COACHELLA 05 |
|
||||||||||||
Festival Brings Diverse Music To Diverse Music Fans Production coverage by Daniella Shepherd. Photography by Jimi G. |
||||||||||||
Coachella 2005. Ninety bands, five stages, two days, palm trees and sunshine. Coachella is currently one of the largest and most unique music and arts festivals in the country. Over a thousand people work hard to make this event happen for the 100,000 ticket holders who head through the tall gates at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA for the two day weekend. Differing from the punk festivals in the United States today, this festival is special in that no two similar types of music play simultaneously on any of the five stages at one given time. No other festival has the same mix of music, culture and art (yes, there are spectacular art exhibits too throughout the venue), and none have the beautiful surrounding of palm trees and sunshine. In a few weeks the whole event is built on the 40 acres of the polo fields from the ground up with tents, housing, water, power, bathrooms, staging, sound and lighting. This is the real story of Coachella. Where it came from, what the people are doing here and why it so loved. Building Coachella on an empty field starts a month a head of time with the arrival of Kevan Wilkins, a familiar face to the Coachella festival. Hired by head of Goldenvoice, Paul Tollet, as production manager for the whole event, Wilkins overseas the transformation of the polo ground. “We virtually build a city on an empty field for the Coachella festival”, he explains. “Power gets laid, stages get set, lights and sound, not to mention the housing, sanitation and water. Our aim is to provide a safe, magical environment for everyone who attends to watch the concerts and experience the atmosphere.” As we talked, trailers arrive dropping off equipment, fencing and more workers. Wilkins and his boss Paul Tollet make decisions in a matter of seconds as to where things go, and what goes up next. Building the massive structures that will showcase the multitude of diverse artists performing is one of the main tasks. As an example, the Kleeg-provided main stage was 65 x 55 ft with 35 x 25 ft wings and a total structure’s roof capacity of 70,000 lbs on ten towers. The tent stages are as massive in their own way, covering up to 140' x 280', and every hour something new is erected. Everyone is moving fast until the heat sets in around midday and people slow down to a more reasonable pace. Timing is crucial and ever more orchestrated to perfection. One week before the event,
more key people arrive. “Obviously preparation and delegation
are a great key to making this all happen,” explained Wilkins.
“A team is set up consisting of people who each have their own
worlds to look after. I oversee the event in general including the
main stage, and my technical production assistant, Nathan Carl, oversees
all the other stages. A dedicated production manager is hired for
each stage who then designs their stage set up, loading docks, PA
sizes, lighting, weight limits and look! They also hire their own
stage managers. The stage manager determines the crew they need for
each stage and lets Brian Bishop, crew chief, know how many crew are
needed for stagehands for each task! It’s all about trust, delegation
and choosing the right person for the right job according to their
skills and personality.” “Sound is so important to this festival along with power,” explained Wilkins. “In the end, a band can still play if the stage lights go down but they can’t if there is no sound and power. We chose two vendors for the sound on the five stages who each provided systems optimal for that particular stage. We had Rat Sound Systems providing sound for the Main stage, Mohave and Gobi tent, and US Audio supplying a V-Dosc system for the Outdoor stage and Sahara tent.
