Favorite concert stage setup

[bakedpony]

Been watching some concerts from the U2 360 tour recently, and man that stage was some amazing stuff.

It is a stadium only show with the main stage near the center. They have a claw like structure to hold the screen, ligjts and speakers.

Then for the B-stage, you have an outer circular perimiter that is connected by moving bridges.

And of course that screen. It can expand and shift positions!

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What is your favorite stage setup for a concert?

Note: We are here to discuss the stage not the music :)

 

[Yossarian]

Prefer it simple myself, so any variations on this:

 

[Haze]

Kanye West's Saint Pablo Tour is still the incredible live music setup I've experienced.

I went twice. Once in a very close seat and again in the General Admission (under the stage. They were two different ways to experience the same show.

The stage was not only suspended over the general admission, but it also tilted and moved around the arena with myriad lights and colors.

 

[obin_gam]

In Flames has great LED screens

 

[Fizzgig]

I saw the thread title and came in to say the U2 360 tour :D

Saw them in Glasgow and it was incredible

 

[Fevaweva]

The 1975 most recent tour has some cool visuals and effects. The video I have been watching has just been copyright struck so I can't post a video :(

 

[smuf]

Daft Punk Alive tour pyramid

 

[Rinse Bassfunk]

The Arcadia stage at Boomtown was always impressive

 

[SeroTyler]

I still see arena shows bite the Lights in the Sky tour to this day.

Kanye West's Saint Pablo Tour is still the incredible live music setup I've experienced.

I went twice. Once in a very close seat and again in the General Admission (under the stage. They were two different ways to experience the same show.

The stage was not only suspended over the general admission, but it also tilted and moved around the arena with myriad lights and colors.

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I only saw this from a seat, but I bet from GA it was once in a lifetime.

 

[Zombine]

I know this is more about fun gimmicks, but center stage is usually the best for everyone.

 

[JimNastics]

This is all you need.

 

[bakedpony]

I know the thread title ia favorite setup but I was looking more elaborate designs. That Kanye one is pretty intriguing. I dont think it will work for bands though

 

[Aya]

Roger Waters always blew my mind 🐖

 

[MillionIII]

Wish I was at a Travis Scott concert

 

[Watevaman]

I've only ever been to small/medium concerts with under 1000 in the audience, so that's what I prefer. I've seen Ghost a few times now and they always have a cool backdrop and setup for their shows:

 

[Mazz]

Prefer it simple myself, so any variations on this:

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This.
Small venue, first row, real musicians with no frills.

 

[Yossarian]

This is all you need.

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This.
Small venue, first row, real musicians with no frills.

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Yup.

 

[Dan]

U2 360 is ok, but it doesnt top Zoo TV IMO.

The greatest concert "show" ever produced.

 

[gimmmick]

Saw Rammstein live in Vegas 3 years ago, they put on a good fucking show and production.

My vote for best set production is U2 360 tour / the claw.

 

[Praxis]

Rammstein

 

[FnordChan]

The best stage setup I ever saw was at a single-venue music festival in Tokyo, with six bands (including Doping Panda and The Pillows) scheduled to play over the course of three hours.

I'm used to going to shows at college town venues in the US, where the opening band might start on time (but probably won't), any second opener is definitely not starting on time, and the main act goes on god knows when. And, that's fine, since everyone drove there anyway and folks can head out when the show wraps up at, like, 1am.

This club, at least, was having absolutely none of that. The show started exactly on time. The first act did a 25 minute set, waved goodbye to everyone - and then something wonderful happened. Their setup was on top of a rolling platform, so a swarm of folks run out, unplug everything, roll the entire platform off to stage left, and then roll the next band's setup on another platform over from stage right. They plug everything in and, five minutes later, the next act is playing exactly on time.

I have a long, rambling story about my desperate attempt to get away from near the front of the room - where the crowd was trying to replicate the experience of being on the morning train by crushing in as many people as possible - and over to the bar to get water before The Pillows went on, but I'll spare you all that. I will say that this was the absolute best arrangement I have ever seen for live music and it was great to head out exactly in time to catch the train we wanted back.

Sure, sometimes you want to be at the show where the main act indulges themselves for hours with extended performances - but, a lot of the time, I'm happy for them to do a full set, a couple of encores, and then we can all go home - preferably when it isn't well past midnight on a work night. I wish American clubs with enough space to make it possible were able to embrace a similar setup.

 

[Rodan]

I've never seen it live, but when Slipknot's drummer goes vertical/upside down it's pretty spectacular

 

[Dimple]

13 years old and still hasn't been topped

 

[cjkeats]

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I've always like the 1975's set. It's been getting progressively more advanced as the albums come and go, going from just light rectangles to screen rectangles to screen rectangles with a light rectangle. It looks rad in motion.

