As I sit here watching the insanity of a live music rehearsal taping, I think about what it takes to bring together the elements that equal that magic moment. The moment when you experience a live performance that gives you goose bumps, makes you smile and guarantees a place in Rolling Stone magazine’s best music moments ever.
It’s day two of rehearsals for the Juno Awards. Due to a wicked storm and lots of fog, over half the artists slated to perform are sitting in airports. Their flights were cancelled, grounded and postponed until further notice. Scripts are being re-written, emergency calls are being made to friends. I heard Nikki Yanafosky’s dad has been called to use his private jet!
From the stands I see over 60 people setting up lighting, cameras, staging, guitar equipment, stage sound, seating arrangements and food prep. Fifteen very patient volunteers wait to be a stand-in for one of the many “grounded” artists. Not viewable from the stands are dozens more laying wiring, connecting camera tracks, prepping talent rooms and more. It is an ever evolving matrix of people that adapt to changes, roll with the punches and bring their A game to make sure every artist can focus on one thing — their performance.
Artists should walk on stage and know their guitar riffs are crisp, the piano is tuned and the vocal tracks are smooth. Once they feel confident their creation will be shared as imagined, they can concentrate on channeling their energy into the crowd. They move from stage left to stage right, drawing people in with each melodic chorus or bridge. A great example of a memorable performance is the Elton John and Eminem duo. The controversy, the merging cultures and amazing production set the stage for two dynamic artists to connect with the audience, each other and make a statement. Often times those statements can affect change by showing how people unite in spite of differences. They respect each other without total understanding of how or why they live how they do.
And then the exquisite moment is captured on a live TV performance, online or mobile device. Beautiful, amazing and well worth the frazzled talent wranglers, the all night catering prep and the thousands of people who commit to following the dream from script to stage.