David Gallo and Phish Surprise Fans /// Viveca Gardiner

FEATURE

RAINING CATS AND DOGS DAVID GALLO AND PHISH SURPRISE FANS /// VIVECA GARDINER

64 RAINING CATS AND DOGS DAVID GALLO AND PHISH SURPRISE FANS /// VIVECA GARDINER

MARCH 2017 \\\ 65 FEATURE

etrichor. Tis rare and evocative word defnes the smell afer rain hits dry earth. It’s also the name of a new song Phish lead singer Pand guitar player Trey Anastasio was performing with orchestras in early 2016 and planned to put on the next Phish album, Big Boat, which was scheduled for record- ing and release later in the year. Clocking in at 13 to 17 minutes (many Phish songs vary with each performance), it would be the frst new “epic” jam the band had released in years, and the band anticipated a big reaction. In March, when Anastasio called longtime collaborator David Gallo, asking him to create and direct their upcoming New Year’s Eve “gag” at Madison Square Garden, he made three requests: 1. Te band should never stop playing. 2. Tere should be a giveaway for fans. 3. Te song would be “Petrichor.” Phish has a long tradition of playful pranks, especially during New Year’s Eve performances. The band has performed every December 31 since 1989, except for the two years when they’d split up. Gallo was excited. He’d created the gags in 2009 (shooting drummer Jon Fishman out a cannon), 2010 (a multinational cast singing “Meat Stick” in many languages), 2011 (aerialists rising from the crowd), 2012 (turning the arena foor into a massive garden/golf party), and 2013 (recreating the band’s original truck and equipment). He hadn’t worked with the band for the last two years but was happy to resume the col- laboration. The request was a tall order, though. The first two parts were easy: Phish “phans” come for the music. Concerts last for hours, and the band members seldom stop to introduce songs or banter. In some past gags, the band had acted out stories

or switched to recorded tracks while they DAVID GALLO

66 In March 2016, Phish lead singer Trey Anastasio asked longtime collaborator David Galloto create and direct their upcoming New Year’s Eve “gag” at Madison Square Garden.

MARCH 2017 \\\ 67 68 FEATURE JEREMY SCOTT and costume designer Diana Susanto. Andrew Gifn, choreographers Kuperman Brothers, with Phish’s own LD Chris Kuroda and programmer lighting designer Mike Baldassari, who worked Gallo assembled a creative team that included prepared something secret, but Gallo and Future Afairs on infatables. Te team also Anastasio agreed that the gag should com- hired 16 dancers and one juggler, without plement the live music, not interrupt it. Te telling them what the job was. To preserve the giveaway would be a surprise gift to the surprise for fans, Gallo was adamant about crowd. But what about “Petrichor”? maintaining secrecy on all gag preparations. Anastasio composed “Petrichor” Over the next few months, Gallo, Anas- between 2012 and 2014, while he was work- tasio, and the team worked on many itera- ing on the Broadway show, Hands On A tions of the gag, creating and discarding idea Hard Body. In 2014, he began performing afer idea to sculpt the perfect show. Some instrumental versions of the song with sym- parts never changed. phony orchestras, but it didn’t appear as a The piece included a “muscular” and Phish song until the release of the band’s acrobatic dance piece, dark with a lot of 2016 record, Big Boat, which is the first group synchronization. time it was heard with lyrics. The song is At least one performer represented a constant contradiction; its shifing mel- an everyman fgure, à la Magritte’s paint- odies are bright and beautiful, including a ing Te Son Of Man. Susanto realized that go-go dance break, but its lyrics evoke the vision with unisex suits and masks that loneliness of the lost (“we’ll fnd a way back obscured the dancers’ identities but allowed home”), even verging on apocalyptic des- them to see enough to execute the difcult peration (“there’s no more future and no dance maneuvers safely. She also created a more past”)—not exactly an obvious choice second set of costumes that looked almost for a New Year’s Eve party song. identical, but were actually rigged to strings, Fortunately, Gallo found the song inspir- by which an offstage assistant could pull ing and decided to portray the struggles each costume off its performer, revealing of an individual, metaphorically caught in the third costume of the night: yellow party the rain, struggling to get home. At mid- clothes. The code name for the project, night, the band played “Auld Lang Syne,” “Green Apple,” also came from Magritte. As and then, the “clouds” broke and the “sun” the apple hides Te Son Of Man’s face, it hid came out. To balance the intensity of “Pet- the secret of the gag during planning. richor” and break into a party mode, Gallo Dramatic, theatrical lighting focused on chose to follow “Auld Lang Syne” with “Suzy the gag and diferentiated it from the rest Greenberg,” a rocking dance number, at of the concert. Baldassari created a design the beginning of which the dancers magi- and ordered special instruments to add cally transformed from identical corporate to Phish’s existing package and Madison drones to individual people in bright yellow, Square Garden’s in-house lighting. sunshine-colored party clothes. At midnight, a zillion balloons fell. In addition to working closely with the Event production company Future Afairs band, Gallo assembled a creative team that planned the drop closely, coordinating the included lighting designer Mike Baldassari, aesthetics with Gallo, and the logistics with who worked with Phish’s own LD Chris Phish’s production manager Jesse Sandler Kuroda and programmer Andrew Giffin, and Madison Square Garden’s operations choreographers Kuperman Brothers, and and event staf. costume designer Diana Susanto. He also Other aspects of the gag changed con- collaborated with Tait Towers on the set and stantly during the months of creation. For

