Brooks & Dunn's Last Rodeo tour went out on top, with the video support for their last shows as crisp and well-executed as you'd expect from a major tour. At the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis, a few weeks before the last tour marked its Sept. 2 farewell at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, the crew brought their A game as fans partied, sang, cheered, and even let themselves get misty-eyed a few times. The set was relatively simple, with the trademark giant steer skull rigged high upstage center. Notably absent were any big set gags, and the emphasis was all on Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.
Double Duty, Double Trouble
Capturing all the action were four Sony DX50 cameras – two at FOH, one hand-held on stage and one in the pit on a Fisher dolly, tracking back and forth in front of the stage.
The video director, a.k.a. "director of media reinforcement" Dan Hanson, has filled in on Brooks & Dunn tours over the past five years, but this is the first tour where he handled the duties full-time (and, for his efforts, he's been nominated for a Parnelli Award). He credits the artist for making his job easy. "Their stage presence becomes part of the show, so whatever is happening on stage it's just a matter of making it larger for the audience."
With two stars, Hanson admits that, in the beginning, he was conscious about giving them "equal time" on the big screen, especially considering that Ronnie Dunn handles the vast majority of the vocal duties. "But they have their own personalities, and if you're just covering what is on stage, you don't have to worry about it."
Media Visions supplied and supported three large video screens for the show, which were busting with content all night long. The Brooks & Dunn creative team turned to Lee Lodge to generate some original content for the show. It was often understated, sometimes with simple designs, sometimes song titles and key lyrics. One emotional highlight included a nostalgic video of the duo's two decades together on the road. But it was ultimately a party, so the video also included visual candy like a sexy anime-influenced cartoon girl.
The Bigger, The Better
Media Visions was founded in 1993 by Mike Cruce, but they didn't get into concert touring until 2003. Not coincidently, that was the year Wade "Ten-A-C" Slatton joined as concert video manager. Their headquarters is in Birmingham, Ala., and they have an office in Nashville, which they refer to as MV2. This was MV2's eighth outing with Brooks & Dunn.
Slatton started off his career with Steve Miller, who gave him his nickname, and he has been with Brooks & Dunn since 1992. "When I first started using LED screens with them, the band loved it, especially Ronnie," Slatton says. "For him, the bigger the better." And the tours have gotten bigger and better, both in terms of size and equipment. "We just take their designs and fill the bill with what is needed to make it happen."
Slatton says on past tours the video walls have moved. "One year, it went upstage to downstage; another, stage right to stage left. Then once a couple of years ago, when Ronnie was singing "Neon Moon," we moved the screen so that a visual of a full moon on a panel landed right before him and you could see his silhouette." This year, in keeping with the relatively understated show, they kept it simpler, with a drop that revealed the two side screens but no movement.
The Vista Systems 344 Spyder with the 380 Spyder expansion processor is currently being used on the tour. It "turns all the LED panels into one big visual canvas, and we can handle pretty much what anybody wants to throw at it," Cruce says. "If they want big blocks of video, it's easily done." They are used to define shapes and blend borders, and it could support up to 32 independent windows and 16 mixers if needed.
Made in the U.S.A.
Seventy-seven Daktronics PST12HD LED panels with V-Link control on eight custom headers were designed and built for the show by SGPS ShowRig, which gave them the ability to curve the video display, allowing for better sightlines. The on-stage center video display was 20 feet wide by 27 feet high, and the two side screens were 16 feet wide and 12 feet high. Offstage right and left were two 15-foot-by-20-foot projection screens from Screenworks NEP, with custom tri-lite screen surround being illuminated by two Christie LX1500 15k projectors.
When they were coordinated and treated as one, the multiple screens packed a visual punch, and in one special moment, an emotional one. "One of my favorite parts is during "Only in America," when the images of flags are unfurling on the screen," says Cruce. "My hair is standing up right now just thinking about it."
