Providing comprehensive technical solution services for a large-format arena production is never a simple undertaking. Delivering three world-class arena events, in the space of a week, in the same venue, is Herculean by anybody’s account. The Gearhouse Group of Companies proved their mettle in December last year by achieving just that at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. ETECH takes a look at how they accomplished this outstanding achievement.
Taking on the world
The Gearhouse Group is the leading technical solutions and services provider for the live entertainment and events markets in South Africa – having provided turnkey solutions for clients across Africa for almost three decades. The company has been relied on for technical solutions for almost all touring artists visiting the country since 1991, and are known internationally for their technical expertise, willingness to go the extra mile and can-do attitude. The company reaffirmed this reputation in recent months by successfully providing technical services to three of the largest events to be hosted at the FNB stadium in recent years – and all in the space of one week. In this issue’s feature on the Motsepe Foundation’s National Day of Prayer (pages 18-19), Gearhouse Johannesburg branch operations manager Stuart Andrews details how it came about that the events were scheduled in such close succession – a situation that culminated in “all the interested parties agreeing to stage all three events in very close succession, with the understanding that they would collaborate closely to make it all work.” While most technical solution service providers would baulk at such an undertaking, Andrews points out that, at the time, the decision seemed to work in their favour. “This arrangement actually suited us because we were able to capitalise on the fact that we could build a large portion of the stage, load in the generators and rig the sound system once – and use this infrastructure for all three events – including Beyoncé’s OTR II tour, which basically ran as a separate production on the back of the Global Citizen Festival programme.”Although Andrews reflects that, “In hindsight – had we known how complicated Beyoncé’s production was going to prove – we may have reconsidered the decision,” in this issue of ETECH we discover how all three events were expertly executed by The Gearhouse Group, who created nothing less than a new South African production standard in the process.
Gearing up for success
According to Gearhouse’s Jako de Wit, who served as project manager for the National Day of Prayer, Guns ‘N Roses and the Global Citizen Festival, “When we received the OTR II tour rider from Beyoncé’s production team, we decided to expand our existing inventory of L-Acoustics to ensure that we were able to deliver on the rider without having to compromise.” Andrews explains that Gearhouse, therefore, made a significant investment in new audio equipment to supplement their already impressive L-Acoustics inventory. “We purchased 12 boxes of L-Acoustics K1, to bring our total count from 36 to 48. We also invested in a complete L-Acoustics K2 series system to meet the various audio riders for Guns N’ Roses, the Global Citizen Festival and Beyoncé’s OTR II tour,” Andrews points out. He adds that “it is worth noting that we have invested in 28 subs and LA12X amps, to bring the K1 system up to the KS standard.” De Wit explains that the new K2 system will live in Cape Town – and so will ensure that all three branches of Gearhouse (Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg) will be able to supply complete L-Acoustics systems for events where nothing but the very best in live sound quality will do. “Investing in the K1 system means that we can deliver on international riders that require the KS standard, and this makes everything a lot easier. Audio designers will base their designs on a complete 48-box system, and in the past, we have had to make certain compromises. That won’t happen anymore – now we’ve got the equipment to accommodate any design,” Andrews concludes.
