Stagehand for a National Act
David Muddiman has been putting out calls requesting for a position on this show as it passes near Delaware. At the last minute he is assigned on the audio crew.
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Starground Virtual Online Tour
Stagehand for a National Act David Muddiman has been putting out calls requesting for a position on this show as it passes near Delaware. At the last minute he is assigned on the audio crew. |
The day starts early. It's just after 8:00am and David Muddiman is the first of 24 crewpersons inside the arena for the 9:00am call. Outside 6 tractor-trailers wait to be unloaded, while the band sleeps in 4 tour buses. In the main room, the audio systems engineer plans where lift points should be dropped to put the PA array in the right position.
All tour production of John Mayer is handled by Showco, one of the largest companies in the business especially since merging with Clair Brothers. They provide sound, lights, video, and catering for all shows on the tour.
This show's needs in Reading (including union stagehands) were provided by SMG Entertainment located inside the two year old arena.
The show had one opening act. David Muddiman was one of four deckhands assigned to remove the opening act's equipment.
Taking pictures while working is not allowed, so all pictures are taken at breaks only. Also asking artists to pose for pictures or to sign autographs is not allowed.
Here's a picture of the lights being tested.
Showco has been a pioneer in lighting.
Here's a quick shot of John's Front-Of-House Engineer working the digital Showco "DigiCo" console.
The show concludes and John Mayer waits backstage for an encore, which will include a few more songs.
All trucks are unloaded at 9:00am. Then stagehands are split into four teams. Here the audio crew has a brief break while some last minute rigging issues are worked out. In the forefront are the sub-woofers. In the background are just a few of the Showco Prism cabinets used for the stage right array.
The monitor consoles for each band are set up. John's band uses the Midas 3000 further away, and the opener uses the Midas XL4..
A picture of the front of house area. The system engineer is wearing the "Late Show with David Letterman" shirt, because he has recently mixed John Mayer live on that show.
The sound system is set up and the audio crew is let go until the after show call. David will also work during the show.
Another picture of the lights being tested.
John Mayer's band arrives and soundchecks each instrument. The whole band checks with John singing and playing guitar. John tries out a new song idea he wrote the day before.
It has turned out to be a great sounding show. Not too boomy. The vocals were always clear and the music was powerful.
The show is nearly done. Here's a shot of the stage right array.
The lights go up, and it's time to remove mics from the drumset, then all cables and snakes, amp racks, consoles, and speakers. 1.5 hours later, all tractor-trailers are loaded and we say goodbye to the tour's production team.
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