The crab not the claw.
Not entirely sure how accurate this is, but from Rolling Stone:
Meet the Claw: U2's Massive New Stage Set:
Inspiration: U2 show director Willie Williams got the idea for the in-the-round set (nicknamed "the Claw") from the futuristic, Disney-style Theme Building at LAX: It looks like a spaceship on four legs.
Structure: At 164 feet tall, the Claw, Williams says, is twice as high as the previous largest stadium stage set, from the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang tour. "Theirs would fit underneath this one," he says.
Sound System: Each of the Claw's four sides will have its own full-size sound system — each powerful enough for an entire arena. There will also be 72 separate subwoofers.
Logistics: Currently being assembled in pieces around the world, the set will be made of solid steel — 120 trucks will cart it from show to show.
The crab not the claw.
One thing which has made me laugh is that the stage design has already earned its nickname. Above the performing area is a huge four-legged structure that effectively straddles the football field, from which all the paraphernalia of the show is suspended (this in lieu of a roof, being outdoors and all.) I've been working on this, off and on, for about two and a half years now, having shown the band the first drawings whilst we were still on the Vertigo tour. During the evolution of the structure it has, at various times, come to resemble several different things; a dockyard crane, a cactus, a giant crab, the Theme Building at Los Angeles airport. It went very Louise Bourgeois for a while, then a little space age. In its final incarnation though, its sleek curves and four talon-like legs have been dubbed "The Claw", remembering the fairground machine from Toy Story. This really amused me, spawning a fantasy of it descending and grabbing members of the audience, all of whom, presumably, would have three eyes.
Willie Williams said the claw is twice the size of the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang stage. If that is the case then it is going to be f*@king massive!
Willie Williams said the claw is twice the size of the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang stage. If that is the case then it is going to be f*@king massive!
No, it's The Claw. Even Willie says so. From his 10 March 2009 diary entry:
So The Claw it is.
No, it's The Claw. Even Willie says so. From his 10 March 2009 diary entry:
So The Claw it is.
Just wondering, does anyone have the full height of The millenium stadium in cardiff? if the actual stage is that bit, maybe they wont actually be able to close the roof?.
Millenium Stadium is 194ft high
Like I said in another post, I think there is an error in the graphic. I think the 164 feet measurement is to the top of the spire, not to the "tent" part (or "palm"?) of the claw.
It would likely be too unstable to have a structure that was 220 feet wide and 164 feet tall. The tent (i.e., the part of the structure holding the speakers and most of the overhead lighting) is probably closer to being 100 feet tall, which is still pretty impressive.
In spite of Rolling Stone jerking off over the stage design, I still don't like it at all because the claw fingers (or crab legs, take your pick) result in too many obstructed seats.
There are people here claiming that obstructed seats won't be sold, but I think that those people are being overly optimistic. The steel supports are simply so prominent that blocking off all obstructed seating will be nearly impossible.
In fact, so many of the CA $252 ("P1") seats in the lower level at Rogers Centre will be facing one of those goddamn steel supports:
oh - just get on the cool design bandwagon, I mean hell, if we cannot talk about the crabclaw, then we will simply be bitching about how they are playing Bullet the Blue Sky at every show 22 years after it was recorded.
Mark my words: after the tour starts, there are going to be a ton of people who paid up to $280 a seat complaining about having seats obstructed by one of those steel supports.
Bad Willie! Bad Willie!
Does anyone know if the stage rotates? I say no my friend disagrees!
Hello Beth and thanks for your kind words.
There is, admittedly, a little confusion over the outer perimeter of
the stage, largely because I asked the graphics people to not show the
two bridges (!) Yes, the band will have access out there and I am
sure will take full advantage of it. I'm not sure why I had them
remove the bridges form the rendering - I guess we wanted to save one
or two surprises for opening night. Anyway, spread the word, the band
will be all over this thing.
Very best,
W.W
two bridges
maybe they will bring back the lemon and it can cross the bridges. instead of "kiss the future, fuck the past" the lemon could roll out with "fuck the future, kiss our ass" and they could fly off into the night in the spinning lemon. i like that