It's a patriotic song, but what makes Cruse emotional about it is the quality of the images. "Daktronics colors do not wash out, and they aren't ‘Pla-Doh' colors. There's amazing saturation and reproduction. The display is the canvas, and sometimes we are directly influencing content.
"There are a lot of reasons why we went with the Daktronics screen," Slatton says. "It is lightweight – about half the weight of a similar screen – and takes half the power to run it."
The "made in America" label was also attractive, he says, because that allowed them to get parts and service quickly. "And we've been to their plant and seen how it was built. They really stand behind their product, and behind us. The Daktronics screens are the best investment I ever made, besides the Christie projectors."
An iconic moment in the show is when the Brooks & Dunn steer skull is reproduced on the screen. "It's clear as a bell," Cruce says. "It's really the whole design of the show that is amazing. We're only part of it. The lighting and set design, and all our guys who do the work behind the scenes, all the elements come together to make it a magical show. You can imagine how many shows we see, but when we're standing in FOH watching this one, it's pure pleasure."
Slatton is one of the many who says he will miss the Brooks & Dunn tours. "I've done a lot of touring in my life, and the only other tour that's as family oriented as this one was the Judd family. You don't have to go through half a dozen people to ask Brooks or Dunn a question."
At the close of the night, the band's trademark sense of humor was on display. In reference to the infamous Kings of Leon "pigeon poop gate" controversy the week before at the Verizon (they left the stage after three songs, saying their health was in danger because of particularly prolific pigeons), Brooks came on stage for the encore with a T-shirt that said: "Pigeon Sh*t? We Won't Quit!"
Brooks & Dunn's Hard Working Man
By Anthony Caporale
Larry Boster is the epitome a hard working man, which is, fittingly, the title of one of the songs he lights. As the lighting designer for country music legends Brooks & Dunn for the last 17 years, Boster is on the cusp of something new. That's because the band just wrapped up their Last Rodeo finale tour before they disband, along with the top-notch crew that has been with them since the early days.
The Road Goes On Forever
In the beginning, Randy "Baja" Fletcher was Brooks & Dunn's lighting designer and production manager and Boster was the lighting designer for Travis Tritt. When Tritt came off the road, Brooks & Dunn offered him a job. "One tour turned into 17 years," Boster laughs. After a couple of months of transition, Fletcher relinquished control of the lighting to Boster. (For a profile of Randy "Baja" Fletcher, 2010's Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award winner, turn to page 32).
Boster uses a variety of tools to accomplish his job. "Like other designers, 3D computer renderings are first, because you have to sell the design to the artist," he says. "The next tool is to have a dependable vendor. Bandit Lites has been serving Brooks & Dunn for 20 years.
"For me, the next tool is the desk, that being the (MA Lighting) grandMA. It's an impeccable desk that allows me to create a show from scratch with its custom color palettes, timing, and unique creativity. It is truly a user-friendly desk," Boster says. "Using the grandMA is what calling audibles is all about. It is without a doubt the big daddy for using audible cues on a user-friendly lighting console."
But Boster's favorite new tool, he says, is the combination of an iPad and the grandMA software application. "It makes my life easy, especially for onstage focus updates in outdoor venues. It can turn one hour of programming into 30 minutes."
Working with Teenage Gear
When it comes to the rig, Boster makes the most of the budget he's given. "Red is red," he explains. "I may use a fixture that I don't care for the color mixture, but for budget reasons it will allow me to get what I need out of it, and in the end, it's a dependable fixture. That allows me to get what I need while at the same time is cost effective. Oh, and by the way, the (Martin) MAC 600 is 13 years old," he laughs.
Also prominent in the rig are several Chromlech Jarag units, which are a sort of like a new-wave blinder. The matrix of lights can be triggered from the grandMA, which has bit-mapping capabilities and allows the combination to produce some interesting effects. Thirty-seven Jarag units are fed from 925 circuits. In addition to the Jarag units, 24 Martin Atomic 3Ks add accents to his show.
