Ten Best Tour Designs of All Time! Only One Female!

[acko]

Tours De Force: The Top Ten Concert Tour Designs Of All Time

by Marian Sandberg

When we started our look at the best concert tour designs of all time—a list we asked you, our readers, to nominate—we had no idea what sort of feedback we would get. Suggestions dated farther back than those on this list, but sifting through all the emails and the piles of submissions we received, we’ve whittled it down to a precious ten. These were the most popular choices for their combined aesthetic and technically groundbreaking value.

Let’s face it, we all know there are probably dozens—even hundreds—more concert tours deserving recognition. Clearly, there is no algorithm that analyzes the data and spits out these results for us (one part genius + two parts budget + nine parts creativity + six parts more budget + 100,000 parts per venue ticket sales X the square root of the top position achieved on Billboard = success? Nah.).

Check back here for updates to materials related to these and other memorable tours. No stone shall remain unturned, no corner of the touring industry uncovered, no design without recognition, no—okay, I think you get the point. We have more than a few more to share. To all the designers, programmers, technicians, and crew on these tours, thanks for the memories.

1978

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

ELO’s 1978 tour design was inspired by the jukebox-style flying saucer used on the cover of the band’s Out of the Blue album—vinyl, naturally. The tour featured an enormous mockup of a spaceship housing the lighting rig that started the show sitting on stage and raised—took off—to a position suspended above. What designer Stephen Bickford achieved in his concept was groundbreaking, with lighting, fog, and lasers rigged on the underside of the ship, emulating 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, an intentional homage. The nine-month, 92-date world tour, became the highest-grossing live concert tour in history at that point, selling out an incredible eight consecutive dates at England’s Wembley Stadium.

1984

Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues

Conceived for the stage by Talking Heads front-man David Byrne and lighting designer Beverly Emmons, Speaking In Tongues became one of the most-beloved concert films ever, Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense (with a live album release of the same name). Back then, the Talking Heads’ sound fell into the category of new wave or alternative—decidedly not pop—and the tour demanded a look to match the band’s off-beat sensibility. No flashing PARs here—in fact, Byrne specifically wanted no colored lights at all, and most props were painted black to keep them from distracting from the stage aesthetic. Byrne took to the bare stage with a portable cassette tape player and an acoustic guitar to start the show for “Psycho Killer,” and the set and lighting were added from there, song by song. Projection content was by Wendall K. Harrington, and the tour’s lighting director was Abigail Rosen Holmes.

Genesis Mama

Okay, so the Abacab tour of ’81 was significant in the history of concert lighting technology, since it featured the first-ever use of automated moving lights in the initial form of what was to become the Vari-Lite VL1™. Heck, the band actually invested in its development with what was then Showco. But Genesis’ following tour, Mama, really harnessed the moving light in new ways, blowing the doors off all expectations for the visual content of a tour. Alan Owen’s lighting design incorporated a massive rig full of VL1s distributed over a pie-shaped truss—more color, more movement, more everything. This was the future of concert lighting. Tom Littrell acted as the programmer/operator.

1987

David Bowie Glass Spider

With a team that included lighting designer Allen Branton, set designer Mark Ravitz, and video director Christine Strand, Bowie’s Glass Spider Tour was all spectacle, including using scaffolding for multiple levels for the band and dancers and, of course, the 40'-diameter spider dominating the stage with its 15'-high inflatable body, not including the legs, which themselves held 20,000’ of color-changing rope lights. It didn’t hurt the dramatic effects level to have Bowie descend from the spider’s belly in a chair, or the Flying by Foy rig that enabled the singer and dancers to rappel from various levels back to the stage deck.

1989

Rolling Stones Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle (1989-90)

Through the ‘60s and ‘70s, The Rolling Stones had been, well, on a roll, churning out a new album every year or two. By the time the ‘80s had, well, rolled around, more years passed between albums, and by 1989, the band hadn’t toured in seven years. So what better way to stay relevant than to hit the road with a mega-rig, monstrous stage, and the most financially successful tour for its time? Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe and set designer Mark Fisher have long collaborated on tours for The Rolling Stones, and this particular tour took the cake (or rather, “took the biscuit,” if you’re Woodroffe, Fisher, and The Stones). The stage was designed by Fisher with the participation of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger, and the tour grabbed one of Pollstar’s first awards for Most Creative Stage Production.