The main stage is unique in respect to the level of production that is necessary. International artists with their touring lighting and sound rigs are about to be brought onto this one stage, sixteen times over two days. “On the other stages, there may be one or maybe two consoles at any given time,” explained production manager, Doroba. “On the main stage, we have up to four monitor or FOH consoles at any given time which proves a particular challenge to this stage.” Over on the Outdoor stage, again V-Dosc was the main system chosen by US Audio for whom it was the sixth year at Coachella. According to US Audio’s Brian Murray, “This year we are using ten boxes with 3 d-V’s, Midas H3000 consoles, Crown amplification and XTA processing.” “Yes,” added US Audio’s Pete Docto, “we are focusing a 100 ft. shorter this year compared to the 350 ft. or so last year - so we won’t interfere with the other stages. I got together with Rat Sound’s Dave and Jon and tried to optimize the coverage for our area and to minimize interference with other stages. The goal was to reduce sound bleed to other stages so they just hear that one.” “For the Sahara tent, we also are using V-Dosc,” Brian Murray continued. “We are employing 22 V-Dosc boxes in total (11 aside) for the main hang. We have a dV-dosc middle delay of six per side, plus a d-V sub and four d-Vs at rear of tent with 16 subs - all powered by Crown. We like it because it’s a directional system and we can keep off the roof of the tent - so there’s not so much reflection in the room and it sounds smooth wherever you are. We accomplished that by stacking some of the subs higher at the front of the stage. We used a dozen EAW SB 1000 subs and two dozen L’Acoustics SB218’s at the front, and we used 16 SB1000’s at the rear of the tent”. “For both FOH and monitors,” he continues, “we used a Midas H 3000. Normally we just use one board at the back,” explained Murray, but the difference this year is we have bands on the Sahara stage, not just DJ’s - so we had to have both. It has a great preamp, it’s a universal console, and it sounds great. Because of the two rock style kind of bands we had, we downsized the back of the tent and moved the delays towards the front, just to give it a more rock vibe.”
For monitor world, the PM4KM was used with Crest 4801 and 7001 for the Rat triamped M wedges. The neighboring Gobi Tent was the venue for the widest range of eclectic bands from rap to DJ's to Indie Rock - which made it a very interesting stage. “Myself and my stage manager Brian came out Monday and built the stage with Duplex, then the lighting company came in next day and then sound arrived Thursday,” said production manager for the Gobi tent, Chris Fahey. “I’ve worked with bands for three years and so I knew what to do as far as what was expected. Working with Dave Rat who was the sound consultant was really helpful. Rat supplied the new Renkus Heinz STLA/9 speaker system which he felt suited the Gobi’s application. “This system is a compact, self-powered line array and it is the first time Gobi tent has had a flown system. We flew four per side and then deck stacked four per side as well. Trim heights for flying systems inside tents pose a particular challenge but the Renkus' compact line array was well suited for the job,” agreed Rat. LIGHTING As I made my way back over to the main stage, main stage production manager Doroba was busy talking with PRG lighting crew chief, Jason “Attaboy” Stalter about the lighting rigs that were being refined. One of the four lighting vendors chosen, PRG took care of the site and main stage lighting, whereas Visions was hired for the Outdoor stage, RDK for the Gobi and Felix for the Mohave and Sahara. “Our considerable challenge for the main stage was combining the lighting rigs for the three headlining acts each day and having them make sense as a single lighting rig with minimal changeovers. I have been working with PRG every day for the past month until we got the right plot, and I have to say that this year every artist was accommodating both to the festival and amongst themselves,” explained Doroba. “Dan Bowen, a well known lighting designer was contacted by production to work with the four LD’s of the acts coming in to design an overall layout for all four acts to be able to use one rig. The lineup included Bauhaus and Coldplay on Saturday and then New Order and Nine Inch Nails on night two,” explained Stalter.