MARCH 2017 \\\ 69 70 FEATURE animals were ruled out for safety reasons. the moody dance piece in the rain, but plushand dogs” as the perfect comic af ermathof otherideas.wanted Healso it“rainto cats fetti (too sticky and difcult to con clean) oor)metallic f and the under ice amonghockey realrain on the entire audience (bad for the rejectingthenand decidingon be,might went through team multiple the and versions he but of what rain, that incorporate to dancers with their movement. choreographeddancesynchronizetoa the Brothers hook-handle,Kuperman classic and units, lighting colors, weight, proper Tait and Gallo nalizedf umbrellas with the downshowto dancerthebeneath it.Once pointing other the and dome the minate illu to up pointing one LEDs, RGB two with outfitted was umbrella customized Each color. umbrellas, the of case the in individuallytoadjust speed, direction, and controlledbe can and them toattached is powerwhatevertodataand xturecarry f can winches Towers’ nano Tait estage. tion:16 umbrellas dancing above thefor thegag wasactually relativelya late addi of moment defining the perhaps became use during to “Suzy dancers the for and musicians tional addi the for stage main the behind and use to “Petrichor” during platformon and risers dancers the for forestage the on extension an adding to down design the f ed simpli team the walls, ascendtoother els, downfall chasms, and climb over each lev multiple on work could dancers the thestage withplatforms ramp onsurrounding elevators or oor f so arena thrust the a through extending considering er f A ideas. staging multiple and element shadowentire theatre abandoned an then creativeexample, developed the team and Given the title of the song, Gallo wanted eventually that feat technical The

Greenburg.” ------

JEREMY SCOTT The technical feat that eventually became perhaps the defning moment of the gag was actually a relatively late addition: 16 umbrellas dancing above the forestage.

MARCH 2017 \\\ 71 FEATURE

3D RIG DRAWING

JULY 20, 2016 SIMULATION FOR CANADIAN FALLS OPTION COURTESY OF DAVID GALLO DESIGN

72 MARCH 2017 \\\ 73 74 FEATURE a third of the perforations to limit the num the to limit ofperforations the a third startedto rotate, and they taped tumblers over the about until out fall wouldn’t bles mar the so bottom the lined and marbles water the for tumblers 16 fit to managed lightingequipmentthe winches.andTey among everything fit to truss and room She also worked closely with Sandler to ndf rate, and perhaps most importantly, timing. controlfall howtothem,dropthe how to tohydrate them enough but not too much, howout fgure to tests ran airs f A Future Nobodyhadeverdropped thembefore, so ules used mostly for industrial landscaping. glob polymer the water marbles, suggested she rain, real the for and suspended, while special nets to hide them from the audiencecreated and inflatables sourced she and dogs, cats the For problems. both solved together come apart. them Velcro holding the made stage, the on.Anymotion, even justbackwalking to staying trouble had they but ne, f just of came costumes quick-change The head. and down for fear of getting clocked on the moved10lb.up umbrellasthe while stage Tedancers, however, couldn’t rehearse on tune many cues once the dancers rehearsed. arrived,and of course, they needed to fne- team the of rest the when nished f to close almost all night programming, they weren’t stayedhadupteamlighting Althoughthe Lititz, Pennsylvania. in Studio Lititz Rock at lights and ment, stage,equiptheup setPhish Theteam Year’sNewEve. before days tentogether, all it put to chance only its had team the YorkNewa studio,in rehearsals dance of ber that atcould fall once. er months of planning and weeks weeks and planning of months er f A Terry Mulryan Toomey of Future fA airs Worst of all was the rain. Te good news planned. as go not did rehearsals The - - - -

RENE HUEMER Special nets hid the infatable cats and dogs from the audience while suspended, and water marbles, the polymer globules used mostly for industrial landscaping, were used to create the rain.

