Loaders: Loaders arguably have the worst job in a concert production. All the gear in the truck doesn’t get itself on stage, after all… Loaders have to unload the (sometimes) 400lb cable cases, speakers, light rigs, staging, trussing, band gear, etc… from the trucks and get them to the stage, and back in the truck at the end of the night. It sounds pretty simple, right? Throw in a couple flights of stairs, tight hallways, a fire escape, a ramp that doesn’t work… name it, it’s out there. An easy couple hours of work quickly becomes backbreaking labour, especially on the club circuit. Life as a loader really only gets bearable on the arena circuit, when the trucks can back right up to the zamboni entrance, in most cases, making for a fast, easy load.
If you’re near working loaders, stay out of their way. Believe it or not, there are actually special techniques to push and carry cases, and if you get in the way you could get hurt. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Don’t bother the loaders. They don’t have a lot of power being so low on the food chain, so they can’t get your cd signed, can’t get you backstage, can’t get you free beer or on the bus. If you ever ask a loader if you can “audition” for a backstage pass, you get what you deserve, and that would most definitely classify you as a “mutant” (we’ll get to that in a later installment).
Riggers: If you ever go to a concert in an arena, one of the things you’ll notice is all the chains and steel lines supporting the speakers, lights and video walls from the ceiling. Like gear in a truck, the chains and steel don’t get there by themselves. They are carefully hung at very precise points by riggers. Riggers are the first ones in and last ones out. The steel line is hung off the rafter, then the chains with motors are attached to pull up the equipment. All this has to be in place before anything else can be setup, so by default, they’re the last pieces of equipment to get back in the truck at the end of the night.
There are two types of riggers: ground riggers and sky riggers. The sky rigger is the person in the rafters who places and secures the steel lines, to which the motors and chains are attached. The ground rigger helps with the placement of each point and prepares the steel lines and sends them up by a rope, pulled by the sky rigger.
NEVER bother a rigger. The safety of every single person attending and working the show depends on the job they do. If the slightest thing is wrong with the hang, structures can collapse and people get killed. It’s happened before, and unfortunately will likely happen again… It’s often said that riggers don’t sleep until everything is on the ground again. It’s an extremely stressful job that not many people can handle, which is one reason why riggers get good money. Riggers need the ability to stay calm under stress, to be able to concentrate in difficult situations, and they need knowledge of structural engineering so they can safely determine how much weight can be hung from each area of the rafters. Aside from all that, they’re usually freaks who march to the beat of their own drummer. They definitely stand out when the whole crew is together, it’s still TBD if that’s a good thing or a bad thing… They’re just odd…
Runners: In the most basic sense, the runner is the bitch of the production staff. If anyone needs something, whether it be coffee, roses, a lift to the hotel, guitar strings or a drill bit, the runner is there to run out and get it. They spend the entire day waiting for people to send them on errands. It’s not too glorious, but you do get good stories out of it. It’s always fun to tell your friends that you had to buy XXXX for Rock Star XXXX. You’d be surprised at some of the requests… Runners aren’t easily identified in any way. It’s usually just a person in street clothes running back and forth to the parking lot all day.
Runners can be fun to hang out with. They can’t do anything for you - they’re at about the same level as a loader on the food chain – but some of their stories can be priceless. Definitely worth the price of a couple drinks to sit around and learn about rock star shopping lists. Again, like a loader, it’s pointless to ask for anything, but if you do, well, you won’t really get anything except the chance to hear “sorry, can’t help”.
Production Manager: The production manager is the person that oversees all the details related to the show, or the production. Every single detail from load-in time to catering to set times to bus parking to staffing is settled by the production manager. They get in touch with the touring personnel a few days before the show and go over all the details in the show contract. Once everything is agreed upon, the production manager is responsible for the smooth operation of everything the day of the show. Show day often has a few last minute things pop up, and a fair amount of time can be spent troubleshooting, but it’s all in a days work.
Production managers are often identified by orange toques, Simple Plan trucker caps and sometimes passes around their necks or clipped to their belts. These people have power. You want an autograph? Backstage pass? Free booze? These guys can make it happen. They will also have you kicked out if you even attempt to get something from them. They have far bigger fish to fry than to get you an autographed beer bottle backstage. Talk about stress. If anything goes wrong, the production manager has to deal with it. The buck stops here. So, it’s in your best interests to let them do their job and run around with their head cut off, unless you want to have 4 huge bouncers drag you outside by your limbs and toss you into the street…