1994

Pink Floyd Division Bell

Division Bell made people want to work in the lighting industry. We know a few. Thanks to the massive lighting rig and Hol¬lywood Bowl-inspired stage designed by Marc Brickman and architecturally realized by Mark Fisher, this tour was the largest ever at the time—approximately 700 tons of steel on 33 trucks. Due to the sheer size, three identical stages and rigs were built, leapfrogging from venue to venue, since load-in and setup took three and half days to complete and load-out took another two. Peter Wynne Wilson, who was the band’s lighting designer until 1968, returned to add dramatic liquid projections and effects to the tour. Division Bell is immortalized in the live concert film Pulse, and it’s another Pollstar winner for Most Creative Stage Production.

2001

Madonna Drowned World

With lighting by Peter Morse, a stage designed by Bruce Rodgers, and video direction by Carol Dodds, Drowned World was designed as four distinct mini-operas, each with its own set pieces and costumes (of course, Madonna’s wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without entries from Jean Paul Gaultier, Donatella Versace, Dean and Dan Caten of D2, and Dolce & Gabbana). Arriving on stage via a “spaceship,” Madge also perches in a 24'-tall aluminum tree, flies through the air with the greatest of ease, conquers a mechanical bull, pops out of a spinning, 3,800lb “poof chair,” and oh yeah, she sings, dances, and plays guitar, too—a lot of stuff moving, a lot to build, and a lot to light. Dare we say, it drowned the senses—obviously the point.

The Production company took the tree back after the tour

2006

Daft Punk Alive

“Daft Punk is playing in my house, in my house...” No it’s not, but the French electronic music duo did play venues all over the world in ’06 and ’07 in support of the Grammy-winning Alive (Best Electronic/Dance Album). Now, maybe this tour wasn’t breaking any records, winning any awards, playing to tens of thousands in stadiums mega-tour fashion, but visually, you can’t fight the slick style of Martin Phillips’ set and lighting design. The sci-fi feel of it all—from the video-mapped techno-pyramid on which the two musicians performed to the retro wireframe and old-school video game-style graphics, to the more photorealistic video content—this tour clearly pleased crowds. Reviewing Daft Punk’s appearance at a festival in Hyde Park using this stage setup, The Times noted, “For their imperious grand finale, Daft Punk perched atop a shimmering sci-fi pyramid of pulsing lights in their shiny robot helmets, like camp Darth Vaders piloting their very own disco Death Star.” Wicked cool.

2008

Nine Inch Nails Lights In The Sky

Leroy Bennett has designed lots of shows through the years that have pushed the art of stage design, but Lights In The Sky finds itself on this list for many reasons, not the least of which was the imaginative use of varying resolution screens positioned in layers—sometimes in front of the band, sometimes behind it, and sometimes both. One even came in to land 6' from the edge of the stage for a couple songs, the band behind it with two more screens as background. There was even band and crew “interaction” with the screens including a crewmember who appeared to erase the content on a screen using his flashlight. Bennett also made inventive use of an audience-facing, upright array of Martin Professional MAC 300 LED fixtures that sat on the stage, programmed to use the movement of the fixtures themselves as effects (think: the wave performed by luminaires). Cory FitzGerald programmed the lighting, and Sean Cagney programmed the video for the tour.

2009

U2 360°

The 360¡Æ tour is so groundbreaking that we created an entire online microsite just to cover it. No amount of print pages could have contained all that needed to be catalogued about this tour, in the same way that only certain venues can actually accommodate the immense production. From Willie Williams¡¯ visual designs, to Stageco¡¯s build of Mark Fisher¡¯s set design, including the massive and imposing Claw, to the incredible engineering and creation of the multi-faceted video screen by Chuck Hoberman, Buro Happold, Barco, and Innovative Designs, loads of technology was developed just for this tour. Williams¡¯ innovative lighting design included PRG¡¯s then brand-new Bad Boy luminaire as the primary illumination source. It¡¯s a marvel of concert touring in-the-round that has to be witnessed to be believed. Yet another of Pollstar¡¯s awardees for Most Creative Stage Production, it¡¯s still going strong, with dates into 2011.

[Jairo]

That U2 stage is the best thing ever. Really impressive.

[acko]

That U2 stage is the best thing ever. Really impressive.

I think it's beyond tacky, just like the Rolling Stones one. That 360° stage takes design beyond its purpose imo.

I can't imagine enjoying a show like that.

