From the Bosotn Herald
Stones hope for `Bigger Bang' with elaborate Fenway setup
By
Sarah Rodman
Saturday, August 20, 2005 - Updated:
11:18 AM EST
If bigger is better, then the
Rolling Stones must be the best, or at least the richest, rock band ever.
The band will kick off their ``A Bigger Bang'' world tour with two sold-out shows tomorrow and Tuesday at Fenway Park on what's being billed as the biggest stage set in rock history, topping even their own previous "Steel Wheels'' and "Bridges to Babylon'' extravaganzas.
Reporters got a sneak peek at the back of the stage yesterday at a press conference with Stones production manager Dale Skjerseth and promoter Tres Thomas of Concert Production International. The pair said the ban on front-of-the-stage views - except for TV helicopters - was an effort not to spoil the big reveal on Sunday.
"We've got to keep some secrets,'' said Skjerseth, who's worked with the Stones on previous tours as well as with AC/DC and Ozzfest.
What he could reveal was that the band has been "very hands-on'' in the design details with the idea for the onstage seating coming from Sir Mick himself in an effort to re-create the ambience of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The up-close and personal boxes will accommodate between 230 and 264 fans.
The stage has the wingspan of a 747 - about 285 feet - and dwarfs the Green Monster at 90 feet high. There is one huge central video screen as well as several side screens and a "B'' stage that extends 90 feet into the audience.
The band may play revved up blues boogie, but they'll be playing on heavy metal: the steel for the stage apparatus weighs in at 170,000 tons and the entire set is a hefty 300,000 tons. It will take 70 semis and 265 crewmembers to set up, break down and transport.
"It's done everything I've seen a stage not do before,'' said Skjerseth of the behemoth platform. "The whole show is a huge visual event.'' He says the Stones generally challenge themselves to do "something bigger and better. That's why it's called the 'Bigger Bang Tour.' ''
As for sound and sightlines, Skjerseth was confident that fans would get some satisfaction. "There's not a lot of old venues up anymore and I'll tell you, (Fenway) sounds better than a lot of the new ones. This is why baseball was set up this way. Every seat is a great seat.''
Well, Red Sox fans may not agree. What's more, many of those seats, great or otherwise, are uncovered and Thomas reiterated that the band will play "rain or shine.''
Neither man would spill about the set list, but Skjerseth said the band has "pulled out everything they could and rehearsed it from old to new.'' The shows should run about two hours and 15 minutes with a curfew of 10:30 p.m.
When asked if they understood how meaningful it was to be only the third act - behind
Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett - to play the historic ballfield in recent years, Skjerseth seemed genuinely jazzed.
"The third and the biggest,'' he said. "It's great.''
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