HAVANA — The Rolling Stones performed a concert in Havana, Cuba on Friday March 25, 2016. The free concert took place at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana and drew hundreds of thousands of attendees. FRONT of HOUSE senior staff writer Kevin M. Mitchell provided this account of the behind-the-scenes production supporting this historic event for the April 2016 issue of FOH (page 18).
“I have to say that doing Cuba with the Rolling Stones was the most rewarding show I have ever done in my career,” says the band’s longtime production manager Dale “Opie” Skjerseth. “From the moment when we started our first meeting to the last when we were on site, it was amazing.” This is saying quite a lot, considering that in addition to working with the Stones, this Parnelli Award nominee has taken the likes of AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne around the planet.
Yes, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (their opening number) jumped over to Cuba to be the first major international rock band to play that island, providing further heat to thaw the long-time contentious relationship between our two countries. So on Friday March 25, 2016, hundreds of thousands of rock-hungry Cubans (estimates range from 400,000 to up to a million, including the throngs packed into the outlying areas outside the park) showed up to the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana sports complex that had seen decidedly better days for the free one-day concert.
Start Me Up
Mick Jagger brushed up on his Spanish to give the crowd his opening line “¡Hola Habana, buenas noches mi gente de Cuba!” (Hello Havana, and good evening to my people of Cuba!) and later spoke out (also in Spanish) with “Years ago it was difficult to hear our music, but here we are — the times are changing.” The reference here of course was that following the Cuban revolution when Fidel Castro assumed power, even though they knew it was “only rock ‘n’ roll,” it was banned on state-run TV and radio.)
The Stones, on the tail end of their successful Latin American tour, jumped at the chance to be part of history and took their long-time sound company of choice, Clair Global with them. Parnelli Award nominee Dave Natale was at FOH as he has been with the band since 1994, mixing on his trusty Yamaha PM4000 using an Avid Venue Profile to assist as he does whenever he mixes for the Stones. Steve Carter mixed so the band could hear on his Midas XL-4000, also using an Avid Venue Profile in addition to that.
The main P.A. (with ample delay towers to cover the entire crowd) was Clair’s i-5, i-5b subs, and P-2. The monitors used were Clair 12am, i-5b subs, and R-4 III. Concerts in Cuba are typically a stark, simple stripped down affair, so the crowd no doubt appreciated the big stage complete with a set that looked like a giant jukebox with the massive Clair Global system blasting out at them. “We brought in everything we needed — there were no compromises on anything [regarding the show’s sound system],” says Skjerseth.
Making History
This historic concert event followed the band’s America Latina Ole tour as it wrapped up, having played stadiums in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio De Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre with Lima, Bogotá and Mexico City following next week. The band are also leading a musician to musician initiative in which much needed musical instruments and equipment are being donated by major suppliers for the benefit of Cuban musicians of all genres. Donors include The Gibson Foundation, Vic Firth, RS Berkeley, Pearl, Zildjian, Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Roland and BOSS with additional assistance from the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation. The Rolling Stones said in a release: “We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too.”
Jimmy Buffett was in the VIP section, but alas, President Obama was not; Obama left the country right before the show. The band started planning this show the day after the President announced that he would visit.
This entire event is being made possible by Fundashon Bon Intenshon (FBI) on behalf of the island of Curaçao. FBI initiates and supports international charitable projects in the fields of education, athletics, cultural literacy, healthcare and tourism as well as other attempts to mitigate the impact of general poverty. The event was promoted by AEG’s Concerts West and Musica Punto Zero, who extended their gratitude for the support provided by the Institute of Cuban Music in bringing this event to the people of Cuba.
A Cuban choir joined the band in performing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” as the first encore after the 15-song set, but apparently all the Cubans got what they needed.
The Rolling Stones en Cuba
Sound Co: Clair Global
Crew
Production Manager: Dale “Opie” Skjerseth
Cuba Site Coordinator: Chuck Beckler
FOH Engineer: Dave Natale
Systems Technician: Jo Ravitch
Monitor Engineer: Steve Carter
Monitor Systems Technician: Brandon Schuette
Audio Crew Chief: Thomas Huntington
Audio Event Coordinator: Bob Weibel
P.A. Techs: Andy Sottile, Paul Toby, Jared Lawrie, Joel Merrill, Jeff Wuerth, Rachael Adkins, Jamie Nelson Tim Banas, Charlie Hernandez Jr., Kevin Leas, Taylor Holden, Chris Daniels, Chris Zevallos, Nathan Lowe, Tom Birkhead, Josh Hughes, Emmet Turbritt, Rachel Rozzi
Gear
FOH System
Consoles: Yamaha PM4000; Avid Venue Profile
Speakers: Clair i-5 and i-5b (Main, side coverage, rear coverage arrays, P-2 (front fill)
Amps: Crown Macro-Tech
Processing: Aphex 612, dbx 903, Clair AlignArray software, Clair iO loudspeaker processors
MON System
Consoles: Midas XL-4000; Avid Venue Profile
Speakers: Clair 12AM, R-4 Series III, i-5b subs
Amplifiers: Lab.gruppen
IEMs: Shure PSM1000
Wireless: Shure UR Series
Processing: TC Electronic 1128; dbx 160a; SPL Transient Designer 4
