ITGITC Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I attended The Eagles concert last night in Greensboro. LINK Question: How do bands start together, along with multimedia (video being played on a screen behind them), in a performance like this? I think they were all wearing IEMs. I was too far away to see for sure. Does the drummer still give a 4-beat count-off or is each song started by an automated click synchronized to the multimedia? I'm certain that the light show was pre-programmed and synchronized to the same clock because the timing of the whole production was so tight. I'm just wondering who has the job of starting the clock; the drummer or the guy running the multimedia? It didn't sound to me as if the band was playing to a click throughout each song. However, the multimedia was perfectly synchronized to the song(s). Between songs the lights went to total blackout so I couldn't see if the drummer was counting off the next song - yet they all came in together. They never missed a beat. Does anyone here know for sure how this is done these days? These guys sounded great. The show is one of the best quality productions of its type I have ever seen. The venue was sold out. The funniest thing was when Glen Frey introduced the band by saying, "Everyone check your ticket stubs. We are The Eagles and this is The Eagles Concert for Assisted Living." I would guess the average age of the crowd was somewhere between 50 and 60 years. Looking down on the audience I've never seen so many cell phones. Either they were taking pictures/video of the band, or they were holding them over their heads in place of lighters. I liked the fact that they had three full-time keyboard players, a B3, Yamaha grand piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer EP, and a couple of dedicated synths. They were missing a steel guitar, but Joe Walsh played with a glass slide quite a bit. They had a full 4-piece horn section and one violin. Their vocals were outstanding. All the guitarists were wireless. The stage was very neat and tidy. After the Rhodes was used, they removed it from stage. Then, after the Wurlitzer was used for the last time, they removed it too. Kudos for the cleanest-looking stage I've ever seen. If you get a chance to attend this concert, and you are even a minor fan of this group, I recommend going. Tom "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Yes. To all your questions. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Yes. To all your questions. Wait just a doggone minute, Moe. Who starts the clock? Between songs when the lights go dark and they make changes on the stage and trade off guitars & such the clock isn't running, I presume. Then when they are ready to start a new tune along with the clock that runs the video and the lights, is the drummer still the guy who gives the count? Somebody MUST be sure that everyone on stage is ready to start the song, right? So if the drummer isn't wearing a headset, how does the count get to the guy running the multimedia? "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Well one thing I know they rehearse the shit of the vocals. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Teleprompters. Surgically implanted comm systems. Midichlorians. ESP. Good drugs. Empaths. Video guy is sitting underneath the drum stage and listens to the count. Edited together in the future and projected back in time. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I'm guessing redundant Digital Performer rigs, sync'd via SMPTE to each other and to the video, with Radial autoswitching. I'd also posit a gentle dose of pitch correction on all the vocals, and that the click is cued for each song by either the drummer, MD or off-stage. But I'm a cynic. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Visuals can be triggered manually. Larry Fast triggered his own while playing a set as Synergy at last year's NEARfest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Nathan Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Had I been there, I'd have been so mesmerized by the sheer brilliance of guitarist Stuart Smith that I wouldn't have even noticed anything else. I know this is the keyboard forum, but he is perhaps the musician with the largest gap between his talent and how well he is known. In my top 5 of all guitar players. Don't rush me. I'm playing as slowly as I can! http://www.stevenathanmusic.com/stevenathanmusic.com/HOME.html https://apple.co/2EGpYXK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Warren Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I attended The Eagles concert last night in Greensboro. LINK You lucky thing. The closet I'm ever going to come to that is watching the DVDs. Question: How do bands start together, along with multimedia (video being played on a screen behind them), in a performance like this? I don't know about The Eagles, but I've analysed some Pink Floyd live performances and found that the was a tempo variation of a few bpm (sometimes more) thoughout a song. This suggests to me that they are either not playing to a click, or have manually timed a click track to a previous (rehersal) performance. I also can't see any reason that cues couldn't be manually triggered and then synched by a feed from the kick drum. If I