Many in our industry have heard the legend of Van Halen’s tour rider with the “No Brown M&Ms”. Some know it well and know its origins, but many do not. In this video David “Diamond Dave” Lee Roth explains the origin of this rider clause and how it was used to catch promoters who didn’t read the band’s tour riders and to ensure production safety needs were meet. We thank Parnelli Award-winning Lighting Designer, Rob Koenig for digging up this insightful video.
Metallica’s ‘M72 World Tour’ at the Johan Cruijff Arena on April 27, 2023 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Photo by Ashley Ooms/BSR Agency/Getty Images
Necessity is the mother of invention. The time-worn adage might sound a bit trite to modern ears, but its validity is being vividly demonstrated to sellout crowds across Europe and North America on Metallica’s M72 World Tour. The eight distinctive towers that lend a dramatic flair to the production came about when Production Designer, Dan Braun, had to find an alternative to his initial vision of creating tensegrity structures for the show. “I have been interested in tensegrity sculpture for a while and was working on this concept for an indoor show,” said Braun, who’s worked closely with Lighting Designer Rob Koenig on the production. “Our world changed, when the tour went to stadiums in the round. My first thought was ‘we can’t do that.’ But after careful consideration, I said ‘why not?’”Read More »Rob Koenig Connects Metallica to Crowd with 144 CHAUVET Professional Color STRIKE Ms
