Music as group effort

Bryan Warner recently tweeted a group shot of the people involved in the Fall Out Boy Tour:

http://instagram.com/p/e_jVEJtUwh/#

It was appropriate that it came from him, because he was a part of my starting to think more about the entire crew, and this picture illustrates how many people can be involved in a rock and roll show.

I guess it really started with Gaslight Anthem. Maybe it was the Fixx, with that guy taping up the set list, or, I don't know. I have always been into watching the setup and behind the scenes stuff, but what stood out at Gaslight Anthem was that one of the roadies looked kind of like Brian Fallon, and I was wondering if he was related. I don't know, but shortly after that Alex Levine posted a picture of him. He said Kane, so I think that is the roadie's name, and I think of him as Kane now, but it could also have been a wrestling reference, because they seem to do that a lot.

That was April, and then in May at the MSI show, I noticed that the guy running the sound board was wearing a Death Spells shirt. This totally made sense, as Death Spells had opened for MSI for a few shows, and so they would all know each other. One of the band members sent out a thank you tweet to a few people as they wrapped up, and I realized one was the sound guy, and one was the merch guy (that's Bryan Warner), and then there was a roadie. I followed all three of them.

Not long after that, and right before the Fall Out Boy concert, Bryan tweeted something that made me realize he was in Portland. Actually, several of the band members did that as well, but I realized that he must be doing their merch this time, and there he was at the merch table. And I felt like I should say "hi", and then I didn't because, I don't know, I felt shy and lame and like I would be a weird stalker.

Regardless, it just opened my mind to the work and the connections that go on.

I counted 46 people in the picture. That is not a careful count, but anyway, it's a lot. That was probably the largest crew from the various shows, other than maybe Pet Shop Boys. Actually, I was really surprised that Fall Out Boy played the Roseland, because they totally could have sold more tickets somewhere else, but it is the largest venue within walking distance of Voodoo Doughnuts. I digress

The band members are important, and that's why the crowd comes, but making everything run smoothly involves hard work and skill. Roadies don't just set up; they keep the show flowing as instruments are changed for different songs. There may not be visual effects, but the sound needs to be right no matter what, and there is a lot of art and expertise involved in making that happen. And merch is becoming a more important component of a band's financial viability all the time.

 There are people there making it happen - people you may recognize at other shows if you just keep your eye open. I find that cool.