was in charge of it, that's probably how I would do it. It gives the musicians more freedom. DigitalFakeBook Free chord/lyric display software for windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I attended The Eagles concert last night in Greensboro. LINK Question: How do bands start together, along with multimedia (video being played on a screen behind them), in a performance like this? I think they were all wearing IEMs. I was too far away to see for sure. I do a lot of shows like this as a backup player. There is usually a click track when there is multimedia. I play with Mannheim Steamroller every year, a big multi-media show. It's all on Pro Tools. If a player would die in the show, they could just pull up a pre-recorded track. Surprisingly, they are playing pretty much everything live. The string players have the option of using or not using headphones, and we did not. No need. Josh Groban is all synced to Pro Tools. Since he sings songs in Spanish and Italian: He has a teleprompter. The spanish and Italian words are Phonetically spelled out for him. If it's "Mi Amore", it will say "Me A More A" or something like that. Josh Groban would hire a 14 piece Orchestra. On a few songs, there are some additional prerecorded strings that are mixed in as well. Sneaky!! Trans-Siberian Orchestra is live, at least it was from 1999-2005. The drummer does the stick count off, there are no sequencers or pre-recorded tracks used. The drummer is very exacting in his tempos, so the light show is fairly well synched on it's own with the music. Some shows have the players wearing headphones/earbuds so that the music director can speak to them while they play. "Donny Osmond skipped a verse, we are now at measure 47". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartRun Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 ...occasionally, we have "why are keyboard players dissed" or threads of that nature pop up here. Hell-are we supposed to be impressed that the Eagles have a Rhodes, Wurlitzer, a B3, etc. on stage during a concert? I used to have more than that on honky-tonk stages in the '70's. Too many KB players have developed low expectations... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Too many KB players have developed low expectations... We're keyboard players man - we live low expectations A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Rush is another band with sync'd visuals and multi-media. Midi can be used to start/stop anything, not just synthesizers and drum machines. I would venture to say that the drummer probably starts it on some machine, or is fed some kind of track with enough header that he still gives the band a count-in. It's not that big a deal any more. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Wait a sec, the Eagles were in Greensboro last night? How late did that go? No wonder they lost to the Cardinals in Arizona today. Doesn't sound like a good way to get ready for the championship game. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT156 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 So GAS, what did they rock you for the tickets? I paid $76 for a seat 30 feet from Joe Walsh's stage amp when they did their Hell Freezes Over Tour. If it wasn't the absolute BEST concert I've ever been too, I don't know what is. Totally Awesome! Mike T. Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Too bad Don Felder was not there. They will never really say why he was let go. I have everyone of their albums which is wierd for a keyboard player but he was good with the band. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Too bad Don Felder was not there. They will never really say why he was let go. I have everyone of their albums which is wierd for a keyboard player but he was good with the band. This is an excerpt off Felder's own website, in the Bio section: "Professionally, he was also having troubles. He began to wonder if he didn't deserve more money from Frey and Henley. He had never appreciated his lesser percentage and felt that as a partner in "Eagles Ltd." he should get just as much money as they did. As negotiations progressed for another Eagles album, it became evident that Felder would not receive what he felt he deserved. Although he was included in the Millennium Shows around New Year's Eve 2000, they were to be his last concerts with the Eagles. He continued to argue for an equal share and questioned whether Frey, Henley, and manager Irving Azoff were acting ethically. Finally, after Frey, Henley, and Azoff received letters requesting additional information from Felder's lawyer, he was fired. He filed suit, and the case was settled six years later for an undisclosed amount. After the lawsuit was resolved, Felder published his controversial autobiography Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-1999)." .