Stop & smell the roses.

Maybe you can identify with one of the following experiences:  Working as a bartender and/or waiter and making sure Heinz ketchup bottles are filled at the Independent Brewing Company; working with a band that has a Hammond organ player and needing to carry a Leslie Speaker up the stairs of the Pittsburgh Deli Company; or the hundreds of times you held the ladder for the guy who changed the letters on the marquee at the Bayou in Washington DC.  These are just some of the endless tasks that need to be done behind the scenes before opening the doors for a concert.

I understand that most fans/patrons are not there to observe the minutiae of working at a venue, but I am happy to report in my experiences, I am starting to notice that more attention is being paid to each valuable detail.  With blogs and comment sections on websites, not a lot goes under the radar these days, and fortunately, I do not seem to be the only person paying attention to details.  It is no longer the freshman or rookies carrying the bags to the gym, and even some superstars do not feel they are above the work that goes on behind the scenes.  

With Garth Brooks recently in Pittsburgh for six (6) shows in four (4) nights, leading up to the concerts it was extremely refreshing that he was 'cc'ed on operational emails, and participated in the onsale call the day tickets became available.  I also recall a concert promoter colleague of mine mentioning that BB King receives his payment in cash directly following a performance and is then escorted buy bodyguards/family to his Lincoln Town Car waiting outside each respective theater.  And one of my favorite music moments, while attending a sound check of a concert, Bruce Springsteen took the time to respectfully walk the drummer of Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers thru his song "Better Days" so that they got it just right.

I am about to embark on a project with a lot of moving parts, I am excited for all of the details that need to be ironed out before June 1 and I hope that after reading this, at the next concert you attend, you take an extra moment to absorb all that surrounds you.


Thanks for reading.