stage crews are (literally) prisoners. At some county fairs, the local prison releases prisoners on good-behavior day passes to help the fair with odd jobs. Being on the stage crew happens to be one of those jobs.

Outdoor stages, large or small, are a challenge. High humidity, rain, wind, heat, cold, dust, dirt, mud, or the sun streaming in during focus are all important considerations. When the show starts, these distractions have a tendency to fade away. All you can do is strive to make the best of each day.

AMPHITHEATRES

Amphi theatres are, by and large, an enjoyable experience when touring. The reason is that many of the outdoor amphi theatres consulted with practicing touring production managers or stage managers, and the architects and consultants asked them about what they would actually like to see built and what their touring needs were—things such as high roofs with catwalks to allow the riggers to hang points fast and safely, plenty of truck space for eight or ten trucks so the trucks can stay parked at the docks, plenty of room to store cases, and space to move large equipment. You will also find plenty of power situated very close to where most dimming systems will be, power for audio situated near their distribution center, and troughs that make it easy to lay control cables to front-of-house lighting and sound positions. Most have catering rooms with fully equipped kitchens and ample room for chairs and tables. The dressing rooms are close to the stage, and many have showers and high-quality bathrooms.

Amphitheatres generally do not have in-house systems. Very few compromises need to be made in this type of venue, and generally the entire production can be used with room to spare. Controlling the atmosphere is sometimes tough due to the inevitable wind factor inherent to outdoor events. This can generally be countered by placing extra fans and haze machines on stage. Almost all amphi theatres have covered stages and roofs over part of the audience (usually the first 5000 seats before a grassy incline and festival-type lawn seating), which work as barriers to keep wind out of the performance space.

Aside from containing the haze atmosphere during a show, daylight lighting focus is probably the biggest challenge at amphi theatres, particularly for moving luminaires. You can stare into a conventional light even in the brightest sunlight and still accomplish a fast and accurate focus, but if there are set pieces and backdrops moving luminaires are more difficult to accurately focus. Roof shade often helps, but some of the amphi theatres face west, and direct sun streams into the stage area late in the afternoon. Overall, though, you can easily imagine that a tour of amphi theatres will make road crews generally very happy.

CASINOS

Not all of the casino operations have new entertainment complexes, but casinos generally pay handsomely for the bands, more than a concert promoter would guarantee, and a band's management, based on that premise, is likely to add casino dates to a tour. But, some of the venues can barely be considered controlled performance spaces, and production riders will be minimally satisfied. The managers often just look the other way because of the big payday for the band. Sometimes the performance space will be larger conference room conversions with stages. Many of these can present real challenges for a touring lighting designer trying to adapt a show to a 12-foot ceiling and barely enough space to fit band equipment or staging. If the drummer stands up on a riser, the sticks can touch a luminaire; if that doesn't happen first, the performer will surely feel the heat from the luminaires.

Contributing to the growing pains of casinos trying to be performance venues, often the room conversions and even new builds are designed by architects that do not understand that stage lighting dimmers should be separated from the architectural lighting. The house lighting control will take up several dimmers and DMX channels. The stage lighting system will take up the rest, leaving just a few spare channels, if any. If touring lighting designers have any lighting or effects of their own to augment the house stage lighting system, one can expect that a few wall sconces or house lights will overlap DMX channels, and they will flash on and off with the stage luminaires. It will take time to figure out a way around these problems; however, it can be done (while you are muttering under your breath), and expect that each situation will bring new and unique challenges.

Harrah's Casino, one of the largest chains that have arrangements with Indian casinos, along with a few other independents, are also promoting outdoor summer festival seasons and using their large parking lots to erect outdoor roof and stage systems. At outdoor shows, inclement weather is always a possibility, which makes this performance condition less than ideal because there is very little additional coverage beyond a four-post roof design. The parking lot could be on a slope and it is common for street light poles to be in front of or near the stage. The follow spot towers are hardly towers at all, and the front-of-house position has been known to barely be high enough to clear the tops of the audience's heads. As an aside, this should be addressed during the advance of the show, but the person doing the advance has to know to ask the question. There have been cases when the promoter has asked that the band forego the contracted amount of performance time and cut their song set short so the casino personnel can direct the audience back into the casino sooner. (All time away from the casino is a loss to the owners.) This is the attitude you have to work with, and you have to do the very best that you can under the circumstances. Playing these types of venues is like a world-renowned band warming up for the casino, which is the headliner.