[Jairo]

I think it's beyond tacky

And the Gaga stage is awesome. Right

[Nikki]

I like a real big stage to be honest. I love the idea of a traditional (yet iconic) rock and roll stage. I hate circuses. those of 'take that' make me wanna puke, i don't know why so many M fans go ballistic over that one. from that list, I like DWT a lot, even though the stage isn't that big. what she added to her stage actually had a purpose. and I have a weak spot for the RS' wheel & bigger than bang (not in the list)

[Nikki]

And the Gaga stage is awesome. Right

and you think we love gaga's my little pony castle?

I actually like the idea of a castle if its really dark & gothic and has a purpose in the show, but it looks so fake in stadiums. and gaga's colorful lightshow doesn't do it justice and totally ruins the point of having a castle at all

[Guest bluejean]

I don't mind the U2 set design but it doesn't make up for their lifeless performance on stage.

[acko]

And the Gaga stage is awesome. Right

And where did I say that? I genuinely dislike stages like that, it's just an opinion. So don't b a cunt.

RE/ Nikki...part of the DWT design is based on a castle, when the stairs on the side slightly turn & the spanish section begins.

The lighting by Peter Morse is the best ever. Maybe wit Jamie King out of the picture this master of the form might return.

[Guest bluejean]

I actually like the idea of a castle

Really? I find the concept beyond tacky to begin with.

I quite like the Bowie one although isn't that the tour that got panned by critics for being too OTT?

[Guest bluejean]

RE/ Nikki...part of the DWT design is based on a castle, when the stairs on the side slightly turn & the spanish section begins.

I can't say I found the Drowned World tour the greatest stage design. Its really the costumes, the choreography, the themes and the performance that blow me away about that show.

[acko]

I can't say I found the Drowned World tour the greatest stage design. Its really the costumes, the choreography, the themes and the performance that blow me away about that show.

Did u c it in person? On the DVD it doesn't even begin 2 capture of what it was like.

The DWT stage is the best I've ever seen in my life.

[Nessie]

Is it just me that thinks that U2 doesn't need/deserve a big production like that?

[GimmeSomeMo]

Peter Morse is a GOD and the work he did for BAT, GS and DWT especially is nothing sort of epically mind blowing. Never have I seen lights with such a sense of drama and such character. Genuine chill down the spine moments. I don't know why Madonna moved on but the lightshows on her shows have never been as good. Also the stage for the DWT (and BAT which should have been included on this list) are genius. The setpieces on DWT like the UFO light rig, the tree and that thing that opens for Lo Que Siente belong in a modern art museum. I don't like big rock n roll stages like the ones the Rolling Stones or U2 have no matter how impressive or bombastic they are. I like stage designs that are more intricate and add to the drama.

[Guest bluejean]

Did u c it in person? On the DVD it doesn't even begin 2 capture of what it was like.

No I didn't

[karbatal]

I never knew that Madonna arrived in a spaceship! I always assumed that she simply got there and started singing Drowned World. Was i too hysterical watching her live for the first time to notice that?

[GimmeSomeMo]

That giant rig with the screens that lowers and 'picks her up' at the end too is supposed to be a spaceship.

[Guest bluejean]

I never knew that Madonna arrived in a spaceship! I always assumed that she simply got there and started singing Drowned World. Was i too hysterical watching her live for the first time to notice that?

I assume that's why they have the inverted comma's, to indicate that it wasn't necessarily a spaceship but that that they found it reminiscent of one.

[Mattress]

Drowned World remains my favorite Madonna tour and unfortunately it didn't translate as well to film. They created an amazing atmosphere.

I'm so tempted to track it down and launch myself from it.

[GimmeSomeMo]

I'm so tempted to track it down and launch myself from it.

I think that would end badly without the harness

[karbatal]

Oh, double post. Well, this won't go waste: YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL.

[Guest bluejean]

Drowned World remains my favorite Madonna tour and unfortunately it didn't translate as well to film. They created an amazing atmosphere.

Do you think it was because of the nature of the show or do you think the director just did a shit job capturing it?

[Raf]

Do you think it was because of the nature of the show or do you think the director just did a shit job capturing it?

I think it was because they used the HBO broadcast to make the dvd... If they took the time to film and edit the show a la confessions or SS, it would've been MAGIC!

DWT is my favorite tour too, and it was my first concert ever! It's still the best night of my life!

[Guest bluejean]

That's weird because I prefer the Drowned World DVD to the other two. I mean the others are glossier and edited up like music videos. Drowned World feels more natural. And the vocals are real.

[dollhouse]

^the hair is horrid thou..

[Starman]

The concert does seem more impressive in photos and fan videos than on the DVD