RUSH S&A Tour - Concert Tech Documentary - Part 3/6

[@Anthraxicus]

Eek! Although I would love to work for Rush on the road, after this episode I think I'll stick with being a Chef. We have similar hours and lifestyles, but I like my bed thank you. Speaking of "thank you's," Thanks to the Road Crew, Geddy, Alex & Neil, and Back Stage Secrets for bringing us this incredible series about what it takes to put on the best show out there!

[@yngvaigilbsteen]

True that! I love these guys. They are ABOUT the only live act I will pay to see anymore because they take such care. I would be lying, though, if I said I wouldn't have changed/fixed a few things concerning the mix in every one of their shows I've seen. Depends on where you're sitting, though..

[@ynotbbq]

Posh gig. Been there. Roll the Bones. Ole Hearns is a good guy. Audio Whines, Lasers freak out, Lighting just laughs

[@Geddlee]

Very true; I just am constantly amazed that with 3 such virtuoso musicians, they seem to do an almost perfect job at allowing each instrument to be heard, without overpowering the rest. I would love to see Alex go off a little more, like the guitar god he was in my youth, but that's a minor complaint. They rule.

[@stevedrums1675]

@GoddessInTheirGarden After nearly 40 years, he has certainly earned it.

[@McFlyGuitarsandStuff]

At 4:50 looks to me like he put his body in a pretty dangerous spot!

[@yngvaigilbsteen]

In fact, my band even sound checks the same way. We play a digital recording (in theory, the exact same live signal) from a previous gig, back through our PA after it's setup to ring the room out. I laughed when I saw them doing that here.

[@scotty3034]

He's a sound guy. What the fuck do you expect? And he's one of the best.

[@AVOLITE]

I'll step in and defend Brent Carpenter, as well as give a stab or two myself, since a large amount of these comments seem to be ragging on the"complaining guy" ..... I've been in the touring industry around 23+ years myself, have done many tours just as large and at the same level as what you see involved here. I also have done a tour or two where Brent himself was the tour's monitor engineer. My first guess is they just caught him on a bad day ... Brent is actually a great guy and extremely good at what he does. We all bitch and complain on the road, but DO love what we do - BUT it also does wear at you. Some handle better than others. If it were not for the film crew and producer zeroing in so much, over the course of this short documentary TV show, onto the two main audio guys for this particular tour the film crew would have not got enough footage to edit into the obligatory final cut of Brent gripping so much for effect .... ALL TV media loves drama caught in any form/matter to add to a show. So starting from part three here thats why continuing on you see so much of Brent bitching about this, griping at that person and being "dick-ish". Now with that said, first off cheers to PDI's (laser company vendor for tour) laser tech for being cool headed and a gentleman when called out as the camera rolls and Brent is making an issue of (probably not much in the course of things) some "right at that moment" interference with what he was doing compared to what Brent was wanting to do at the same time in the same space. Second off, as a lighting director/tech myself i have always found the stage left monitor guy or the touring audio crew working with him to be some of the most usual suspects in the grouchy towards others who have to spread out their day to day setup all over the stage - WHICH means most of the time, thats anyone that works with any lighting or scenic departments on the tour. I've had my fair share of complete dickwads to contend with during the course of a tour and most of the time it was the crew stage left who made it tense every workday (but then were the first to buy you a drink on a day off in the hotel bar). It always had something to do with the fact THEY didn't like something YOU had to do to get the show up and running. Believe me, Brent himself here is not showing a high level of frustration and there are those on the road who take it way up a far notch more in comparison . I do feel like he could have, at some point, tempered whatever it was that was railing him that day out of general respect for having a camera capture him in his element and to give a more positive vibe to the many hundreds who will see this that have never come close to doing this for a living and want to see it happen thru this TV show. Last thing .... Howard (Rush's LD/Designer) is funny as hell while giving the tour bus "insider look" tutorial. I have known him for many years and do hope at some level his awesome sense of humor and style just resonate to those who watch this and don't have the pleasure of knowing him first hand.

[@alexm2623]

I'm also in the industry and completely agree. Brent is not JUST the monitor guy though. He's responsible for all the wireless packs (even guitars etc), at least in terms of making sure the signal is programmed and won't find interference. He also mics Neil's drums and any cabinets they use (though don't use any cabinets today, all just direct), and if rigging, PA, and lighting fall behind, then the drum tech can't set up the kit, which means Brent can't mic it yet, but he's still got other shit that needs doing, so it puts him in crazy time crunches. It takes the DT 2 hours to build Neil's kit, and it can't be miked until it's done and tuned, obviously. It's a challenge in and of itself to mic that thing. It also doesn't help that this was deep into a 150 show tour and the crazy long days that result from Rush's huge shows means at least 12 hour work days, though it's probably more like 16. Even moreso, most loading docks are usually stage left and go right through where he needs to setup his monitor station, so there's constant gear movement through his area. If the venue is cramped, he might not be able to set it up yet. It might even throw off his usual routine. Lastly, only a handful (3-4 buses) of roadies travel show to show. The vast majority of the crew is locally contracted at every venue, and sometimes you get shit luck with a bad crew. You've never worked with them before, and they don't know how to setup most of the stage without being babysat. It's a total crapshoot and it largely determines if it's going to be a good day or bad one. And since a huge chunk of shows are outside, you get TONS of problems with equipment etc. All of that stuff is very particular about what temperature and humidity they like. If those suck, your equipment might decide that it's calling in sick and not going to work that day.

[@ENIGMVTIK]

Isn't PDI Howard's company?

