Randy Jackson: The Stage Of The Concert

On a early September Friday a cover band lead by guitarist and lead singer, Randy Jackson, performed at a bar on the north side of Milwaukee and played a variety of Rock and Roll tunes. The stage of the concert was very basic. There were no huge props on stage or anything that drew the attention of the audience. The concert was a relatively small event and it had a relatively low budget so it’s understandable to see the lack of setting. However, the basic small stage actually fit the atmosphere of the evening rather well. It was a somewhat small crowd and in a small building so a large, gaudy stage would seem out of place. The productions sound quality was great. They had large speakers on every side of the stage and it projected all the sound loud and clearly. No special
effects were used during the concert, only the sound of the instruments. The lighting of the concert was rather amateurish. There was not a wide variety of stage lights that were used during the play which was expected considering it was a smaller concert. However, despite the lack high level equipment, the production used the lights in a way that helped generate and control the mood of the audience. One of the lights utilized during the production were flood lights. This lighting instrument was used to illuminate the entire stage with a variety of colors. The floodlight colors help set the mood of each song by changing colors. For example during one of the slower songs performed, the lighting changed to a darker shade of blue and didn’t change colors near as often. This helped settle the audience down from the normal high tempo and energy. Furthermore, ERS (Ellipsoidal Reflector Spot) lights were used to follow the singer around as he moved across the stage. This spotlight did a good job of focusing the audience attention on the lead singer throughout the performance. There was also use of laser lights that almost seemed to dance to the song. They moved around in various motions that corresponded to the tempo of the song playing. Lastly there where automated or moving lights used. This type of light was very effective in creating the classic rock and roll enviroment. They changed color very rapidly and moved over the stage to illuminate the area as well as the audience. The outfits the performers were wearing were very casual and relaxed.
All the Performers were wearing jeans and a t-shirt. This is very common for rock concerts. No extreme outfits or crazy props were used because the band had the intent to focus the audience's attention on the music rather than themselves. The only special action that was performed was the lead guitarist occasionally throwing out a pick into the audience. There was no drastic change in the performance at any point nor any machinery utilized. The singer did often converse with the audience asking them to do things such as clap or stand up and yell. Overall I thought the concert was solid in terms of its technical aspect. The main limiting factor for this performance was its lack of money to spend on big, extravagant props and set, but I believe the plain stage and costuming fit the band well. I especially enjoyed the lighting due to its ability to aid in controlling the mood of the audience. Although it was a rather simple production, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and appreciate the technical details even more because of the new wealth of knowledge I have gained during the
trimester.