Friday, March 15, 2013

Maroon 5 - Conducting

Do you remember your first concert?  (Mine was Trooper) Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking my daughter and two friends to see Owl City, Neon Trees and Maroon 5. There is nothing more infectious than the energy of 3 x 12 year old girls getting ready to go to a concert, but at the same time being as cool as you can only be at certain specific points in your life.

As an event producer, I cannot attend a show without looking at the technical details. (and many of you are the same) Kudos to the Maroon 5 team, who used technology in so many incredibly smart ways to tell the story, some of my favorites I will share with you here.
Owl City

Neon Trees
First, I always love seeing the difference in the look for the opening act(s) to the headliner, and this show did not disappoint. Backing the stage for the opening acts a large white backdrop, lacking enough finesse I knew it would not stay. This was used well for projections that added depth to Owl City and Neon Trees - both excellent bands and a perfect fit for the Maroon 5 audience.

As Maroon 5 was starting, I could see two sections behind the "kill zone" (essentially behind the stage) full of people, and knew for sure the white drape was outta there. Sure enough, in the build-up to Maroon 5 taking the stage, this was literally lifted in a "whoosh" revealing the white off shoot stages you see above to be part of a larger "M" backed by projections screens that were used smartly and to great effect throughout the show. One of my favorite uses was the strips that brought in the colors that tied to the overall theming (and merchandising), but had Adam Levine sharp in black and white.


Every song brought an entirely new look, and used every part of the stage, set and screens to bring every song to its own life. We have the technology, it is rare still to see it used so completely and effectively, and I thank those who masterminded this. The bridge that arced down from overhead for just the encore, delivering Adam to the crowd waiting in the middle of the arena for the whole show for him to be just this close, was an awesome addition and added the right sense of highlight to the finale.

We also appreciated the depth and breadth of the music, and their obvious joy in doing live shows.  With no bad language, lots of gratitude to the audience for the ongoing support and a really good show, it was a choice I could feel good about sharing with three young ladies! For all of us, it is good to remember how lucky you are, with how hard you have worked, to be able to do what you love (and they said it out loud).

Yes, they bought the t-shirts. This was their criteria for choice - "this one, it isn't just cool on its own, you have to make it cool." And yes, they wore them home and slept in them!

1 comment:

  1. Their production is really incredible, especially Owl City, he was doing the holograph thing way before it was done at Coachella. Your daughter & her friend would also probably really like DJ Kick-Mix, check it out!

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