[@wienerstein2817]

I'm late to this comment but I agree. If people think Brent is mean holy shit they don't even know. I've worked with some absolute cocks before and I've only been doing this for 6 years. I find it crazy that it's just them flying the PA. Most PA companies now a days send out fly techs for that. Even on 3 truck tours. It just seems odd that they're doing all that work. I dig it though. It's better than alot of these fuckin white glove engineers.

[@santyrush]

este hombre, Howard Ungerleider,lleva muchos años en la crew de Rush.y el otro Russ ryan creo que tambien....they are old crew members.... lo se porque yo tambien soy un viejo fan de Rush, I`m a very Rush old fan....from Spain,I travelled in 1989,90,...91,92, to saw some concerts Rush. thanks`alex,Geddy Neil,and Crew.... santy

[@sgtpepper1138]

Damn, the monitor guy sounds like when I was in shipping at a cabinet company (we made Thomasville, Schrock, etc.) and we were the end of the road so we always got shit on, assembly would take forever, and we would need certin cabinets built to finish trailers out, but they didn't build them until the VERY end of the night. so while they're going home, we were stuck for another 3hr stacking trailers. Some people just don't get it

[@mackbolzano3901]

I ve been on a few busses in my life!

[@PowerWindows3813]

Had satellite TV, but watching independence day lul. Right on

[@derekkiltie]

yeah, i wouldnt mind spending a day at the rush bar on the bus although they might never get me off lol.

[@rusher1977]

Wow, no pooping on the bus "wash room"? come on now!

[@BobbyB430]

The smoke room is kinda like Holland Hahahehe!

[@Geddlee]

True. Rush seems to do better job than most in making the worst arenas sound golden though, so I think the combo of automation, experience, and skill level of their crew is pretty bar none...

[@yngvaigilbsteen]

I understand your points and I completely agree with you.....for the most part. I'm sure you'll probably understand me playing devil's advocate a little by saying that after a while..the camera becomes incidental and your work takes over. Either that, or constantly having a camera around makes you more pissy than normal when you're simply trying to do your job. I've even heard Geddy Lee himself get a little pissy on camera. I understand what you're saying, but I cut them a little slack. : )

[@yngvaigilbsteen]

Oh, and if you've done sound and lighting for live events.....your ARE near these guys level. : ) It's the same thing, just on a different scale. In fact, there are some things that are harder on a more local level. Thees guys have tons of automation. Saved mixes. Us guys that can't afford all that stuff... have to ring things out by ear every time. : ) That's alright though....it usually ends up coming out better as a result. The meters and digital gear CAN be a crutch sometimes.

[@Geddlee]

You're nicer than I am, lol! Just kidding, and good point. My initial reaction was what posted above, but in retrospect, maybe I'm being a little too hard on that guy.

[@Strongdocoteur]

very true

[@linda01234567890]

I think that you found the vodka's hiding place.

[@habsphannn]

Go Canadiens!!!!!

[@yngvaigilbsteen]

They do rule : )

[@rusher1977]

@drdonut1 Yea I just did not know! Learn something new every day!

[@soopahsoopah]

this whole doc would be much better without that lame rock groove going on every moment.

[@thecharlesfoley]

SKIP!!!! when he's not torturing the neighboring hotels with lasers, he's mixing a drink and watching some television!

[@rwallacenyc]

IS THAT UNGERLIER

[@yngvaigilbsteen]

Don't knock it till you've tried it.

[@CyrusOG666]

Aw he's the only one with a tough job.

[@rockyfanatic6846]

Doesn’t neil peart have his own bus

[@ALSNewsNow]

@rusher1977 standard procedure on buses

[@DanMowry]

"We are very important to have."

[@outlaw6066]

Washroom. haha Usually it's common for Canadians to call it that i'm thinking.

[@Geddlee]

Hey, if it ain't broke..:)

[@remondijk]

People why so negative? This bunch of guys doing a great job, so we can enjoy our favourite band during a concert. Why is this man a prick?

[@Geddlee]

What, you mean lighting and sound rigging for a live event? Check- I've done it. I'm nowhere near these guys' level, and I've no doubt the demands of the tour can be stressful, not arguing that point at all. But these guys are professionals, and have all done it for years (take a look at Rush's road crew- most of them have been with the band for YEARS)... Just saying to be a little more professional; you're representing the band to a certain extent, on film.

[@bophoenix9441]

Without correct monitors a Rush show is not possible - this guy has their back 100% - anybody would be very grateful to have this guy working for them

[@outlaw6066]

If you were him you'd prolly do the same since the job is quite strict and demanding.

[@Lonkka665]

Just what I was thinking -so you better not get the runs/diarrhea...

[@alexxj220]

@rusher1977 if you shit on a tourbus dont be suprised if the driver stops and makes you walk to a venue. its just because it mite not get emptied alot and shit stinks !

[@TechGorilla1987]

Has anyone complained about that obnoxious background music yet?

[@EricNygma]

No sound, no show. Plain and Simple. Lighting is important too, but the audience would rather listen to the show in the dark than not hear a damn thing. No one really gives a shit about lighting

[@herostatus]

Drinking and smoking cigarettes my ass. Those guys spend 90% of the time smoking the herb. It's okay Howard, you can admit it.

[@snapascrew]

Hahaha, it wasn’t legal back then. He’s too smart to say something like that.

[@HalJikaKick]

My friend always says that he's never met a Brad who wasn't an asshole.

[@snapascrew]

Well he’s never met Brad Madix then

[@Geddlee]

Doubtful- all jobs have their own demands. It's up to you whether to accept it or not. Also, you can bitch, but to do so on camera is unprofessional.

[@jjames05]

complain much?