After conquering the Great Wall of China, the producers of the Wonders of the World (WOW) concert video tour have settled in for some domestic scenery before going overseas again (to Russia's Gorky Park) sometime next year. This is good news for the audio pros who enjoy combining historical sightseeing with their work .
The WOW tour is the brainchild of Joyce & Associates partners Rob Joyce, Cary Floyd and Paul "Ringo" George, and is produced by their subsidiary, Doc Brown Entertainment. It is a special series of oneoff events showcasing renowned musical performers with historical backdrops, filmed in high-definition digital video for eventual broadcast and DVD distribution. The first event was an ambitious trek to the base of the Great Wall of China last fall, chronicling performances by Doyle Bramhall, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men, Cyndi Lauper, Nellie McKay and others. The second leg of the tour touched down in San Antonio, Tex., at the Alamo. It was the first (and so far, only) concert or film event ever allowed on those sacred grounds. Plans for later this year include Merle Haggard at the Grand Canyon, followed by an event at the base of Mt. Rushmore.
The challenge of this wondrous event was the wondering over whether the show would go on. As Santa Anna's Mexican army discovered in 1836, the Alamo is not an easy place to reel in. The remaining structures are the domain of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, historic preservationists who had never before allowed a concert or film project of any kind to take place on the landmark's hallowed grounds. Surrounding landscape, including the cobblestone path in front of the fort and chapel, are controlled by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife. The sidewalks and streets are the bailiwick of the City of San Antonio. Clearances required from all three entities had everyone jumping through hoops, particularly George and Floyd, a native Texan.
The performers were set. Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett and a reunion of the Arc Angels were all nailed down. But the critical component–the venue–was in limbo with less than three weeks to go. Finally, all approvals were secured. The Gipsy Kings were added as a special bonus headliner. Two weeks before the show, tickets went on sale for $100, all to benefit the Daughters' efforts to restore the Long Barracks. The clock was ticking. Like a time bomb.
"Paul George downloaded me on the whole thing, and we had to line up all of the contractors and equipment in less than two weeks," said production manager Kent Black. "The first, and best thing I did was getting Bill Drain and the CE Group to coordinate things locally. I had a lot of confidence in Bill and he did a great job for us." [Kent has managed all production at FOH's Pro Production conference and the Parnelli Awards for the past several years. –Ed.]
Drain's contacts and influence smoothed rough edges throughout the process. In addition to sourcing contractors, equipment and labor, his connections with local officials helped ensure street closings, adequate security and, when the show ran a bit late, prevented the plug from getting pulled prematurely.
Eric Williams headed an engineering team from Flag Systems of Los Angeles to do the live sound. "They're very familiar with these big, multi-artist shows," said Black. Dallas Sound Lab, with Steve Gerik at the helm, brought in their mobile unit to handle the audio recording, under the auspices of Doc Brown's post-production audio whiz Stacey Heydon.
Gary Whitelock, a longtime vet, was brought in by Flag to coordinate the monitors and personally handle the stage mix for the reunion gig of the Arc Angels. Their booth was a good 30 feet off stage left, with a veritable obstacle course of lighting trusses, camera gear and untouchable sacred ground separating them from the stage. "It's a real test for an old timer like me," he quipped during sound check, "to slip and slide through all that and get up there before the performers get cranky."
Personnel included Rick Deputy (Los Lobos monitors), Daniel Carnegie (Flag Systems/ Lyle Lovett monitors) and Armando Tavares (Los Lobos FOH). Gerik's team in the audio truck included Ryan Prewitt (second assistant), Blaine Baker (stage manager) and Dan Childers (engineer).
With a high-budget, one-shot event like this, accuracy is critical. House, monitors and the Dallas Sound Lab mobile each received a direct feed split from every mic. Redundancy was ensured in every aspect of both live and recorded audio.
Eric Williams, whose Wango Tango experience with Flag Systems made him a natural to coordinate FOH for this gig, found the atmosphere to be stimulating. "I'm just enjoying the ambience around here," he said. Still, he encountered some special challenges. "The uniqueness in this show is that they want to film it and make it look like it's four separate concerts," he said. "That is involving full-blown set changes, not a peel-off situation. In monitor world, we have two monitor consoles that are supplied with multiple inputs from the splitter so that we can put all the channels in both consoles and keep them independent of each other. In Front of House, that means I've had to write four different band scenes and then recall those while at the same time being able to recall in-between band scenes that involve video and comedian emcee Paul Rodriguez."
There were also some physical restraints and an act of God to make things interesting.
"We got in on Friday. We unloaded on Saturday and about an hour after we unloaded, rain came down like there was no tomorrow. It was just one of those freak little things that blew over, and as soon as it was done, it started drying immediately. That was very interesting, but it really didn't slow us down any," Williams said. "The people here have been very sensitive about things–not touching walls, not stepping on the burial site, because they believe a lot of people are buried right there in the grass. They've even suspended the stage over the grass area so it does not touch it. We've been trying to honor the requests as best we can. They were worried about sound, and possibly the walls cracking, and that's a little bit farfetched. I couldn't see doing something like that. But it's been good, and they've been leaving us alone, so we figure we're kind of traveling the right path."
The overall sound guru, Stacey Heydon, was a touring guitarist with Iggy Pop and David Bowie "back in the day." "I have to make it sound as good as the record, but better, because I have to sprinkle in that dash of performance excitement to complement the video images we gather," he said. "The challenges are just basically complementing the video images we capture, all in high definition, all done with the greatest of care, with the best possible people. We like to surround ourselves with great people who give us great results."
Judging by the live show, the results will be better than great. The old house was rockin', but, as Williams predicted, the walls didn't crack.
Executive Producers: Joyce & Associates/Doc Brown Entertainment
On-Site Production Management: Paul George
Film Audio Producer: Stacy Heydon
Production Manager: Kent Black
Stage & Road Manager: Brian Crouch
Host City Production Coordinator: Bill Drain, CE Group
Live Sound Company: Flag Systems, Los Angeles
FOH: Eric Williams
Monitors: Gary Whitelock
Recording Audio Company: Dallas Sound Lab, Dallas, Tex.
Engineer-In-Charge: Steve Gerik
Engineer: Dan Childers
Second Assistant: Ryan Prewitt
Stage Manager: Blaine Baker
Gear
Speakers: JBL VerTec 4889, McCauley subs
Amps: Crown iTech
Processing: KT 9848, DBX 566, TC Electronic M5000
Console: Yamaha PM5D-RHl
Amps: QSC
Processing: KT and Ashly EQs, Behringer crossovers
Consoles: Yamaha PM4000M and PM5000