The show utilizes a couple of gags that really grab the eye. During "Neon Moon," a steer skull-shaped mirror ball is flown into the scene from above, and during "Boot Scootin' Boogie," a sign that says "Last Rodeo" lights up, pumping 256 circuits of white LEDs triggered by relays instead of dimmers.
Mike Swinford designed the set.
"Less is More"
Brooks & Dunn work hard to please their audience, and the interaction between the crew and the artist helps take it to the next level. "We as designers are here to always enhance the experience, not to take away from it," Boster says, "and believe me, less is more. Kix (Brooks) and Ronnie (Dunn) know my passion for lighting. Their passion equals mine and we feed off one another. But they trust me enough and leave it up to me."
Some artists are reluctant to allow their opening acts access to much of the lighting rig, out of fear that by revealing the lighting, it will steal some thunder from the headliners. But this show is as different as Nashville and L.A. "The Brooks & Dunn organization have given me the freedom over the years to allow the supporting acts and their LDs a large amount of moving heads, which allows them to give expression to their artistic vision with the rig. And some of those LDs are a force to be reckoned with, including a guy named Tony Caporale," he says.
Boster follows the compliment with some advice for youngsters who would like to work in the industry. "Park your ego," he says. "Otherwise, no matter how much talent you have, you'll end up standing in the unemployment line.
"It's all about teamwork," Boster continues. "It has to be a fined-tuned machine that works as a team with no egos, with a complete interaction that starts with each crew member all the way to management to make it all work."
As the Last Rodeo tour was winding down, Boster had his eye on the horizon, looking for his next challenge. Is there another C&W band in his future? "Country will always have a place in my heart, but I love live Rock ‘n' Roll," he says with a smile.
CREW
Lighting Supplier: Bandit Lites
Video Supplier: Media Visions
Production Manager: Randy "Baja" Fletcher
Production/Set Designers: Clarence Spalding, Mike Swinford
Lighting Designer/Director/Programmer: Larry Boster
Stage Manager: Lonnie Taylor
Lighting Crew Chief: Cory Reynolds
Lighting Techs: Dave Langford, Jenna Rohrs
Motor Techs: Mark McKenney, Mike McDonald
Video Director: Dan Hanson
Video Techs: Byron Fuller, Mike Forbes, Rob Devlin, Mike Buzwell, Mike Bishoff, Brandon Lewis, David Alexander, Russ Span
Tour Photographer: Josepha Cheong, Spalding Entertainment
Set Carpenters: Johnny Seay, Ed "Man" Skinner, John "Frenchie" Ristoff
Spyder/ LED Content/Assistant LED Tech: Mike Forbes
Ki-Pro/Assistant Content/Record Tech/Assistant LED: Rob Devlin
Racks Engineer: Mike Bischof
Lead LED Tech/Robotic Camera Operator: Byron Fuller
Dolly Camera Operator: David Alexander
Hand Held Camera/Projectionist: Brandon Lewis
FOH Camera Operator: Russ Span
FOH Camera: Mike Buswell
GEAR
Lighting Consoles: 1 MA Lighting grandMA console, 1 grandMA Lite, 2 grandMA NSPs
77 Daktronics PST12HD LED panels with V-Link control
2 Daktronics V-Link processing racks
2 15'x20' Screenworks NEP projection screens with custom Tri-Lite screen surround
2 Christie LX150 15k projectors
4 Sony DX50 Triax camera packages
1 Sony BRC 300 robocam
4 Elmo CL-431 lipstick cameras
1 Dynaspy 2.4 GHZ wireless minicam
1 Ross Synergy II ME digital switcher
1 Vista Systems 344 Spyder, 380 Spyder expansion processor
2 Macbook Pros running Pro Video Player
5 AJA Ki-Pro field recorders
2 Horita TC VLR-100 time code generators
7 Mini Strip 10-cell MR16 fixtures
2 Lycian 1271 StarkLite followspots
74 Martin MAC 600s
28 Vari*Lite VL3500 Spots
22 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes
1 ETC 12 x 2.4 kW sensor dimmer rack
1 Martin Ether2DMX 4-port router
