Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Sugarland Meets the Land of Sugar Beets!


My first concert has come and gone; and it went off without too many snags! Being in the post of Event Manager for 5 months now, I have tackled the Sioux games (hockey and basketball); midget tournaments (ages 14-16, not the height-challenged people) and now, concerts.

The planning stages for concerts differ from the previously mentioned events; an example would be the rider. The rider is the production/artists way of telling each venue what it needs and wants in relation to stage set-up, speaker positions, manpower, locker room set-ups, etc. It is their “Bible” that each venue must follow; even if we don’t agree with it.

While many have heard horror stories of these so-called riders; J-Lo only wants white; white carpet, white flowers, white linens, etc. Ozzy Osborne can’t have anything green in sight (this would provide our venue with a HUGE headache!)*. I can say, however, that Sugarland was AWESOME! The only request that could have been a problem was their organic shopping list; and this is only because Grand Forks does not have a Whole Foods. The “pick a little, take a little” game was played around town at different grocery stores, but the deed was accomplished.

The concert that Sugarland put on was absolutely amazing! On the working side, it seemed to be a night-mare with a “controlled release”, the artists walking through the crowd to sing in the stairwell; the artists climbing into big balls that replicated that of a gerbil’s work-out plan. From the guests point of view; however, it was non-stop entertainment. From the second they took the stage with the spotlights shooting from the stage up to capture the silhouette of svelte Jennifer Nettles, to Kristian Bush’s fedora and banjo outfit.

All in all, from this Rock 'n Roll lover, the country duo surely has made me a fan of theirs…all the way down to their hit “It Happens”: the little ditty about taking life as it comes and never fretting the bad incidences.

The 30 hour work day was quite a drain, and the rest of the weekend will be non-stop as well. In 5 hours, I have to be back to unlock doors for the aforementioned midget hockey tournament, with a basketball tournament and March of Dimes taking place later in the afternoon. I have just one thing to say… “Pssht, it happens”!


*These are not hard-based facts; just hearsay.
Photo courtesy of Shawna Noel Photography

No comments:

Post a Comment