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 So GAS, what did they rock you for the tickets? I paid $76 for a seat 30 feet from Joe Walsh's stage amp when they did their Hell Freezes Over Tour. If it wasn't the absolute BEST concert I've ever been too, I don't know what is. Totally Awesome! Mike T. $60 each. A friend's sister bought a pair for her husband's birthday - surprise gift. It turned out that he had made other plans and couldn't use them. She sold them to me Thursday at face value - without the added ticketmaster fees. What a deal, huh? I couldn't pass it up. One more thing... They took a break & everyone headed to the bathroom. Me first. I stood in line, but the line moved fast. Upon leaving I noticed quite a few women in line - FOR THE MEN'S ROOM. Now, back a few years ago there would be the occassional woman who just couldn't wait in line for the women's bathroom so she would come over to a stall in the men's room. NOW THEY'RE STANDING IN LINE WITH THE MEN TO USE THE MEN'S ROOM. Is this a new thing or am I just... old. "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Tom, I've never seen that. Not that I've seen everything. Or maybe it's because most of the concerts I go to nowadays are at Yoshi's. A thought also hit me - they say the eyes are the first to go. You sure you were in the right line? .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyMoe Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Same thing happened to me at the Tina Turner concert. Women in the mens room.... Montage 7, Mojo 61, PC-3, XK-3c Pro, Kronos 88, Hammond SK-1, Motif XF- 7, Hammond SK-2, Roland FR-1, FR-18, Hammond B3 - Blond, Hammond BV -Cherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Dude looks like a lady.... Then he was a she, and said "hey baby, take a walk on the wild side." Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 I would venture to say that the drummer probably starts it on some machine, or is fed some kind of track with enough header that he still gives the band a count-in. Agreed. The drummer is still responsible for starting each tune, I would think. I'm guessing that he looks around the stage to be sure everyone is ready, then hits a button and everyone gets a count-in measure through their IEMs. Something that they couldn't mistake for anything else. After that count-in measure, it did not sound to me as if they were following a click track throughout the song. I have no way of knowing this for sure though. The synchronization of the video being displayed behind the band with their song was uncanny. Regarding the women in the line for the men's room. I was in the right line. And these were regular women - not he-she or anything like that. I guess they just had to pee really bad and didn't care that it was the Men's room. I wouldn't bring this up, but there were quite a few of them in the line. "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 ....One more thing... They took a break & everyone headed to the bathroom. Me first. I stood in line, but the line moved fast. Upon leaving I noticed quite a few women in line - FOR THE MEN'S ROOM..... And the problem is? "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 ....One more thing... They took a break & everyone headed to the bathroom. Me first. I stood in line, but the line moved fast. Upon leaving I noticed quite a few women in line - FOR THE MEN'S ROOM..... And the problem is? The problem is.....they were peeing in the sink! Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 And the problem is? It's the MEN'S Room. Duh Huh. If the tables were turned and men invaded the women's bathroom, one can only imagine the chaos. I'm not for unisex bathrooms unless it's one person in it at a time. I feel certain the your tongue was firmly planted in cheek, Mr. Moonglow. I hope so anyway. "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Nathan Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 questioned whether Frey, Henley, and manager Irving Azoff were acting ethically. Perhaps O.T. and maybe a bit too "inside", but I LOLed when I saw the words "Irv Azoff" and "acting ethically" in the same sentence. Don't rush me. I'm playing as slowly as I can! http://www.stevenathanmusic.com/stevenathanmusic.com/HOME.html https://apple.co/2EGpYXK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Heh, me too. I was involved with him briefly in '74, before he made his big LA move. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Ethics, shMETHics. There's a special place for guys like him in the afterlife. Too bad we gotta wait ! ;-) Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Technology definitely provides the sophistication to integrate live musicianship and multimedia seamlessly. However, when the computer skips a beat and/or someone forgets to push the right button/program, all h*ll breaks loose i.e. the Kayne West SNL performance. Unisex bathrooms have been around for a while. Folks have been sharing port-a-potties for years. Without cats like Azoff, many bands and other folks never get discovered and/or become rich. Catch 22. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 You are correct, ProfD. (BTW, How close did you get to the Prez yesterday?) I hear, from someone who should know, that Aretha's backing track really screwed with her performance. Yeah. She was getting into it at the end and wanted to pause for some gut-growling emphasis - but the band played on. IOW, the tracks were in the can and were therefore somewhat, er, inflexible on the tempo side of things. Maybe YouTube can shed some light on this one too: Click for The Queen of Soul on You Tube... "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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