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Setting the stage
A crew prepares for U2's last performance on their Vertigo tour
By Gary C.W. Chun
If you're still thinking of going to tonight's U2 concert at Aloha Stadium, you'd better act quick.
As of late yesterday afternoon, a thousand more reserved seat tickets were released as soon as the sightlines were established after the stage setup in the stadium.
Nestled in the north end zone of the stadium, the expansive stage was swarming with a crew of 150, busy putting the final touches to a stage that also extended out in the middle with two semicircular catwalks.
It is in that enclosed, immediate area near the stage that about 3,000 lucky ticketholders who bought $49.50 field tickets will be jockeying for position -- first come, first served.
Avid fans from here and elsewhere were lining up along Salt Lake Boulevard yesterday. A portion of the stadium parking lot was opened last night to accommodate the growing number of eager fans.
After gates open at 5 p.m., the opening band Rocko and the Devils (headed by U2 stage manager Rocko Reedy) will hit the stage at 6:30. About a half-hour later, Pearl Jam will play an hourlong set. Then, at about 9 p.m., U2 will finish off their world tour for the year.
Production director Jake Berry said the stage setup "is unique to Hawaii, as it's the only U.S. state to see the outdoor show" that was used for the larger international shows as part of the Vertigo World Tour. It's the design of the band's production designer Willie Williams in collaboration with award-winning architect Mark Fisher.
The stage is flanked by 192 speakers, painted in the red-and-black striping design that was part of the album design of U2's recent Grammy-winning album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."
Two high-definition video screens, measuring 32 feet by 20 feet, sit on top of the speakers on either side. The middle is filled out with aluminum panels with medium-resolution video insets that will combine to make a video screen of its own, plus a row of rotating spotlights aimed out toward the audience. (About 36,000 lights will be used.)
"The stage came in two parts," said Berry, "a steel system that was shipped out here on 16 ocean containers from Belgium, and the rest from Japan, where we just finished earlier this week, flown here on three 747 freighters."
Despite its size, Berry promises an intimate show along the lines of the band's early Blaisdell Arena shows of 1983 and '84.
© Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbulletin.com
http://starbulletin.com/2006/12/09/features/story01.html
A crew prepares for U2's last performance on their Vertigo tour
By Gary C.W. Chun
If you're still thinking of going to tonight's U2 concert at Aloha Stadium, you'd better act quick.
As of late yesterday afternoon, a thousand more reserved seat tickets were released as soon as the sightlines were established after the stage setup in the stadium.
Nestled in the north end zone of the stadium, the expansive stage was swarming with a crew of 150, busy putting the final touches to a stage that also extended out in the middle with two semicircular catwalks.
It is in that enclosed, immediate area near the stage that about 3,000 lucky ticketholders who bought $49.50 field tickets will be jockeying for position -- first come, first served.
Avid fans from here and elsewhere were lining up along Salt Lake Boulevard yesterday. A portion of the stadium parking lot was opened last night to accommodate the growing number of eager fans.
After gates open at 5 p.m., the opening band Rocko and the Devils (headed by U2 stage manager Rocko Reedy) will hit the stage at 6:30. About a half-hour later, Pearl Jam will play an hourlong set. Then, at about 9 p.m., U2 will finish off their world tour for the year.
Production director Jake Berry said the stage setup "is unique to Hawaii, as it's the only U.S. state to see the outdoor show" that was used for the larger international shows as part of the Vertigo World Tour. It's the design of the band's production designer Willie Williams in collaboration with award-winning architect Mark Fisher.
The stage is flanked by 192 speakers, painted in the red-and-black striping design that was part of the album design of U2's recent Grammy-winning album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."
Two high-definition video screens, measuring 32 feet by 20 feet, sit on top of the speakers on either side. The middle is filled out with aluminum panels with medium-resolution video insets that will combine to make a video screen of its own, plus a row of rotating spotlights aimed out toward the audience. (About 36,000 lights will be used.)
"The stage came in two parts," said Berry, "a steel system that was shipped out here on 16 ocean containers from Belgium, and the rest from Japan, where we just finished earlier this week, flown here on three 747 freighters."
Despite its size, Berry promises an intimate show along the lines of the band's early Blaisdell Arena shows of 1983 and '84.
© Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbulletin.com
http://starbulletin.com/2006/12/09/features/story01.html