 

[djplaeskool]

DJ Shadow's Shadowsphere (Tour during the release of The Less You Know, The Better album in 2010/2011)





Stage-wide projection screen behind a rotating spherical dj booth with separate surrounding projection on that

 

[metsallica]

Metallica always kills it with their stage design. They have had dozens of standouts.

 

[DinosaurusRex]

I still see arena shows bite the Lights in the Sky tour to this day.


I only saw this from a seat, but I bet from GA it was once in a lifetime.

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NIN
Lights in the Sky tour is my vote. Such a cool experience.

 

[Housecat]

Slipknot is always fun!

 

[Sai]

The Nine Inch Nails Tension 2013 tour was radical, though I'm biased because that was the first major tour I ever saw them on.

I'm on mobile and can't post pics easily but Justice's Woman Worldwide tour had fucking incredible production and it was killer from way back at a place like Coachella and super up front at their smaller shows.

also lol at people taking about no frills and 'real' musicians. Shut up nerds lmao

 

[jotun?]

I haven't been to a lot, but NIN Lights in the Sky was my favorite by a good margin

 

[Beef Supreme]

Rammstein

There is nothing that touches their show when it comes to production. It's the only show I've ever been to where I felt that I owed the artist more money than I payed for the ticket. The ticket was $100, btw.

 

[sinny]

NIN is always great

 

[metsallica]

Rammstein

There is nothing that touches their show when it comes to production. It's the only show I've ever been to where I felt that I owed the artist more money than I payed for the ticket. The ticket was $100, btw.

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Absolutely true, but when your band leader becomes a licensed pyrotechnician just to innovate in that space you kind of expect that. No other band on earth puts on a show like those boys. I'll be in the fire pit in a few months; can't wait.

 

[Oozer]

Taylor Swift - RED Tour

To be honest, this is mostly because of where my ticket was. For most people, it wasn't anything too special. But if you were in the pit? Incredible. The pit was inside the stage. The show happened around you.

 

[Patriiick]

Never been to a stadium show before. I'll take small venues every day of the week, thanks.

 

[Mesoian]

Amon Tobin's ISAM stage



Man this was wild when I saw it live. I understand why, but it's a shame it's been retired.

 

[Chrno]

Always a fan of how much work deadmau5 personally puts into his production, and all the programming he does for the cube.

Also Jon Bellion..

 

[Carnby]

I love NIN's stage during their Fragility tour. They've topped themselves since, but this will always be a personal favorite.

 

[sora87]

I really liked the set Muse used when i seen them during the resistance tour.
AC/DC at download festival were great too, they flew their own stage in and put it next to the main stage.

 

[PSOreo]

Yup.

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This all over. I'm paying to see the band/musician play their songs not a fancy light show.

 

[RedStep]

This all over. I'm paying to see the band/musician play their songs not a fancy light show.

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Why not enjoy both? I seek out small-venue shows as much as possible (NIN at UC Davis and Run The Jewels in Arcata are highlights, less than 1k people per show) but I also enjoyed the old NIN tours for different reasons. You can enjoy the visuals they put together too.

It's like saying you only listen to music, you don't watch music videos.

 

[Cranster]

Def Leppard - In The Round

 

[ExhaustedWalrus]

Just from what I've seen, the U2 ZooTV tour seems pretty incredible. Though I wasn't even born when it happened.

Of the shows I've seen, honestly I think Phish has a pretty impressive light show. The Kanye Saint Pablo floatijg stage was awesome as well.

 

[Deleted member 925]

NIN is always great

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Obviously.

Trent also did an amazing job with How To Destroy Angels. The small stage set up with the cloth like screens and layers that were manipulated in real time were amazing. Still one of the best small venue shows I've been to.

 

[Robert81]

This is all you need.

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This is a great picture.

 

[lowmelody]

Without a doubt Metallica's Damaged Justice tour setup. Lady Justice getting torn down during the finale of And Justice for All left a deep impact on me when I was younger.

 

[Mathieran]

I guess I'm a meat and potatoes kinda guy when it comes to concerts. Just gimme the band on stage, make sure the mix is good and I am happy.

I prefer small intimate settings rather than a football field full of people. Which works well, since most of the concerts I go to are small indie bands.

 

[BennyWhatever]

Can't talk about great stages and not mention Spinal Tap.

 

[metsallica]

Without a doubt Metallica's Damaged Justice tour setup. Lady Justice getting torn down during the finale of And Justice for All left a deep impact on me when I was younger.

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Yep. Definitely one of the stages I was thinking of when I posted Metallica.

 

[Yossarian]

It's like saying you only listen to music, you don't watch music videos.

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While I don't think that's an apt analogy, is not watching music videos considered particularly odd...?

Personally, I prefer my live music raw. I wanna see the amps, the wires, the sweat etc. Light shows and stage dressing are pretty and all - I'm not against them - but, with few exceptions, I find it all rather superficial. Rather just see the band or whatever do their thing.