“The trim for the lighting rig ended up being 30 feet, with 20 points - and we focused on Martin Profiles and Washes and Varilites. We have VL 2000, 3000 and 1000 & 6C’s on the show. The VL’s are mostly for Coldplay and most of the conventional stuff - ACL’s, lekos and smalls were for New Order,” he added. “Nine Inch Nails needed some Mac 2K Profiles with some strobes. Bauhaus is using back washes and some odds and ends. As for the floor package, each headlining band has their own - with Bauhaus having the most with 35 - 45 fixtures just on the ground. They use LED strip lights, VL3000 and 6C’s, as well as 18 ACL bars ... with people physically moving those throughout the show as well!” “Overall, the way Dan Bowen designed it, working between the four LD’s of the main acts, he had to come up with a design which worked with the four mains acts as well as generally for the production. Each act also has their own design. Bauhaus was on computers last week designing with WYSIWYG. They took a 3D mock-up of the show on computer and then programmed it so it will be cue to cue and very precise. On the other hand, Nine Inch Nails have a lot of floor lights but is also cue to cue. They have a a Hog at FOH and an Avolites Diamond 4 console up there as well.” Over on the Sahara tent,
they were focusing on a different challenge. Being a dance tent, the
lighting is vast and has such an important role, and Wiley, Goldenvoice
production manager for the Sahara tent, was busy making sure that
everything was in place to enable the DJ’s to move on and off
the stage seamlessly - while the music never stopped and the lighting
smoothly continued. “All the tents look amazing during the day
but the crowd were going to be blown away at night at how it transforms
into so many different environments. With both the Mohave with its
rock crowd and the Sahara with its rave roots, the lighting designer
needs to capture each crowds imagination and fit the lighting into
their idea of what that music interprets as its own,” explained
Dave McKinnon from Felix Lighting. “For the Sahara tent, we
bring in a laser guy named Skipp that we really like from San Francisco.
He brings in tube-like sheer scrims and lasers with incredible graphics
that help - along with video - to build the Sahara dance tent ambience.
The relationships between vendors has to be tight because we are working
on this rig long hot hours together and living onsite in motorhomes!” “We use the Mac 2K washes to color the huge halls in the tent. This is a big job do with the tents - as the space is 140' x 280'. We do our texturing with the Profiles, add some flavor to the dead spots, and put in the 575s to do sweeping across the sheer scrims and keep the patterns rotating. We try to use the quicker fixtures on the crowd. With the dance tent, its all about keeping the people moving with the D.J. It really helps that my crew and all the programmers like the music in their respective areas!” PRODUCTION Back in production, by Friday calm comes over the event as final touches arrive to the various systems. The massive moving of structures is finished and ready for a few sporadic sound checks bleeding into Saturday morning when, out of nowhere the onslaught of attendees starts to occur. A tired but dedicated production team get their second wind as the buzz of the event arrives and the first people flow through the door. Now the focus switches to security as there are people everywhere. Areas backstage that one could easily walk into, now require super credentials as the face of the festival changes into the presentation that the audience sees. For the next few days over 90 bands will play over five separate stages and music flows from all directions.
The movements of the people, the various artists and the different attractions are all captured by cameras shooting from various points around the new ‘city’. For those not close enough, lifesize images of the bands are projected onto the huge LED screens on either side of the main and outdoor stages and the same onto Barco projectors for the Gobi and Sahara tents. For those too focused at the main stage to move around the venue and see the art exhibits, a camera crew wirelessly transmits feeds onto PSL’s large LED screens at the main and outdoor stages in between acts. And as the attendees keep on coming, the bands rock on. Any problems that previously involved tasks such as moving a 5000 lb. beams or adjusting the trim height of the PA turned into issues like a major artist is needing another bottle of champagne in the dressing room or an extra backstage pass for a friend! Every demand was acknowledged and satisfied within reason. “We try to keep everything within the rider that the band submits a month beforehand,” Wilkins was keen to add. On Sunday night as the last artist finishes and the last ravers leave the Sahara tent, peace once again starts to set in at the beautiful desert site. The dismantling is much more subdued. Time pressures are released. The trucks come back again but the attitudes are different. Faces are sunburned and people leave with their unique memories from this year’s adventure. Another year at Coachella. “Every year for me,” admits Wilkins, “I know that 20,000 people came having never been to a festival before. Being a father of two children of 13 and 16, it is so important to me that that the event we produce is one of the safest yet wonderful place that your children can go to, as a parent. From the minute they arrived to the minute people left, I want to be sure in the knowledge that these people felt safe having experienced something incredible.” There is no doubt that
this wish was granted. For me, Coachella was pure magic. •Site Lighting –
PRG (Peter Alexander) At a festival with over
90 bands over two days and five stages, it is truly impossible to
interview everyone or even grab someone for a 5-minute breather! Weezer,
Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails and Thrice were just five of the bands who
played on the main stage. TP US caught up with a handful of engineers
who shared some insight into this mammoth event with fast changeovers
and little pre-production time.
