We went to see the Springsteen show last night courtesy of good friends. The show distracted the geek in me. There were around 11 people on stage, most of them with an instrument and all of them with at least one mic—and not a cord to be seen.
When I look at wireless mics, they have an A/B switch—two channels to choose from. Springsteen can obviously afford better equipment, but I didn’t even know that you could have 22+ wireless devices on the same stage. That lead us to joke at work that they were using 802.11BRUCE technology.
Another thing that distracted me during the show was the sheer number of support staff: dozens of roadies, a hand full of guitar technicians, engineers, camera techs, and so on. Then there were literally tons of speakers, hundreds of amps, stage-mounted TV cameras, handy cams, floor cams, at least three boards…. Based on the ticket price and the number of people, the gate had to run between $300-600 thousand. And I couldn’t help but wonder if the boss broke even on the show.
So this week I am grateful for good friends who are willing to share the music.
Oh! And I like Duffy, too.
1 comment:
Really interesting about the technology - but what was the show itself like? Does Bruce retain his legendary energy as a performer, and what do you think of the songs from the latest album?
The best we've been able to manage here in Wellington, NZ recently is Duffy (not sure if she is well known in the US - basically a Dusty Springfield-a-like, but I don't think the songs are as good) at the TSB arena, a basketball and netball stadium when it's not hosting concerts. She has a great voice, but the sound was pretty bad.
Still, musn't grumble (even though I just have). I'm grateful 'cos my wife won free tickets in a competition & took me along!
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