MARCH 2017 \\\ 75 FEATURE

The main problem in lighting the water marbles was the speed at which they fell since they were invisible until they hit the ground but beautiful in the bounce back from the stage. JEREMY SCOTT

76 was the water marbles were as beautiful bunch of cartoony cat and dog sound efects, as anticipated, and the performers had no so while the dancers struggled to continue trouble dancing, and even juggling, under the rehearsal, the giant space exploded with them as they fell. Te bad news was two fold: comic yelps and barks. they were impossible to light, and they made Still, the rehearsal was incredibly pro- the stage extremely slippery underfoot. ductive. It achieved proof of concept: Te Te easier problem to fx turned out to rain, umbrellas, dancers, juggler, and be the slipperiness. Although the team was inflatables all looked fantastic and con- planning to get the forestage extension for veyed the story Gallo envisioned. Secondly, the show from Madison Square Garden, the rehearsal taught the team what didn’t Rock Lititz had assembled the rehearsal work. Over the next ten days, the chore- stage from stock sections owned by Tait ographers worked with the cast to sim- Towers, and the sections didn’t match. Te plify the most dangerous dance moves performers experimented on diferent sur- to account for the slippery stage, and the faces and with diferent footwear and dis- costume designer expanded and reinforced covered that the least scary combination the quick-change costumes. was stocking feet on one of Tait’s non-skid Future Affairs went back to the lab to foors. Since only some of the rehearsal stage try to make the water marbles more visible. was made of the right material, they weren’t They experimented with different brands, ever able to rehearse the dance as planned, diferent colors, and soaked them in difer- but they marked it through and fgured out ent fuids, including milk, tonic water (which what they could and couldn’t do safely, giv- glows in ultraviolet light), glitter, and many ing the choreographers a few days around diferent types of dye. Te only modifcation Christmas to modify the most dangerous that seemed promising was food coloring, moves before reconvening for a few rehears- so the team met a few days before the gag to als before the show. test diferent color combinations. Te most As to lighting the water marbles, the visible combination, by far, ended up being main problem was the speed at which they yellow marbles in yellow light. fell. Tey were invisible until they hit the New Year’s Eve was the third of four con- ground but beautiful in the bounce back secutive shows Phish played at the Garden. from the stage. While the lighting design- Future Afairs had been working backstage ers experimented with diferent colors and all day for fve consecutive days to infate all angles, Future Affairs sent scouts out to the balloons and animals, and they spent scour central Pennsylvania’s stores for dif- the day hanging them from the Garden ceil- ferent brands and different colors to try. ing, the balloons in nets, and the animals in Nothing worked. opaque bags to hide them from the crowd. Te fnal mishap came from a miscom- Afer lunch, 17 volunteers and stagehands municated technical cue that resulted in were flled in on the gag and given their cues all the balloon bags over the stage getting for the first time. Most importantly, they pulled ten minutes early. Te entire stage were each assigned a cast member to help was covered in balloons, infatable dogs and with two costume changes. The schedule cats, and yellow confetti, making it fairly was so tight that some of the volunteers were impossible to continue the rehearsal as still wearing their outdoor coats for their planned. Te balloon drop also triggered a frst rehearsal, during which several of the

MARCH 2017 \\\ 77 FEATURE

DRIGGS JUGGLED THREE UMBRELLAS GRACEFULLY WHILE THE WATER MARBLES BEAT DOWN ON HIM, THE LIGHTS SHONE IN HIS EYES, AND THE HAZE AND AIR CONDITIONING OF THE ARENA BLEW HIS UMBRELLAS AROUND.

Viveca Gardiner PATRICK JORDAN

78 MARCH 2017 \\\ 79 FEATURE

The dancers slowly, deliberately, and all together as one hive mind, danced with their umbrellas under the pouring rain.

