They may have been in existence for more than 20 years and produced some of the coolest alt-rock anthems of that period, but it's only been recently that the mainstream have finally realised what an amazing band the Red Hot Chili Peppers are. With the success their last two studio albums, Californication and By The Way, reinforced by huge sales of their recent Greatest Hits collection and Live At Slane Castle DVD, the super-talented Californian foursome have been propelled from arena status to the premier league of stadium filling rock gods.

In Dublin, all of their classics were present, including 'Under The Bridge', 'Give It Away' and 'Universally Speaking', and performed with maximum passion and virtuosity. Although not the most personable of entertainers (and massive open air events of this kind do not come naturally to them), the Chilis display an obvious sense of humour.

This was most evident during drummer Chad Smith's cameo section where he performed a selection of recognisable drum intros, including U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' - a tribute that was not wasted on U2 guitar hero The Edge who was watching the show from the lighting control riser along with TPi! Dublin was ever vibrant and packed with positive energy. Not even the schizoid weather was able to dampen the mood of the audience. Spirits were also flying high backstage amongst Production Manager 'Big' Bill Rahmy's crew. Rahmy's laconic, dry sense of humour is as sharp, audacious and side splitting as ever. His ability to fine-balance the running of a major rock tour with a chilled and friendly atmosphere is to be celebrated... and his offer to become a future (maverick) TPi columnist will not be forgotten!

The quality of the production was second to none, and the attention to detail was no more apparent than in the audio department. RHCP's long-time FOH Engineer Dave Levine (a.k.a. Dave Rat of Rat Sound) was eager to achieve a consistency of sound throughout all of the tour, and he elected to use an L-Acoustics V-DOSC system everywhere, relying on the strengths of the V-DOSC Network of rental companies.

While Britannia Row Productions serviced the Dublin show and three Hyde Park dates (subbing in from Litton Lane and Delta Sound respectively), Wigwam handled the Manchester and Cardiff shows. On the mainland, suppliers included Satis & Fy (Germany), Dispatch (France), Stagepro (Holland), High Level Audio (Spain) and Agora (Italy).

Roly Oliver of Brit Row explained: "Our involvement came through the band being very happy with how we approached their Slane Castle gig last year. It also helped that we'd worked in Phoenix Park on Robbie Williams for MCD, and also that we are regularly in Hyde Park for Clear Channel. It made us a prime candidate.

"Dave's choice of V-DOSC was a shrewd one and the tour has turned out to be an excellent showcase for the Network. His aim was to achieve uniformity and simplicity, whereby he just arrives at each gig with a BSS Soundweb rack, plugs it in and is then ready to work. We have an advance Soundweb team consisting of Tony Smith and his colleagues who turn up on site the day before a show to pre-configure the system and ensure that all Dave's requirements have been attended to prior to his arrival. It's an arrangement that has worked fantastically well.

"There are all kinds of debates about which controller is best but from Dave's point of view, Soundweb is the only one that can combine everything he needs in one system - all the distribution, EQ and crossovers and delay control. You're dealing in minute percentages of sound quality but it's the practicality and simplicity of its use that offers the most gain."

With three trucks transporting the sound system, the numbers of boxes varied from show to show, but the sub bass requirement normally led the way. Generally, there were 15 V-DOSC and three dV-DOSC per side, with the same again for side hangs. The system has universally used Lab.gruppen amplification. Said Oliver: "We have six dV-DOSC in the centre which give great coverage for the fans in the middle - the sound is pointing right at them. We've had to put some ARCS on top of the subs to fill in some holes. The subs total is 56 on the ground, but eight of those are across the four [13 metre high Stageco] delay towers which have eight V-DOSC and two subs on each.

"For Hyde Park we can't have side hangs because of local restrictions, so we have a narrow coverage there. Dave didn't want to put subs on the delay towers, but our experience with Robbie suggested that it would be preferable, so we've had some input just as I'm sure other suppliers have because local experience counts."

Oliver is a fan of Rat's unorthodox approach to sub bass configurations - an approach that has met with some resistance in the past, but on this tour it's caught on. Explained Rat: "I feel that too much time is spent on setting up a main system for even coverage and the subs tend to be an after-thought, so over the last year I've tried to resolve that.

"My aim has been to achieve a decent sub coverage throughout a venue that is flexible in its horizontal dispersion and doesn't have any major holes, and yet doesn't require a lot of time measurement. It evolved into a five-point set-up which works on an A-B-C volume control theory - a standard L/R cluster of subs; a far L/R system between 45¡ and 90¡ off-axis; and a small centre cluster of six subs. The outside clusters have to be physically pushed back upstage and out from the main L/R. It's a theory based on summation."

