...A BAND ON THE ROCKS - Excerpt #6 (Rock Concerts)

[GreggPraetorius]

(From "BABYSITTING A BAND ON THE ROCKS" - available at Newbury Comics locations throughout the Northeast and online at LTCDS.com > Webstore > Books). 

"At a typical rock concert, the Production Manager does weeks of advance preparation and then manages the show on site from start to nish, fullfilling not only critical technical requirements but also catering to the most outlandish of whims. It’s a job that’s flush with details, ripe with surprises and it requires the diplomacy to persuade band crews, venue personnel, stagehands, caterers and the performers themselves to play nice and work together as one big happy family. It rarely comes off without a hitch, but if you do your job well the audience never knows what problems may have been overcome before the band ever hit the stage. That’s an extremely dfficult position to be in, particularly for a guy who can’t yet grow a beard.

To set the scene for the several chapters involving big productions that follow, I should give you more color than Tyler’s catastrophe in Maine or Brian’s Pink Floyd recollection allowed. While the basics for running shows in arenas may be pretty much the same as in clubs and theatres, the big difference is that as a promoter you take great economic risk while having control over very little. That, and the fact that everything is on a much grander scale, leaves little margin for error..."

Review Link to Classic Rock History

https://www.classicrockhistory.com/book-review-babysitting-a-band-on-the-rocks/