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stage.txt
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1994-10-23
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THE VOODOO LOUNGE - STAGE BY STAGE
There are thrilling spectacles, there are thrilling rock'n'roll spectacles,
and then there's the thrill of watching the Rolling Stones loud, live, and
hazardous. The Rolling Stones have always challenged the conventions of
stadiurn concerts, and Voodoo Lounge once again redefines the idea of
exhilaration.
To help produce the consummate rock'n'roll event, the Stones hired set
designer Mark Fisher, who devised the sets for Steel Wheels, U2 ' s Zoo TV,
and the current Pink Floyd show. Until a week before the tour stated, the
dramatic set was still under construction in an closely- guarded aircraft
hanger and the exact plans for the "cobra" kept secret. The stage combines two
concepts: the cyberworld of a 21 st Century information superhighway and
ancient superstition. It's both raw and elegant, intimate and intimidating,
as you'd expect from a band whose vision of an unconventional stadium event is
every bit as impressive as its reputation.
"The Stones are fearless and powerful people who will make a statement and
stand by it," says Fisher. "This intense, explosive attitude can translate
into a tremendous visual statement. According to the set designer, there were
two criteria for the revolutionary Voodoo Lounge set: "That Barbra Streisand
shouldn't be able to sing on it, and that Prince Charles shouldn't like it."
It's takes some feats of engineering to make these wild ideas come to life and
a whole lot of manpower. The stage alone incorporates 170 tons of steel and
aluminum. That's enough steel to build 180 white Ford Broncos and enough
aluminum to manufacture 275,000 cans of Budweiser. It was so much steel that
they had to use mineral stockpiles from three different countries. As one
production manager recently commented, "This is like moving an army around the
country. At times, it feels as though it would be easier to organize the D-Day
Landings!". The tour comprises:
250 crew personnel on the road.
A 220 x 85 x 92-foot stage, which will take four days to construct and
requires three different steel crews leap-frogging around the country.
A fleet of 56 maximum semi-trailers, 9 custom-filled buses and a specially
refitted Boeing 727.
3,840,000 Watts of generated power produced by 6,000-horsepower generators..
8 miles of power cable.
The world's largest mobile Jumbotron video screen.
45 tons of water ballast (slightly more than an Olympic-size swimming pool)
Aircraft warning lights. The stage structure towers so high, the FAA insisted
on them.
Showco's customized 1.5 million-Watt PRISM sound system. The 310 cabinets can
produce a sound which is roughly as loud as 10,000 home stereos cranked to
volume 11.
1,500 lights -- a brightness which, according to scientists at the Hubble
station, could shine from riotous Stones stage to the Sea of Tranquility.
Pyrotechnical surprises and inflatables par exellence.
Central to the greatest show on earth is the band themselves. As beleaguered
residents of the once-quiet Toronto suburb where the Stones spent three weeks
rehearsing can testify, the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world are leaner,
meaner and more potent than ever.