What’s so funny about that? They’ve worked hard-they *deserve *two Econoline vans.
Wait a minute - this is a zombie thread.
Holy shit, I haven’t been on SDMB in like a year, I come on and the third post from the top is a zombie I originally created.
Gonna go buy a powerball ticket.
Does that make this thread un-undead?
It’s feeling better.
…Snakes & Arrows tour 2008?
I was at that same show.
I’m going to get my money back on my anti-zombie protection software. 29 bucks down the drain.
I post on another board that has a zombie smilie. We could use one of those here.
These days, Neil Peart’s drum kit alone probably requires an Econoline van full of architects to set up 
Oh, heck, that thing needs its own postal code.
Remember, they’re Canadian.
The band needs one truckload of makeup, at least…
/high five
Were you mooing along with me and everybody else after the show, as we exited via those cattle gates?
…And don’t forget they have T-shirts, CDs, and other swag to sell.
Pretty good indication that they rely on special effects instead of musical talent.
I must admit, I was wondering why the OP was talking about a show in 2009…
(Having said that, this is a fascinating thread.)
I don’t recall mooing, but I do recall taking an hour to get out of the parking lot and not making it home until 3 AM.
In the early 1990s, I had a pen pal (remember those?) who lived in the Deep South and was a big Bon Jovi fan. In the early days of their career, they played in her town, and afterwards, a local TV station went to their hotel to do a live report on all the thousands of dollars of damage they had caused. :dubious:
The head of housekeeping looked at the reporter like he was nuts and said they didn’t even leave their towels on the floor.
A few years before that, I worked with a woman who had previously been a motel desk clerk. I asked her if bands ever stayed there, and she said they did, all the time, and beyond being noisy, they rarely caused problems themselves. The problems were caused by the (her words) “girls who ran after the musicians”.
What are common staffing arrangements and union requirements with all these setups? How much local labor, how much with the dedicated roadies?
That’s all up to the production, pretty much. Sometimes a local venue will have rules about certain things (for example: if you need a high/basket rigger, you have to pay for a ground rigger as well), but for the most part staffing requirements are up to the tour manager or producer.
IME most arena shows will have 4-8 lighting people who will collectively supervise anywhere from 24-80 local stagehands. There will be other people to handle rigging, audio, video, carpentry, pyro, etc. It’s not unusual for a tour to have anywhere from 60-150 local people, plus about 4-8 per department that are on the road with the tour. Plus a tour manager and any assistants they need. Plus the drivers. Maybe wardrobe people, depending on the tour.
I am a stagehand, btw. I’ve been doing this for more than 34 years now. Rigging, audio, lighting, carpentry, some video work (but I’m no vidiot :P), some pyro, etc. although I mostly stick to lighting now.
To establish my street red, here’s some stagehand humor: Local Crew Chief vs. Touring Production Manager. It’s funny because it’s true!
*street cred
(stupid spellchecker tried to “fix” it for me just now too)