For the third & final Installment of our “What it Takes – “Saviors” Tour edition”, I wanted to get into the different types of Tour & local Crew members it takes to make the show what it is, as well as the process they go through in order to get the show ready inside of the stadium.
- Tour managers: a nationwide tour involves complex logistics. staying on the road with the artist crew, technicians and 20+ trucks worth of equipment can cost up to $750k per day. The goal of the tour manager is to make sure that the money doesn’t go to waste as unforeseen circumstances arise while Getting the band from one city to another. Doing so, with cities sometimes only a few hours away, seems to be a pretty straightforward job, but in fact, most days the tour manager is dealing with the unexpected and solving endless amounts of new problems each day — all while keeping the artists and overall show ready to perform. The Tour managers also run the technician crew. behind every show there’s a team that turns the performance into an audible & video graphic experience that the audience comes from near & far to see. It takes a lot of work and a lot of moving parts to put a live show together (stage,lights,sound system, etc.), but we’ll get back to specifics on that later.
Crew type specifics as listed on Job Boards by the stadiums (the 3 of 16 positions listed that pertain specifically to concerts)
- Stage crew: The crew that sets up and/or test a band’s staging and equipment. either part of the band’s road crew or local Crew hired by the tour promoter. This is one of the tiers that gets the “other duties as assigned” label – needing to help with other tasks aside from setting up or tearing down etc., a specific example, would be taking the dookie plane & dogs around the crowd during two of the bands songs (see photo below), or even getting the band off the stage when there’s a potential security threat (which actually had to happen during the show in Detroit – there was a drone flying above the stadium).
- Sound crew: The crew that runs a venue’s sound system. either part of the band’s road crew or local contractors hired by the tour promoter.
- Crowd control: A term for the multitude of duties security personnel perform to ensure a peaceful event. Another one of the tiers that gets the “other duties as assigned” label – needing to help with tasks such as rerouting the crowd away from the stage after being dumped up front after crowd surfing, or helping usher field seat crowd members to the sides to form an aisle for the props & performers also listed above (see dookie plane & dog performers photo above)
Photos From the Show
A complete breakdown from the eyes of the production manager – (Thank you to Tour & stadium personnel, as well as a few online articles to iron out some exact details to give you the most information possible)
Scheduling the Tour: It starts with booking agents putting together a schedule and contacting the band’s agents with ideas. Then, The agents get with the managers and talk through it, and once everything is ironed out it becomes a stop
Producing the Show: preparation for this summer Tour usually starts the winter before. The dates were picked, seating maps were put together, then you have to find a stage. There is actually a specific staging company that works well in baseball stadium that companies such as Live Nation tend to use. After the stage, they make sure to secure generators, and everything else such as the chairs, and the field covers that protect the grass.
Show preparation
4 days till the show: the logistics manager will arrive at the stadium around 6am and prepare for the crew. A number of forklifts etc. would be delivered soon before. Once everything to protect the finish of the stadium is in place, materials come in on two or three semi trucks. After protecting the field/warning track so they can drive machinery in the ballpark, the staging will arrive on semi truck trailers (along with things such as the steps that go over the outfield walls to get on/off the field). They also build a catering area in the stadium where the players get dropped off for both the artists’ and the local crews. After everything is laid out, the first day usually ends at 10 or 11pm.
3 days fill the show: this is when the flooring that covers the grass comes in. It could be more than 70,000 square feet of white plastic to stand and put the chairs on. That will be stored for now, and get installed later in the day on the day before the concert to preserve the grass and minimize the amount of time it’s covered.
2 days till the show: this is when the generators come in. A couple of Miles of cables are also brought in for the band to plug into. Then, the chairs come in along with thousands of feet of fencing to protect the infield & the accessible sections. This is when the stage starts to be built, and once it’s topped, the band will come in. The roof has to be secure in order to rig the band’s equipment.
1 day till the show: The band comes in with around 10+ semi trucks of their own. They usually arrive around 1 or 2 and finish around 10pm the night before. Another truck comes in with video screens for the stage, and one more truck that will have the speakers that go on the trusses by first base, third base and home-plate. The spotlights get put up in the upper deck, then that evening they lay the plastic on the field to protect the grass, which takes until 2am. During that time they also start to mark the floors. With their precise seating maps.
The day of the show: the Local crews come and set up every chair and label them. They have to have fire inspections done before doors can open.
Doors on the “Saviors” Tour have been opening at 4pm.
Once again, Thank you very much for tuning in! I have had a blast being able to have the amazing opportunity to follow the “Saviors” Tour over the last two weeks, and have had made many a memory I will not soon forget. Not that it’s new information, but Green Day absolutely rocks! I must add, I’m half their age, and have half the energy they do. I followed along just as a journalist for two short weeks of the tour, and I’m tired, hangry, had the stomach flu, and probably smell like a dumpster fire. they’ve been rocking out 37 songs a night, each and every one with the upmost energy and showmanship, just as the first song of the first show of the tour. Maybe I should start working out so I can be that lively all the time (typed as I finish another bag of lays and Keebler cookies).
Also, don’t forgot to subscribe to our YouTube channel (@chewingonthewire) to watch the documentary of the entirety of our travels and experiences of our time on the “Saviors” Tour. coming out on Friday, September 13th, 2024!
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