LOCAL PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

Local lighting and production companies come and go. They have to compete against large companies in major cities, or they may be the only one in a small regional market or town. Usually, concerts are only a small part of their business because they make their major income from supplying a wide range of everything from exhibits and conventions to corporate meetings and parties that stage entertainment events. The happy consequence is that there is no shortage of ways for the lighting industry to expand; everyone needs light, and entertainment lighting is in high demand. Local lighting vendors are simply providing the equipment to accommodate the demand, and diversifying is just smart business.

The main reason for touring groups to use local production equipment and services is pure economics. It is by far less expensive for a skeleton crew to travel than to pay trucking and tour bus costs to move a full production of luminaires, stage sets, sound equipment, and the production team from city to city.

Instead of transporting equipment and crew, as the larger touring shows do, the majority of touring artists rely on renting from local lighting vendors or on the use of in-house equipment. In fact, it is not the band that hires the local lighting vendor; it is the show promoter who contracts the vendor. This is because the concert artist's contract must be adhered to by the show promoter, and within the contract will be an addendum with lighting specifications.

The band's production or road manager will distribute the local contact information internally to the road crew to confirm that the local vendors understand and can deliver the equipment and the required staff. Essentially, the promoter pays the bills and the road crews implement the designs, including:

1. Providing a wish list of equipment for the show to be included in the contract.
2. Following up with advance communications with the local lighting vendor.
3. Supervision by the road crew department heads at the venue.

Every good plan will have drawbacks, and here the caveat is twofold:

1. In most cases, the band's agent will send the contract to the promoter; however, the agent's focus is far removed from production as his 10% commission doesn't depend on the production requirements in the contract. Lighting plots and stage layouts are likely to be old news, regardless of the production manager's attempts to update them.
2. Some, but not all, promoters are greedy! They may hire substandard equipment to cut corners.

Between the promoter's representative for production and the local vendor, they may arbitrarily decide to substitute some of the lighting requests with what may be deemed as comparable equipment but isn't; for example, they may try to substitute color filters without proper research or, worse, use tired old gels. It is also common for the detail of the requested bulb type to be overlooked or ignored—just to name a few known hurdles, with the unknowns presenting themselves on show day.

On the other hand, changes and substitutions may be totally understandable. May be it is because the venue is away from any major city and the local equipment is all that is available. In any case, by the time the lighting designer gets the contact number it is usually too late to rectify any significant equipment change unless the local lighting vendor is sympathetic and will make changes as part of the production package. The artist's management has already cut the deal with the promoter. Tickets are on sale, and the venue has received its deposit along with the other contracts it has probably negotiated, ranging from union stage hands to tour merchandising. A touring crew may have very little say at that point with regard to upgrades. You will be stuck with what you've got, and the challenge will be to use that bare minimum requirement equipment with lamps in disrepair, filters that don't match, and several channels that will have a wide PAR-64 bulb on one side and a very narrow one at the other. All you can do is face the challenge and adapt, improvise, and overcome. The show will happen, just not with the perfection that we aspire to. But, another day offers the hope of better equipment. Just be comforted by the fact that your check was good.

THE ADVANTAGE OF LOCAL LIGHTING VENDORS

It's not all bad news, though. For the most part, local lighting vendors provide services as good as or better than larger companies. As you have already read in Chapter 1, the larger companies were established by buying small companies to give them a national presence, or small companies merged for operating and market share advantages. The local lighting vendor could be an outlet of a larger corporate operation, or it could be an independently owned company that offers several advantages:

1. Reduced or no equipment transport costs
2. No hotel or per diem costs because crews are local.
3. Competitive rates for the equipment (they want to beat out the big company's price).
4. Generally well-maintained equipment (with exceptions, of course).
5. Relationships with and knowledge of other local venues.
6. Familiarity with new technology or willingness to refer to qualified outside media services.
7. Maintenance of an active list of qualified freelance professionals.

Through their diversified work, many local companies have obtained a substantive inventory of new technology and are able to purchase the newest technology as it becomes available. The competitive free market in entertainment lighting rental is alive and well. Finally, and most importantly, is to understand the touring mindset. The local lighting vendor is there to help designers achieve their goals by providing service with care and passion. There is not much time for error. A show comes in for the day, and the equipment has to be prepared precisely to the touring designer's requirements before the touring crew arrives. While the other events that the local production companies service can be lucrative, the first love of most local companies is staging the live concert. Many owners and their employees have come from lives on the road and have acquired an entrepreneurial sensibility from freelancing in the concert touring world. Touring is a hard life, and owning or working for a local lighting company allows former road crew members to settle in one place and continue doing what they love to do.