9.14.15 Adam News and Info

Queen Official ‏@queenwillrock 10m10 minutes ago
QueenOnline on Tour: Notes From The Road South America Part 3 - www.queenonline.com/en/news-archive/queenonline-on-tour-notes-from-the-road-south-america-part-3/ …

14th September 2015
QueenOnline on Tour: Notes From The Road South America Part 3

Sunday: a day of relaxation for many, a holy day for others. For us here at the Ibirapuera Arena it brought our very own Robert Plant* look-alike, the Guitar man's Man - Pete Malandrone. Fresh off the plane from Rio, he led in the back line team and before I knew it, drums were appearing on both the main raiser and our (new!) B-stage, Neil's stand up basses were in position, Ru's kit sprang up, a bank of Vox amps stood proud on stage left and keyboard tech Ben was flicking me obscene, but funny gestures from beneath Spike's set up. They might be the jokers in our pack and the more rock n' roll of the team, but they don't muck around this lot, they are good, really good.

"You'll like this, check this out...say hello to the 'Buzz-O-Meter, you can stick this in your blog."

I was hanging out with the Ian, our country bumpkin of an electrician, when he produced this strange little gadget. It is a handheld piece of equipment that is completely unique to his kit and Queen in general. It consists of a single Brian May pick up (like he has on his guitar) fused to a small amp with some settings with some headphones attached. The idea is that Ian walks around the stage with the headphones in place listening to see if the hiss turns into a buzz and to locate where it is coming e.g. a power generator under the stage, a light that might overhead. If this is the case, it could mean that BM's guitar could pick up a similar buzz whilst rocking out and playing live onstage. Ian will then report this in to Pete and attempt to re-route any power or cables away from the area. He said there is no exact science to it really as each venue can be different. The things you learn eh?

The later part of the day saw a general sweep of the backstage area to prepare for the band and their immediate teams arrival. For example making sure the dressing rooms are tidied, simple things like checking lamps work, that they have clear sight of the signage when they leave their rooms, that the wi-fi has a clear signal in each room and the passwords were stuck on walls, fridges are working and ready to be stocked, set lists from rehearsals are distributed to each department.

Outside in the arena, smoke machines are being tested giving an eerie look to the room, gold spray paint is touching up parts of the stage, Rob Sinclair is buzzing people's heads with his toy drone, video screens are flickering and radio mics continue to crackle in both English and Portuguese... and I fail understand either, its often just a squall with the occasional name of someone I know. I literally have to tune and train my hearing to get used to it. The Red Special was taken for a little walk at around 8:30pm; Pete teased out that swampy blues version of 'Tie Your Mother Down' he often tests with. A few thwacks of RT's drums were also heard, but he real soundcheck and testing gets going tomorrow morning, followed by a full run through of the entire show - lights, cameras, action...and several rather well know popular rock anthems.

The Morning after the night before - I am signing off this instalment at 11.53am (Monday morning) as the PA is buzzing followed by occasional blasts of Sting's 'Fields Of Gold' and some pretty harsh dance beats. There are more people around now, extra security now line the corridors and gates outside and the Tour Management team have taken up their places here backstage. Here in the Production Office, the hub of the backstage operation, local runners are flying in and out dropping items that have been requested; the last delivery included, black paint, some plywood and an aluminium plate, plus a Starbucks order. The relaxed vibe still exists, but is slowly being fused with a more business like behaviour and urgency - people are basically walking around quicker.

Production Rehearsal Day 1 is go. Brian, Roger, Adam and band...do join us. (Edit: they just have literally...haha!)

This is Neil within 34 seconds of arriving; "What is the difference between a Hippo and Zippo? One is heavy, the other is a little lighter."

The man is relentless.

Nick

PS The Bohemian Rhapsody opera section has just rattled the walls...(12.29pm)

*Led Zeppelin’s lead singer

From Nick's blog. Looks like the "B" stage is different. I noticed it looked different (smaller?) in the set up photos from Sao Paulo, but I thought it was just because the floor of that arena is so small. Hmmmmmmmm??!!! 


Fresh off the plane from Rio, he led in the back line team and before I knew it, drums were appearing on both the main raiser and our (new!) B-stage,

Small plane. About 1/2 the size of the ones they used in N.A., OZ, and EU. I am assuming it is because they only had a few people from Rio to Sao Paulo and the "real" tour plane will be larger? 
But isn't he so damn cute! 

Poland definately embraced Adam! I hope dor the polish fans that he comes back to Poland soon.