80 quick-change costumes broke. Immediately after the run-through of the dance, the costume team scrambled backstage to fx and reinforce the costumes, while the dancers had only a few minutes to recover before the band took the stage for sound check. Tis was the only time to run the major elements together: the band with five additional musicians, the cast, the costumes, lights, umbrellas, and rain. And because the stage would need exten- sive cleaning and reset before the audience started entering, the group had only one chance to run the gag. Later that night, almost 20,000 fans filled the World’s Most Famous Arena and enjoyed two complete sets before 11:30 p.m. At 11:42, the band walked back onto the stage, joined by percussionist Andrew Forero, keyboardist Jef Tanski,

RENE HUEMER and horn players/back-up vocalists James Casey, Natalie Cressman, and Jennifer Hartswick, all of whom had also played on “Petrichor” on Big Boat. At frst, nothing else happened. Te lights, which had been exciting and energetic for the frst three hours, were blue and tightly focused on the musicians as was the entire, rapt audience. Six minutes into the song, 17 performers slowly entered from either side and formed a line across the down- stage extension. Tey barely moved. And then the rain started to fall. Te crowd went wild, soak- ing in the image, and the dancers slowly, deliberately, and all together as one hive mind, danced with their umbrellas under the pouring rain. Ten, the hive split in two groups of eight, and a lone figure appeared in the middle. He pulled of his mask, revealing Kyle Driggs, who won an International Jugglers Association gold medal before being cast in Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour on Broadway. Driggs

PATRICK JORDAN MARCH 2017 \\\ 81 FEATURE

juggled three umbrellas gracefully while their fngers, cupping their dominant hand the water marbles beat down on him, the in the other hand as carefully rehearsed. lights shone in his eyes, and the haze and At the end of “Auld Lang Syne,” Anas- air conditioning of the arena blew his tasio counted of “1, 2, 3, 4!” and right as umbrellas around. the band burst into “Suzy Greenberg,” the lights dimmed just long enough to hide the Watch the full song and gag here. volunteers and stagehands pulling of the cast’s costumes, so as the lights came back Despite the brief rehearsal time, the up and two bursts of yellow confetti flled dancers’ interaction with the flying the stage, the cast was instantly revealed in umbrellas worked perfectly, and the cho- yellow party clothes. reographed umbrellas continued to mes- Te sun had come out, but it hadn’t merize the audience while the dancers lef dried up all the rain. Tis section was the stage to scramble out of wet suits into choreographed to look like an informal their second set of costumes, including the dance party, with soloists and small quick change Velcro-fastened suits. groups bursting into dance-off-type It was still two minutes before mid- mini routines, but they were perform- night, but once they were all back onstage, ing barefoot on a stage still completely Anastasio summed up the feelings of slippery with water marbles and now many in the audience, saying, “It’s never buried under 2' of inflatable cats and too early to get out of 2016!” He launched dogs. Stagehands and technicians leapt into the countdown to the new year. on stage trying to pop enough balloons When he hit Happy New Year, the musi- to let the musicians and dancers move; cians broke into “Auld Lang Syne” and this was the part that had never been the skies opened. Blue, white, and purple rehearsed. The dancers bravely made rain-colored balloons fell in three waves, the best of it, slip-sliding around. Driggs with different proportions of helium juggled five yellow rings, rolled three mixed into the inflation to make them around his body, and tossed rings to the fall at diferent speeds. Infatable cats and dancers in a playful game. dogs tumbled throughout the arena as did At the triumphant end of “Suzy Green- the custom foam raindrops that had been berg,” the cast took a bow and left the chosen as the giveaway item. stage, and the band played on. The cast was still lined up across the front of the stage, almost motionless amid Viveca Gardiner is David Gallo’s part- the mayhem. Unnoticed by the crowd, fac- ner and served as line producer for the ing each cast member was an assistant, who gag. Gallo’s work can be seen daily in over struggled to hold footing on burst water a dozen cities worldwide. His theatre set marbles and 2' of balloons. As the band designs have won all the major awards, played “Auld Lang Syne” and the balloons including a Tony for Best Scenic Design and animals continued to fall, each cast and an Obie for Sustained Excellence. He member gently tossed a small weight to is production designer for Sesame Street, his or her assistant, who separated the fve and the Smithsonian Institution and the strings coming into it from diferent parts Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both own sam- of the costume and placed them between ples of his work. davidgallo.com

82 The choreographed umbrellas continued to mesmerize the audience while the dancers left the stage to scramble out of wet suits into their second set of costumes.

DANCERS Ernesto Breton, Kristen Carcone, Marc Cardarelli, Daniel Ching, Melanie Comeau, Alonso Guzman, Mary Kate Hartung, Andrea Murillo, Matthew Ortner, Tyler Philips, Ashley Robicheaux, Suzanne Rzecznik, Lynda Senisi, Willie Smith III, Hailey Stockbrugger, and Maleek Washington JEREMY SCOTT MARCH 2017 \\\ 83