A quick preface....
As the US Navy's Blue Angels Soared over University of Phoenix Stadium yesterday, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks of Glendale belted her final note in the Star Spangled Banner. Where was I? I was behind the stadium, with the rest of my crew, making the final turn of our 5,500 pound piece of stage into its spot where it would rest until halftime. What an operation.
I wish they did an episode of Build it bigger for this, or reality show that gives people an inside look into the magic behind a multi-million doller, eleven minute, fifty-eight second halftime show. Because as little as the camera allows to show you, and as much as you may think you know about these halftime performances... you don't know jack.
This morning, I have been getting a nice chuckle from the news articles about the show. About things they think they know. "Tom Petty looked like he was lip syncing," or "The flying V guitar smashing into the heart was delightfully cheesy," were some of the many negative quotes I pulled from random after-the-game articles. Did they ever consider the months of planning, working out details, set design, construction, hiring of stage hands, production staff, third party lighting and sound crews... the over three thousand people that come together to help make a 12 minute show pleasurable for the entire world?
I say, great show Don Mischer Productions and White Cherry Entertainment.
Just two weeks ago, I had not a clue what I was doing. Thursday for dress rehearsal and yesterday on game day, myself along with the 400 person volunteer stage crew were a well-oiled, energetic machine that put together a massive stage and set in under 6 minutes.
Eat your heart out.
The ballet of carts that is the halftime show setup happens, as all the sound equipment, lighting, and enormous pieces of stage march onto the field while you comfortly watch the entertaining Super Bowl commercials, and "the Boys" as they analyse the first half. We're shouting commands and sweating, 'bumping and cutting in' our carts to the cart next to us and running for our lives so we don't get run over by other pieces of stage. You'll never see it. Right after the second commercial break the halftime show cuts in with a full completed stage as if it appeared out of nowhere.
The successful show on game day is homage to us, the crew, for working our tails off the past couple weeks. Football game? What football game? Well, OK I was very happy to see the Giants win it...
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Let's just put it all out there. These guys are as American Rock 'n' Roll as it gets. Mr. Petty himself has never been a Glam-rock, he's not the most attractive guy, but he is still going strong. Lip Syncing? No. Not a chance. I was there, I saw it, his mic was on, he's still Rock 'n' Roll.
But the lights, the crowd, the pyro... so much work... Tom Petty and His Heartbreakers, fed off of this work, paid homage to us as we all stood in awe... what a great show.
So I'm a little upset with the negative press he's recieved. Press basically calling it vanilla, decent but nothing to write home about. I call bullshit. If you were watching it on TV, you only saw a small piece of the true meyhem that was this 12 minutes. What you didn't see, is that the NFL, knows their audience. The stands were filled for the show. There wasn't a slew of people bailing for the consessions like anticipated. They had their butts in their seats. I was on the field, toward the back of the selected crowd, I could hear the fans behind me all at the top of their lungs: "And I'm FREEEE!!!!!"
Vanilla? Hardly. Safe? Absolutely. Yeah, the NFL wants to play it safe because obviously the younger 'still edgy' artists still want to "have you naked by the end of this song," and conviently pull a piece of clothing off on National TV.
Now listen, I'm not an old fogey, I still fuckin cuss when I feel its appropriate to allow so, but let's face facts here people. Not all of us are as vocally lax as others. Not all of us want to see a pair (or just one) on a Sunday afternoon. That's just fact. Does it mean that I don't appreciate a good pair when its appropriate? No!
But it's National TV. It's the Super Bowl. Move on.
Saying Tom Petty was vanilla... Please. Tom Petty rocks, you get up there and do it like him.
*******************
So there we were, Alex and I, sitting in the auditorium of the Maricopa Events Center. We had just arrived, been shuffled through a line given wristbands, a sack lunch, and a long sleeve-T to commemorate the day. Pregame was on and they were loading the pregame crew into buses to head over to the stadium. We met our fellow cart members, cart 3, "E-Brake" we called it because of an interesting story involving our hired stage hand and, an E-Brake. I won't tell you that one though.
