The Impossible Feat Of Madonna's Billboard Award-Winning MDNA Tour

[aorlaan]

not sure if this has been posted but i thought it was interesting as it offers logistic insight of MDNA tour

Sunday night Madonna received aBillboard Music Award for the Top Touring Artist of 2012. Her MDNA tour, which brought in $305 million, was a musical and visual extravaganza. Madonna performed with 140,000 pounds of gear suspended above her head. She danced on 42-square-inch squares undulating up and down, reaching eight feet above the stage. What’s more, at each of the 88 stops of the tour, the stage had been built in a few short hours by a local crew who has never seen it (or the traveling roadies) before. Rock concerts descend upon a host site and then quickly disappear. The only certainty is that of unforeseen obstacles. How do they get the show to go on every night, no matter what?

The people who know the answer to that question work for TAIT, the company behind Madonna’s stage set. TAIT has built the sets for all ten highest grossing tours of all time, including for Roger Waters, The Rolling Stones, and U2. TAIT has developed expertise in designing complex stage sets that can be safely, quickly, and cost effectively put together and taken apart.

I recently spoke with the project manager who worked on the MDNA tour, James Erwin, about how the MDNA stage was designed to deliver consistent performance despite vastly differing circumstances on each of the tour’s stops.

Healthy Paranoia

TAIT prepares for worst-case scenarios. In that sense, it is a high-reliability organization, like an aircraft carrier or nuclear power plant. Research on organizations in dangerous industries shows that worrying about the worst thing that can happen is healthy. When you’re paranoid about failure, you pick up on close calls and learn. You see near misses as opportunities to understand the system better.

The MDNA stage was made up of 36 lifts with LED displays on three of the sides and also on the top. “They’re a really beautiful machine,” Erwin proudly says, “but every precaution must be taken, with dozens of performers moving through an ever-changing forest of heavy machinery. The lift matrix’s most potentially harmful hazards are the 146 discrete shear edges where the lift decks pass one another.” Traditionally, a lift like this would have a bump strip on the underside of the edge that would electrically stop motion on the lift in time to not injure a foot that got under it. “We decided that wasn’t good enough for something that Madonna and all of her entourage were going to be dancing on,” said Erwin, “So we just made the top surface of the lift removable. If the surface would land on your foot, it would just pop right off. It’s made of 3/8 inch polycarbonate and it only weighs about 20 pounds. I stuck my hand down there to demonstrate for the safety inspector in Tel Aviv that it is not possible for it to be dangerous in the course of its normal operation.”

A problem with the undulating lifts system was that if one of the lifts became stuck in the raised position, the show would come to a complete stop. “It’s like trying to get fixed fishing lines to cast perfectly every time for a year,” Erwin says. “They get rained on and they get banged around in terrible trucks. But they have to be reliable to a bombproof level to keep from downing a show because there is no opportunity to repair them.” If one of the lifts were to fail in the middle of a show, Erwin estimates that the cost to the tour promoter would exceed the entire fee paid to TAIT to work on the project. To prevent these failures during a show, the lifts are tested beforehand. If at any point the lift is an eighth of an inch off from where it is supposed to be, it stops so that whatever caused the problem can be removed.

Another challenge was that Madonna is such a reliable performer, she creates her own tripping hazard. “She hit the same four-by-four inch square of the stage with her heel every time,” said Erwin. “She is extremely consistent.” So the stage was built from scratch-proof high-capacity phenolis laminate that was designed to reciprocate her level of consistency.

Choreographing the Dance of Stage Construction

In addition to safety and reliability, cost was a major factor designing the MDNA stage set. Two of the biggest expenses for a tour are transportation costs and local labor costs. In fact, the local workers who put together the stage cost more than the rent on the venue.

This is why TAIT designs sets by thinking about the choreography of how the stage will be put together. The goal is to do it as fast as possible, with as few people as possible, and using, at most, one tool. TAIT stages are composed of lines of magnets built into corners that lock together quickly with a single tool. In contrast, most stages are built from platforms that are framed with wooden 2X4s that somebody has to screw together manually with a handful of drywall screws. “By providing scenery that bangs up very quickly we reduce the need for local labor in a given city. You need fewer guys, you need them for less time and that’s a huge cost savings for a tour right off the bat.” Shortening set up time also means that the crew gets more sleep, which also improves safety.

Learning from the Front Line

In high-reliability organizations, the people with the most valuable expertise are often the front line workers, in this case the roadies who travel with the show. TAIT works with the roadies by having them come into the shop to provide input into stage construction and packaging. “Spending that much time with the end user is an excellent master class for us. They point out things that we might not think of,” said Erwin. Likewise, the TAIT guys come to rehearsals and the first few performances to help the crew troubleshoot and gain mastery of the system.

Madonna put on the same spectacular show every night, no matter what surprises and setbacks came along the way. “We’re all very proud of what we achieved on that tour,” Jake Berry, the production manager on the MDNA tour, told me, “And she came home in one piece!”

-forbes

[Barney]

I always said that stage was a death trap. M is a fucking genius not to have gotten hurt. Imagine Britney, Amy, Mariah on it.

[joe]

Personally, it's her best stage out of all of her tours. Mechanically and visually stunning. It seems fitting that if she is going to have a visually beautiful show, she needs a visually beautiful stage too, right? At least this one didn't collapse.

[lasky]

A lot of hard work has been put into the stage design and thumbs up for anyone who can survived throughout the 88 date that madonna has set for herself...

[Mensch]

That bitch was on point every night.

Every single rehearsal and performance.

No other artist would be able to do that without slacking off or laziness which would lead to some type of injury.

I'm sure they knew (working on shows) that Madonna was a no-brainer in terms of being able to pull off this type of massive stage without a hitch.

