Skillet's technical malfunction

[gman]

I just saw Skillet at Creation Festival, and am curious about a technical malfunction that occured during their last song; for anyone that would know more about such things. Their bass player/keyboard player uses a MAC to run the show. They also have lots of lighting, pyro, hydraulic stuff, and they have two violin players that come out for certain songs. I'm curious what all is being controlled through the MAC and what is being controlled elsewhere.
Near the end of their encore song 'Rebirthing', I'm assuming there was supposed to be some sort of big flash and explosion, and then finishing out with a bunch of lights, pyro, screaming, big drums, etc. Instead, there was a crack as the lights went out, nothing happened, and everything stopped. The singer appeared through the smoke and said that wasn't supposed to happen, and he mentioned something about the computer. The guitar started playing and he asked the crowd if they wanted to hear the end of the song. They started back up and finished out the song with all the pyro and stuff. If the show is programmed, how were they able to restart at that specific point and match up the lights and pyro?
There is a clip of it on YouTube, under Skillet Rebirthing Creation 2011.

GMan

[brent]

Todays shows are generally pretty programmed out the ying yang. We use playlists much like an iPod. Each playlist has elements for that song that are triggered to run. The devices do not have intelligence most of the time. The show cannot stop because data streams keep running. Audio, Lighting and some pyro effects are automated in preproduction so that shows are quicker to set up, are tighter, and consistent. It is possible to trigger playlists from lighting, audio and computer.

I do not know their set-up but I am sure the tech forums I frequent could shed some light. Lighting and effects can indeed be triggered and controlled by computer, via DMX. DMX can be controlled via MIDI (which is what musical instruments and some audio and automation equipment talk to one another. It is Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is a dumb language, meaning that it basically a single ended communication. One speaks, the other listens. If there is a failure, the devices have no idea what to do but fire off more commands. I doubt that the commands are coming from the Mac on stage directly. The Mac on stage is likely the master, using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) which has the audio tracks, video tracks, MIDI, SMPTE (timecode tracks). From the Mac there would be interfaces for all of those things which would be distributed to Monitor World, Front of House, Pyro, etc.

Depending on their software and how the show is programmed, it is true that most will not allow you to hop around in your playlist. Every event is sequenced in order. There are only two packages I know of that allow this. They are not the norm, but up and coming, and in use heavily in Vegas at some of the largest facilities and attractions. One of them has been in use in Orlando since the 90s, while the rest of the world has been playing catch up.

[gman]

I see. If the computer malfunctioned and the program stopped, they could recue the program to that point in the song, and restart based on some trigger or push of a button. Based on the fact that they pulled it off fairly quick and clean, one would have to assume that they've had practice.

[bakersfieldpethead]

That reminds of dc Talk during the supernatural tour, in 1999 they were in Visalia, CA and they kicked off on "Wanna be Loved" and something happend to the in ear monitors and Kmax forgot his spot in the song, and we all found out that they performed with stacked vocals; a method in which some singers sing over the top of their studio vocals that are turned about half way down in order to make a stronger more fuller sound, plus they can use the reverb and echo tracks off of those instead of using live effects for their vocals.

[St_Augustines_Pears]

That reminds of dc Talk during the supernatural tour, in 1999 they were in Visalia, CA and they kicked off on "Wanna be Loved" and something happend to the in ear monitors and Kmax forgot his spot in the song, and we all found out that they performed with stacked vocals; a method in which some singers sing over the top of their studio vocals that are turned about half way down in order to make a stronger more fuller sound, plus they can use the reverb and echo tracks off of those instead of using live effects for their vocals.

The use of "stacked vocals" is rampant in the Southern Gospel music industry as well.

[brent]

Bill Gaither couldn't sing bass without them. EEEEEEEEverybody uses tracks or tracks with effects or something. It is just a shame. Some of the old guys could sing down a crowd with one RCA ribbon mic, amp and horn in the 40s. People just don't know how to sing or arrange and audience into a jaw drop anymore. That's about it.