Today was the day. For two weeks we had been pushing this piece of stage around fields, parking lots, up and down ramps; each time the cart getting loaded with more and more crap and getting more detailed. Then came the band equipment, amps and pianos, guitars and hammond organs were disbursed and strapped down to the different carts. Cords to the lights were added, and all of a sudden each piece of stage started becoming its own animal, flocking together to be a part of a larger beast.
Some crew members didn't have stage pieces, they had lights. Enormous, spotlight-sized lights called Alpha One Falcon Colour - that have full pan/rotation and are color changing. Some others had carts with power and data drops on them, taking what would be many cords down into few cords. Then of course the enormous JBL Array speakers - 4 each cart - that were placed all over the stadium. I'd say there were about 50 carts, and stage pieces total.
12 minutes.
The decision was passed down from the big dogs in the NFL to close the roof. They were expecting rain. The threat of rain was enough for them not to want to have to go through the whole game hoping it doesn't rain, so they closed the roof. That meant, that the 50-100 explosives that they had planned for this massive show, had to be toned down. No pyro. Well, not NO pyro... but - let's just say that less than 20% of the pyro actually was used.
The first bad news of the day. Other than we weren't able to actually watch the game... which we kinda knew anyway.
So there we sat, staring at the stadium walls from "The Platter" for an hour and 45 minutes. Some guys brought a mini football. Some folks found a small bus tv and stood in staggerd lines to try and catch a glimpse. Others stood just revelling at what has already happened. Within seconds of sitting down we were loaded into busses to head here. A police escort brought us down the roads without interruption. We sat down and waited, and got back up again seconds later. We saw the bands play and Alicia Keys sing. There were dancers and flags and colors and lights. We were in awe. We enjoyed flying through the gates at the security checkpoint and a simple wristband won us entry. And there we sat, where the field normally sits when there is no game. We had numorous pep talks with each other.
"Remember when I say bump in, small moves dude, cut is big but never jerk it. I'm gonna swing us out then do a smooth bump in till we hit, we'll take a last push, bam... lock it and run."
That was it.
That was all there was to it. We had our spot in line. We had our spot on the stage and we knew where we were going.
We knew where we were going.
I think this is a good segue to talk about a guy we know as "Cap."
Our first day there, after sitting in the stands of a small field outside of a school, utterly lost... this gentleman took the mic and began telling us a story. Well we found after a few rehearsals, that was pretty much the norm. Cap was the story teller. He was the motivator. He was the guy that has seen it all and doesn't mind sharing his experiences. His stories became richer and more involved as the weeks went on... all of us at the end of our seats knowing soon that he would bring the story home to a point that he could have made in one sentence.
"We're not worried about speed. Speed will come with practice. We just need to get good."
That was his point.
His story was about, the Banjo. He played the banjo and like most banjo players they all want to learn how to pick the banjo, real fast. That doesn't happen. If you come out fast from the beginning your gonna suck. Instead, you learn, little by little, how to play right. Then, the more you learn how to play right, the easier it will become for you. Before you know it, you'll be playing fast and good.
Don't worry about speed, just work on getting good.
The next day was about a mule and a plow.
"Don't follow the cart, know where your going, look at it, and go there."
His story involved something about following a mule's ass. Or the asses ass, however you want to chuckle about that one.
And it was this kinda stuff that made sense to us. It was easy. The banjo, the mule, his dozen other stories that he probably has told the 7 other years he's done the Super Bowl, and he'll probably tell them again. They made a big, intimidating thing, simple and fun. We were pumped up by him. We were all inspired by him. And while every now and then he needed to give us a little verbal kick in the butt... that only made us want to work harder. And it wasn't like the guy shouted at us or anything.
He was our leader, our inspiration. His real job? No idea. He seemed to have his hands in everything that had to do with the halftime show, but nothing that really gave him an official title. Was he just a boss? Was he a producer? A manager? He introduced himself as the top, the guy that oversees everything... as in, the owner of White Cherry Entertainment? I never really figured it out.
But you know what? It didn't matter. Whatever his job, he seemed to be good at it... and he made us ready.
To be continued...