I bet, behind the scenes, she's respected and adorated for being such a hardworking professional compared to the way she's perceived by the media and the world in general. Even when you take the controversies out, her consistency and work ethic really blows me away.

I loved the stage so fucking much. It was incredible! Every detail about it. I took it all in throughout all the 10 shows. I didn't take a single moment for granted.

[Barney]

One wrong step and she'd be off in an ambulance leaving thousands of people without their show. She must be so focused beyond anything I could imagine. (And make it look easy).

[Mensch]

One wrong step and she'd be off in an ambulance leaving thousands of people without their show. She must be so focused beyond anything I could imagine. (And make it look easy).

Exactly.

[Fighting Spirit]

But according to some assholes, this is M's worst tour and she was just lazy. I'm confused. :lmao:

[Guest Not4Pussies]

that stage was something else. her best stage ever.

[Ai Papi Si.]

One of the most impressive artistic acheivements of her career on all levels. Her best show ever.

[Skin]

But according to some assholes, this is M's worst tour and she was just lazy. I'm confused. :lmao:

They must be on crack.

And didnt that massive incense thurible swing right over peoples heads in the front of the pit? Could you imagine if that thing ever snapped and came crashing down. Yikes.

There really were tons of things that could have gone wrong. (even though she did have some mechanical issues here and there which is to be expected.) I dont think she ever had an issue with the floor pillars rising up and down though did she? They always seemed to work.

[M.Dolla]

They must be on crack.

And didnt that massive incense thurible swing right over peoples heads in the front of the pit? Could you imagine if that thing ever snapped and came crashing down. Yikes.

There really were tons of things that could have gone wrong. (even though she did have some mechanical issues here and there which is to be expected.) I dont think she ever had an issue with the floor pillars rising up and down though did she? They always seemed to work.

I don't remember which date specifically but during GGW the pillars didn't raise in time before the 2nd verse & during Vogue in Dublin they didn't raise in time either

[rb19]

I don't remember which date specifically but during GGW the pillars didn't raise in time before the 2nd verse & during Vogue in Dublin they didn't raise in time either

The whole stage was going dodgy in the UK, in Birmingham we had no problems with the pillars, but the screens kept sticking, during Gang Bang, Masterpiece - Vogue and then again somewhere at the end. And the triangle stage didn't rise on time during I'm Addicted.

[ashtangi74]

i loved the cubes and the triangle but i didnt get the stairs on both sides of the stage leading to the triangle...they were so high it blocked the view.

[Guest]

It's the greatest stage that ever existed.

[Carta]

And didnt that massive incense thurible swing right over peoples heads in the front of the pit? Could you imagine if that thing ever snapped and came crashing down. Yikes.

It did, although it didn't in Copenhagen, for some reason (I was in the pit that night and was expecting it, but it stayed vertical without swinging - really don't know why).

I agree that it's her best show ever, and that's saying an awful lot, given who she is and what she's done on stage in the past.

[Fighting Spirit]

It will be pretty hard for her to top this tour. If she does something more 'intimate' I just can see everyone saying she's tired and over.

[Carta]

I really wish she hadn't pulled out of the Australian leg. After having stayed away for 19 years, returning with a show as spectacular as MDNA would have silenced the critics and satisfied everyone. There would have been the usual complaints about the "lack of hits" in the setlist, but people have complained about every setlist since 1993, so no surprises there. Had she toured here in January with MDNA, it probably would have been her final visit here, but boy, what a way to go out!

[JWAD]

I was at the show in Birmingham and the Motel set didn't appear during "Gang Bang", the screens got stuck on "Justify My Love" which caused problems leading onto "Vogue". During "I'm Addicted", she was already singing the song before she came up in the lift a it was too late. I don't remember there being a problem with "Masterpiece", but I do remember her speech going on about "where was my fucking motel????"

[Bill]

Wish I could have seen the stage in person, but it looks quite impressive.

30+ years into the game, Madonna is still the hardest-working, most dedicated performer in the business.

[horn]

I always said that stage was a death trap. M is a fucking genius not to have gotten hurt. Imagine Britney, Amy, Mariah on it.

It's a different case for Mimi.

The stage will be destroyed by Mimi instead.

[Guest Not4Pussies]

Wish I could have seen the stage in person, but it looks quite impressive.

30+ years into the game, Madonna is still the hardest-working, most dedicated performer in the business.

You didn't go to MDNA? I'm shocked

[Paparazzo]

"If one of the lifts were to fail in the middle of a show, Erwin estimates that the cost to the tour promoter would exceed the entire fee paid to TAIT to work on the project"

Holy ****.

[Guest Rachelle of London]

Love articles like this! I love to see how these shows are put together

[Paparazzo]

The whole stage was going dodgy in the UK, in Birmingham we had no problems with the pillars, but the screens kept sticking, during Gang Bang, Masterpiece - Vogue and then again somewhere at the end. And the triangle stage didn't rise on time during I'm Addicted.

wait, the triangle raises? :ohmy:

[Mensch]

wait, the triangle raises? :ohmy:

Lol only the front of the triangle!

[Paparazzo]

Lol only the front of the triangle!

do you have pics/videos?

i can't believe i didn't know this

[Barney]

do you have pics/videos?

i can't believe i didn't know this

Yeah the front lifts up, I cant help you with pics im using my dodgy Samsung.

[Mensch]

do you have pics/videos?

i can't believe i didn't know this

You have to be joking. It lifts during I don't give a, I'm addicted...it goes down after Best Friend interlude, takes her away after GMAYL,

[Guest Rachelle of London]

LOOOOL of course the triangle moves, most noticeably at the beginning of IDGA and I'm Addicted