And your thoughts on Coachella as a festival? It’s a high profile gig, so it’s exciting for me - and I believe the band are quite excited too! Jim Warren (FOH Engineer, Nine Inch Nails) What gear did you carry today for the Nine Inch Nails show? We brought our own Digidesign Venue console and Tube Tech compression for vocals -other than that, everything else is done onboard. We were given the chance to use this new desk and I like it. Tell us about your mic choices. I have been mixing Nine Inch Nails for a couple of months and also recently doing the Doves and Radiohead, so I was also here last year. This year it’s still hot! Nine Inch Nails is mixed at 106dBa typically. They really brought everything themselves that they are using today at Coachella, as we are currently touring with Firehouse. On stage we have at the kick drum an AT AE2500. For snare and the toms they are using Sennheiser 604’s. The bottom snare is a Shure Beta 98. Overheads are Shure KSM 32’s. The secret kick mic is a Shure MC 50B. We have a KSM 32 in an iso box for one guitar, Beta 58 vocal mics, lots of DI’s and transducer pick ups. Any special tricky vocal effects? One special effect worthy of mention is Trent’s control receptor muse box which runs its own plug-in named “The delay effect buffer override plug.” He controls it from a touch strip on his mic stand. We use the onboard graphics on the console to some extent, but most of the system EQing is done with XTA’s. And pre-production comments? Florent Bernard is my system tech and he helped design the system we used last year, so he sent his array to Rat Sound that was used last year with Radiohead. The system was put together with that in mind using V-Dosc. Bernard is amazing. He’s the only person who’s as anal about the sound as I am. He’s fantastically capable and someone who is more a systems designer rather that a systems tech. I mix into his system and we chat and discuss everything. Do you ever have bad nights? We never have bad nights, as we work extremely hard during the day to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. Even though we came directly from the Vegas show last night, we arrived early to make sure we got here before anyone else to load-in!
What happened in pre-production? Roy Bennett came up with a design on paper and we had five days to put it together, program it and get it out on road. Nine Inch Nails has been involved with PRG since the beginning with supplying us with everything we needed.
I am an old LSD guy - I
started out with LSD which has now changed to PRG. Tonight I’m
using MAC 2K Profiles and 2K washes, strobes, Pixellines and bunch
of molefeys and lekos.
What console and related gear are you using? I am carrying the Yamaha 5D. This is my first time bringing one on a tour. I have used the PM1D on other projects and this one is not a bad "little brother" to it. Production strongly encouraged it, as many of the venues we are playing on this club tour are quite small and we throw the support act on it as well. I am a big fan of anything Midas and will probably go back to an XL4 once we get out on our own and monitor world becomes a bit bigger. The desk is a bit too sensitive for my tastes but you can do anything imaginable without any external gear. How many inputs - in-ear channels and wedges? How are they powered? We are up to about 32 stage inputs. It’s not too bad; we try to keep it simple. They are a pretty straightforward band and very much a guitar band, and we mic every cabinet. Not one player wants to hear the guitars the same, so I have multiples for each band member. I am very happy about having the entire band on ears, though. That's something I fought for from day one in rehearsals and they all have seemed to be happy with it. I have a pair of MicroWedge 12’s down center (w/ the 2"s dialed down) for Rivers Cuomo, but the only thing going through those is his guitar for feedback purposes when he leans into the wedge. Figured I'd save the guy a trip upstage to his Marshalls! Then in both sides I'm running a single Rat sub to add a bit of feel to the stage. Depending on how Craig Overbay (FOH engineer) is driving the system, it's very minimal; mostly just kick though and nothing above 100Hz. Any problem instruments due to stage volume? I don't find any real problems with the stage volume; it is not quiet up there and so I try not turn too much on and off. A ton of guitar bleeds through the vocals, and turning them on and off changes the mix a lot, so I work with them to try and find a balance. They are a very consistent band and hate drastic change. What are your microphone choices for individual instruments? When we got started I had asked Craig what mics he used last, and