[LivingRock]

Some of the old guys could sing down a crowd with one RCA ribbon mic, amp and horn in the 40s. People just don't know how to sing or arrange and audience into a jaw drop anymore. That's about it.

J.D. Sumner

Never yet met a modern singer who could do what he did.

(No tomato throwing, please. Yes, I also happen to be a country gospel music fan. Incidentally, I've always wondered what Greg Volz would sound like doing a David Phelps style song...yes, I know I'm going to get bullets for saying that. )

[Jonathan]

J.D. Sumner

Never yet met a modern singer who could do what he did.

(No tomato throwing, please. Yes, I also happen to be a country gospel music fan. Incidentally, I've always wondered what Greg Volz would sound like doing a David Phelps style song...yes, I know I'm going to get bullets for saying that. )

Some of the old guys could sing down a crowd with one RCA ribbon mic, amp and horn in the 40s. People just don't know how to sing or arrange and audience into a jaw drop anymore. That's about it.

Brent, why is that? Laziness? Lowered expectations from audiences?

[brent]

Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is most of the songs today are predictable and horrible. Southern Gospel or whatever they wanna call it has become formatted and it sucks most of the time. I have old recordings from the 50s and 60s of JD Sumner & The Stamps, The Statesmen, etc, etc all were showmen that could flat out sing at high volumes and mix themselves acoustically. One of the hot shots that has tried to capture the showmanship and musical interest of a younger crowd is Ernie and Signature Sound. Their new bass singer came from the young version of The Imperials and that big o' boy can throw down. The groups I like the least are the family quartets with female tenors. Hate 'em. I wanna hear male quartets with bizarre range and lots of energy and showmanship. YMMV.

[bakersfieldpethead]

Brent you are very right about Southern Gospel being formated. The thing back in the Statesmen day was that they were not afraid to have fun doing what they did. They were playing Jazz with Christian Words, listen to the Bass Vocal and the Piano it's all Jazz, and Jazz in it's purest form is improv. The Imperials carried on that tradition and even Jake Hess said "I want a contemporary quartet" when he formed The Imperials.

The Happy Goodmans & Rambos introduced the Country musicians and Country style into Southern Gospel as it's known today. People began to want perfection, and they did what everyone seems to do, they want something different than what got them there in the first place. Keep doing what made people love you, that's how we make it in this business.

I love Michael English because He never sings a song the same way twice, nor does David Phelps and they get a lot of flack from traditional lovers but they are pretty much the real deal these days.

However, I do wish to point out a couple of things about JD, the last few years JD and the rest of the stamps were using stacked vocals, the reason behind this practice in Southern Gospel is because well, these groups survive by playing 200 or more dates a year. They have to make time for vacations and Christmas, but they miss birthdays and school baseball games and all that to do what they do, because fans would rather pay $150 to see Garth Brooks but only give $2 or $3 in the offering to see Gold City (this is also a reason why more and more quartets sing with tracks instead of live bands, because they can't afford the extra people). So these guys are singing night after night in the small churches accross the nation (except Gaither Vocal Band). So stacked vocals has become a welcomed idea because it allows the singers to not sing as hard and if one guy has a cold or has a horse voice, they can turn up his vocal track to carry most of the volume so they can still have some quality to the performance.

If I was to tell you which groups use stacked vocals, you might be surprised, I know alot of these people personaly so it's interesting when you sit during someone elses sound check and here what all they use. But keep in mind it's all there for their health, to help them continue on the road for so long.

We're talking about Greg X Volz trucking along the other night with him being sick, I can't tell you how many times that happens with a quartet and they have the stacked vocals to help them out everytime. It's not a bad thing, it's just a different thing.

[LivingRock]

Jonathan, should have known you'd have fun with that.

BTW, I lurked here for years before I got up the nerve to join.