Engineering Firm Really Rocks
SOURCE: Rockland Review · RELEASED: July 24, 2009 · AUTHOR: Madden Communications
McLaren Engineering Group provided key engineering services for the innovative stage assemblies of the current Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears and US concert tours. All three stage setups provide 360-degree views and feature a variety of mechanical effects designed to enhance the audience experience.
The Jonas Brothers' World Concert Tour 2009 visited Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., for a three-day engagement July 19-21. Spears' tour, "The Circus Starring Britney Spears," is to Madison Square Garden Aug. 24-25, and U2's "360-degree" tour visits Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sept. 24-25. Staging contractor Tait Towers of Lititz, P.A., detailed and built the stage sets.
"These stage assemblies challenge our engineers to push technical limits without compromising aesthetics," said Malcolm G. McLaren, founder, president and CEO of McLaren Engineering Group. "We are continually adapting to the evolving tastes of the entertainment industry, taking the ideas and concepts of our clients and making them a reality, while maintaining the functionality, structural soundness and durability of the mechanical components."
The Jonas Brothers concert features a unique stage configuration in the center of the arena. The main stage includes a pair of lifts that can elevate and rotate the performers in opposite directions, as well as four other lifts for accompanying musicians. The main stage is complemented by two smaller stages that thrust the performers closer to the audience, producing a more exciting and intimate experience for concert-goers. The mechanical effects also provide numerous outlets for the Jonas trio's high-energy act.
U2's "360-degree" stadium tour has been called the largest Rock & Roll touring stage production ever assembled. The stage consists of an inner-ring main stage connected to an outer-ring stage by a pair of 54-foot arching bridges made of steel clad with Plexiglas. Prime audience seats are located between the two stages and under the transparent and movable bridges, providing a close-up of Bono and his fellow US performers. All audience views are unobstructed.
Telescoping shade structures, a piano lift, a revolving drummer turntable and other production components create a dazzling effect for concert-goers. The whole assembly is topped by a massive overhead roof structure featuring a 360-degree video screen, flowing silk screens and spectacular lighting displays. McLaren is the U.S. engineer responsible for certifying the entire show. (The overhead structure was engineered by European firms.)
The Britney Spears production features a circular main stage and two smaller stages, calling to mind a three-ring circus. Above the main stage is a large circular truss system containing a huge 360-degree video screen and a red drape, which raises and lowers during the show. Integral to the performance is an overhead automated "flying" system employing cable winches that proper scenic elements and the performers, including Spears, through a series of circus-like maneuvers.
In one automation sequence, Spears sits on a large umbrella that opens and flies up while slowly rotating as she sings a ballad. She later steps into a basket-style element that lifts her above a ring of actual fire. Among the flying scenic elements are three large picture frame assemblies each containing one performer. All three frames revolve in a circle as well as lift and lower. McLaren worked with PRG Scenic Technologies of New Windsor, N.Y., Tait Towers, and other contractors on engineering the overhead framing and rigging that enabled the aerial exploits.
Each tour presented McLaren with a host of engineering challenges, including advising local crews in the intricacies of stage assembly; adapting to differing floor surfaces for both arena and stadium shows; accommodating site variations in the repeated assembling of stage machinery; completing the manual assembly quickly and with a minimum of heavy equipment; and sizing and configuring all stage elements to fit optimally into shipping carriers.
McLaren has provided engineering services for numerous concert stages since the early 1990s, including stage assemblies for four Rolling Stones tours, two each for Tina Turner, Metallica and AC/DC, and individual tours for Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, The Eagles, 'N Sync, Elton Johm, Kiss, Spice Girls, Tom Petty, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, the Radio City Music Show, among others.
McLaren Engineering Group, P.C. is one of the leading experts in waterborne transportation engineering. McLaren specializes in bridge engineering, structural design, marine engineering, underwater investigations, entertainment design, forensic studies, and site/civil engineering.