he and I have mixed together before, so I went with what he had used previously. I'm the new guy out here with this band, and he's mixed them for a few tours now. If it's good enough for him, I go with it. I'm a big fan of Audio Technica and Beyer, though Craig has turned me onto the Audix line. A good amount of the guitars and drums are taken with Audix. Rivers' guitar cabinet is mic’d with a pair of Sennheiser 409s, and I think that they are the actual microphones Craig used on Cobain's rig in the Nirvana days, so there’s a bit of audio rock history ... What in-ear system and molds are used? The band purchased a Shure 700 In-Ear system on the last tour. The 700s will get you out of a jam when RF is a problem. The noise-floor is a bit high and I definitely keep the high boost off in the packs. but they have a bright characteristic to begin with. We may be changing to the 3000 Sennheiser series soon; it’s the best ear rig on the market in my book. I have the guys all on Ultimate Ears UE7s, and through the years I have had great success with their product. I can't stress enough how great that company is. They really take care of me and listen to me when I need things. Some of the guys have their Ambient models, which lets a bit of the back-line bleed through. This was a first time for me trying that, but they seem to be happy. What do Weezer's lead singer, Rivers, and others in the band want to hear in their mixes? What the guys are looking for is pretty straight forward. A bit of drums for everyone, guitar players get their own rigs and vocals, and there is a key section that our guitar player plays for a couple tunes. We have the keys all sub-mixed down through a Behringer mixer so it comes to me as two channels. Our techs are good enough to find a happy balance between them, which makes my day a lot easier. Anything special secrets that you do? I am using all onboard reverbs for vocals, nothing too fancy just a plate with a couple milliseconds. Everybody gets a little of their own, except Rivers, he prefers it dry, with no effects. I put some in the first day in rehearsals and he was like "Wow, that's really cool sounding! OK you can turn that off though, thanks." In between songs I bring up our crowd mics a small amount, definitely off during the songs though. I rarely use them but when the audience is saying something and they can't hear it it is strange ... just a little ego rub for a bit. How did you get into monitor engineering? The best way to learn is by having the best in the business take you around the globe for a few years before you go at it alone. Craig Overbay and I had the true pleasure of doing The Cure together at last year's Coachella. It was our first gig with the band and we headlined the last night. Coachella is a beautiful festival, and one of my favorite shows in the world. I was very excited to see it on Weezer's itinerary. Dave Rat and Jon Monson and the rest of the Rats handled it last year, and did a stand up job once again. We are carrying a Rat System on tour so our boys hooked us up and as always accommodate us fully. Who is on monitor crew with you? I have Dwayne Diaz out with me as our Rat Sound Stage/System Tech. He's great; the first run we've done together. Great attitude, hard worker and he also has stage manager skills which helps the big picture with getting this circus in and out with ease. Monitors vs. FOH? I've never mixed FOH, nor do I ever want to. I much prefer the thumbs up or pat on the back from five band members than having the drummer's wife tell me to turn up the kick drum or management breathing down my neck. There are a lot more calls for monitors in the world of independent engineers, too. What communications system do you use - do techs use in-ears as well? I have Craig's talkback bussed to everyone’s ears. The band really listens to his suggestions and ideas and they sound check everyday. I think they just like saying hello too! We have two backline techs out with us, and in the past I just Matrix out a copy of each band member's tech, but these guys have their own mixes. They have multiple band members to look after, so it's the only way to do it, plus I conduct the changeover line checks and Craig follows along, so they need to hear me as well. Remember no speakers on stage! Any system redundancy? We have multiple mics, but more for tone changes as opposed to redundancy. Dwayne's all over it. I lost my Ear/Kick channel the other night and he got it up and going in eight seconds. It has crashed on me, but it is all backed up on a PC Card every night. Worst case would be shutting down the desk, reformatting and uploading my scenes again to the computer, and yes I have done this before...
|