Although Dave Rat and Monitor Engineer John Shearman both mixed on Midas Heritage 3000 consoles, there was a DiGiCo presence with D5 Live desks at FOH and monitors for the support bands. Brit Row organised for Chris Morrison to spend time with the support band engineers and familiarise them with the D5. Monitoring for the Chilis was an in-ear affair with the addition of a couple of L-Acoustics drum fill subs and wedges for singer Anthony Kiedis.

Rat, who has been mixing the Chilis since 1989, is fully aware of the advantages that digital consoles offer for many situations, and has considered using an Innova Son in the past. However, he believes that the H3000 provides the perfect and most straightforward analogue solution for the band at present.

He said: "I'm not one for taking risks, so I go with what I know and trust. I guess I have a few oddball aspects about the way I work. I like to mix without any lights active on the desk, for example. They distract me! I remember where everything is on the desk, I watch the show like a punter and enjoy the music, and then react to what I hear."

He's not even too concerned about using outboard gear. "It's a two-effect show for me - a Lexicon PCM60 for that classic snare reverb sound, and an Eventide H3500 for delay inserts. It all comes from the band and they don't need me to force my egotistical crap on them!"

Rat's mic choice is also unconventional in places. He recently chose to supplement a Shure SM91 with an Audix D6 as a second kick drum mic, and also uses SM98s "everywhere", particularly (and unusually) for snare top and on Flea's bass rig. Standard SM57s and a Beyer M88 are on John Frusciante's guitar backline, and the 'very American' choice of vocal mic was the Audix OM7. "It has better background noise rejection than any other mic I've used," said Rat. "The impact that has on cleaning up a mix is incredible."

RHCP IN WIDESCREEN
This was a massive show for video. Almost rivalling McCartney's production for the largest amount of screen real estate currently on an outdoor tour, there were over 400 square metres of LED screen alone, and 10 dedicated crew for the largest shows. XL Video account director Des Fallon was clearly enjoying the success of his largest project of the summer.

Contending with daylight was a big issue. For most shows, it was barely getting dark as RHCP exited the stage, so video was a fundamental and potent option for creating visual impact in daylight. The super widescreen I-Mag look - directed by Nick Wickham of Splinter Films - featured three large LED screens per side stretching out from the stage. Creating a sense of awe and spectacle, the look took a fast-moving cinematic montage of action and movement right out there into the field, channelling the huge energy of the set directly into the audience. The larger shows at Phoenix Park and the three at Hyde Park also featured several delay screens, rigged at the rear of the FOH tents, plus other screens dotted around the site. An additional four cameras were added to the standard tour package of six for these largest venues.

The onstage screenage consisted of seven columns of super-bright Barco DLite 7 high resolution panels (4.5 metres high x 1.8 wide) upstage of the band, flanked with two large side panels of Westerhagen low res. The latter were like a giant funnel, folding in from the stage edges.

Fallon explained that the logistics of co-ordinating a video show of this stature was the most galvanising aspect of the project, for which he collaborated with XL Video Belgium's operation, run by the charismatic Guido Ruysschaert. From XL's point of view, it was also the first time there was a real live crossover between a long-form broadcast style show and the close up impact of screen work, with a megamix of fast cut close-ups, wide shots and some more arty camerawork.

Nick Wickham worked closely with vision mixer Phil Woodhead as he created a very intuitive, improvised style show, "capturing the moment" as appropriate. This is very much Wickham's modus operandi, and with the set list finalised just 10 minutes before the show each night, it left little room for pre-conception!

Woodhead mixed using the Sony 750/50 mixer/switcher in XL Video's OB truck, pushing it to the max with a combination of electronic switching and manual mixing. Woodhead's gig also entailed keeping the cameras updated all the time, so they could produce constantly usable shots. Enigmatic video 'scientist' Richard Turner supplied an additional electronic element to the switching operation. Secreted in the OB truck, he worked some complex magic moves via the remote software in his laptop.

Wickham produced a high energy mix of rigorously technical screen 'cuts', spliced with 'full frontal' transmission via the front I-Mag screens, a feat that involved plenty of cerebral brain twisting. He'd be mixing an output to one pair of relay screens on one hand, whilst simultaneously creating another look for a different set of screens.

Concentration was intense. The big multi-screen picture needed constant consideration, and it was like mixing for five or six pairs of individual screens and shows at once! Woodhead's side of the show mix was also very manual and the perfect synthesis with Turner's clever software action. It kept the show "live and direct" in communication with the audience.

The multiple I-Mag was an exotic and eclectic source of visual information as well as a great example of the fusion between pre-recorded (onstage) and live video. Wickham was also keen to try and sync the I-Mag into certain lighting cues. Four cameras were positioned FOH, with three hand-held in the pit and two hand-held onstage. In Dublin and Hyde Park, CTV did the OB, but XL took care of this at all other venues with its own OB truck, crewed by Alan Yates and John Steele.

