Mick’s left no Stone unturned for Croker marathon
IT is a breezy Thursday afternoon and the brilliant sun has lit up the sporting pantheon that is Croke Park. I am standing on the goal line of the Hill 16 end where, in four weeks’ time, 200 riggers, jiggers and engineers will put together one of the biggest touring stages to hit Ireland for The Rolling Stones No Filter Tour.
Dale Skjerseth, the production director for the tour, is an impressive figure sporting salt and pepper hair and a bristled face.
Having also worked with AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses he has the look of a man with tonnes of unprintable stories and is dressed in a black tour hoodie. He has come in for a final production meeting and is in high spirits.
‘It’s a big show we are bringing and the guys are really excited to come’, he says. ‘You are going to get a brilliant show and they are happy to be on tour again and get it done in a very positive way.
‘We start rehearsals next week and we’re getting ready. It is a big show with 25 production trucks and around 300 people touring it with the entourage so all the excitement for the guys is starting to build now.
‘They have always wanted to kick off a tour in Croke Park and this is where they picked. Slane Castle was the last time we were here in 2006/7 and they are excited. They know how big the stadium is and that is the kick.
We start on May 9 and we go all the way up to the show day and that goes up until show time.’ Dale and his team have been working very closely with Dublin City Council on bringing the show in and the times they will be working.
‘There are no big challenges — we have been given all the information, we are going to work with everyone. It’s going well,’ he says.
‘They (the band) are getting ready and working out, doing their fitness routines to get where they need to be. We don’t bring a gym on tour with us, that’s not true, but they all have their own warmup areas for before the show.’
Despite a combined age of 294, Mick, 74, Keith, 74, and Charlie Watts, 76, and 70-year-old Wood have promised they’re still pretty hot on stage. And Dale says they have done all the hard work to make this a show to remember.
‘They will rehearse for a full five hours and they will rehearse for many different songs,’ he reveals.
‘They don’t have a permanent set yet and they have their favourites. They keep themselves fit and we carry people on the road to help us keep them that way. Everybody has their own routine and six to eight weeks before the tour starts everything kicks back in and they start getting ready physically and it becomes their routine for the tour.
‘Here they will have their longest set because they will try out different things which is always good. We figure somewhere between two and two-and-a-half hours.’
While the show and the stage will be one of the biggest in Europe, the Stones have opted not to use big visual aids or props. Instead, the show will focus on great songs and the four rockers.
‘We have four towers that are separate for each of the principals and they are angled to open up the show to the audience in the stands,’ Dale says. ‘The show is focused on the music and the visual of what they are.’
And the band are taking it super seriously with Dale confirming that a booze ban has been put in place before the Croke Park show.
‘Backstage is very civilised these days’ he says. ‘They come there to get ready for the show. It is a ritual. Mick and Keith’s relationship is as good as it could be.
‘They talk to each other, they work together and they are fantastic. They love playing here — they’ve a great fan base and they bring all the kids and grandkids which will keep it even calmer.
‘They don’t drink before they go on, no booze. In a good way. This is what they do.’
It promises to be a night to remember for Stones fans.
A limited number of extra tickets will go on sale at 9am on Monday from Ticketmaster outlets.