CONTENT
Wickham and his Splinter Films partner, producer Emer Pattern, had worked with the RHCP previously on their 2003 Live At Slane Castle high definition DVD. Whilst more used to producing concert films than directing live tour video, Wickham jumped at the opportunity to direct their show live. The band were keen to capitalise on his filmic experience of working on large scale concert productions. They were also concerned that those at the back should be as immersed in the whole RHCP experience as possible.

Wickham also worked closely with Grier Govorko, set designer and originator of much of the band's playback footage, discussing ideas of what would work well on the stretched screen format. They also collaborated closely with LD Scott Holthaus on general aesthetic matters and continuity.

Grier Gavorko has worked with RHCP since 1989, originally as set designer and then also taking video onboard when it burst into the visual mix in the mid-'90s. Gavorko and Holthaus take joint credit for the show's essential 'production design'. Gavorko wanted I-Mag and playback video elements to make bold, straightforward statements. He liked the idea of the wide aspect ratio to add scale and a cinematic vibe to the 'event', as well as acting as a real time communications portal between band and audience.

The 13 clips of video playback footage were produced by L.A.-based V Squared Labs, each with a specific song in mind. They were stored on an E D Roll machine, a small, funky device that holds 14 hours of MPG playback, similar to a hard drive. It's all triggered from a MIDI keyboard run by Gavorko during the show. His playback signal was independent of the I-Mag, but was available for Wickham to output to any screen if he chose.

The clips were a colourful collection of abstract patterns, pop art, blocks of colour and more detailed themes like space, fantasy, alien planets, jungles and text messages - some of it directly related to songs, other parts were just interesting moving backdrops. The onstage video was invaluable in providing colour, depth and texture in near-daylight conditions - the stage would have been very flat and mono dimensional without it.

BIG LIGHTS
LD Scott Holthaus first worked with RHCP on their seminal 1999 Californication reformation period. The starting point for lighting on this one was "BIG", Holthaus explained jovially. Daylight is not an ideal circumstance for lighting, but he took it in his stride, producing a show that interplayed between natural and artificial lighting mediums with the early part of the show introducing hints and shifts in atmosphere as the natural light receded.

He thought the show lights should be simple and substantial. "The big innovation on this is the button that makes everything white till it gets dark enough for any colours to register," he reflected, philosophically. In Dublin, the button was barely used before the final 30 minutes of the set.

The touring schedule was a major challenge all round - one day off in 34 days (and that was a 'travel' day). Holthaus made up for his lack of 'fun time' during the interview mercilessly lampooning "Cool Backline Guy" Dave Lee!

At FOH, the WholeHog II and Wing lighting consoles were programmed by Seattle-based Leif Dixon (an LD in his own right) who also oversaw the day to day running of the lighting department. Unsurprisingly, rain and damp were usually their biggest problems, but despite several angry, torrential outbursts the day before the Dublin show, the weather held fast for the gig.

The rig itself consisted of 14 Martin MAC 2000 Washes and 24 Profiles, and 44 High End PC Beams. For max impact, they had 18 Synchrolite 7kWs - six upstage, eight spread out across the screen wings and four at FOH, which excelled themselves in those 'big rock show' moments and were often the only fixtures that could cut effectively through the daylight, especially on sunny evenings. Thirty-four Atomic strobes were on hand for rapid bursts of energy, and six HES ColorPros fed a fibre optic starcloth for additional glitter and sparkle.

Over stage, a 10 metre diameter Floydesque circular truss surrounded by MAC 2Ks moved and raked during the show using a Kinesys motor control system. The two upstage drapes trusses were also on the Kinesys system, including the four onstage spots. The upstage Synchrolites were divided between two straight hung trusses, complete with another round of MAC 2K Washes, all of which could descend to below the level of the video screens for some full-on blinder scenes.

A special RHCP 'solar system' drape obscured the LED wall for the first few numbers each night, making an elegant punctuation point. The stage 'set' lighting was completed with Encapsulite fluorescent tubing 'dividers' in between the hi res video columns, used to 'break' up the area for songs without video.

The production was leapfrogged throughout the European dates with the Red and Blue teams, and all lighting gear supplied by Neg Earth.

Dublin was followed by the three huge Hyde Park shows (June 19, 20 & 25) which incorporated the recording of a rush-released live album and DVD. Over those three days alone, 258,000 tickets were sold and Reuters USA reported that total receipts were a staggering $17,187,234. Welcome to the premier division, guys!

Photography by Louise Stickland