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Dude looks like a lady: Aerosmith’s evergreen frontman Steve Tyler gets up close and personal with the Dubai crowd.

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The outdoor gig was the first staged in the Middle East to feature a covered, t-bar-shaped stage, which was supplied by Dubai-based production rental company Protec.

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Aerosmith's performance in Dubai proved a watershed moment in more ways than one for the local events production industry. While the gig showcased the rapidly developing collective capabilities of the industry itself, it also provided an insight into Dubai's future as a major stop-off for international tours and the commercially lucrative benefits such a position generates. While the growing profile of Dubai's annual Desert Rock festival continues to attract the attention of US and European rock bands, the city has mainly struggled to attract major international rock artists looking to stage shows of their own.

Granted, a one-off performance by 50-something rockers who have been in the business half a lifetime and whose continuing relevance remains questionable would struggle to make headlines elsewhere, but for Dubai this was one of the events of the year, a fact perfectly illustrated by the near-capacity crowd of 16,000 and the massive media onslaught prior to the show.

The scale of the production itself did justice to the media hype, and was only shadowed in size by Shakira's tumultuous performance at the Dubai Autodrome circuit earlier this year.

While the Colombian hip-shaker's showcase gig was afflicted by scheduling issues and later, condemned by post-show traffic management problems, meticulous planning and the benefit of hindsight ensured the organisation of the Aerosmith show was comparatively trouble-free.

Thomas Ovesen, the general manager of Mirage Promotions, which was responsible for bringing both Shakira and Aerosmith to Dubai, confirms that the latter concert was also originally scheduled to take place at the Autodrome, a venue he describes as presenting "a logistical nightmare" to major events organisers.

"After the problems we had with Shakira, we decided to look elsewhere, but there remains a distinct lack of venues that are capable of accommodating more than 10,000 punters," he says.

"Luckily, we managed to secure a deal with the Dubai Exiles Rugby Club to stage the show on the same ground as that which hosts the annual Rugby Sevens tournament, which regularly attracts 32,000 spectators to the final day of competition.

"Each year, Rugby Sevens' organisers implement a sophisticated traffic management plan for the event in conjunction with the Roads & Traffic Authority and the Dubai Police. Concerts rarely garner the same level of support as sporting events do, but after consulting with each party, we managed to secure their agreement to take the same approach for the Aerosmith gig. Luckily, the lieutenant in charge is also a huge Aerosmith fan, so he thought it was a fantastic idea."

Still, Ovesen conceded in the weeks prior to the show to feeling some trepidation about staging such a major production at a previously untested venue such as Exiles. "The venue's never been used for a concert before; we have to bring in the entire infrastructure," he told S&S.

"When you stage a massive show like this, you have to scrutinise every aspect of the production and the logistics of operating in the venue itself.

"Whereas in the US or Europe, a touring rock band mostly relies on ‘plug-and-play' technology, in untested markets such as the UAE, you have to customise certain aspects of the production and you also have to ensure you can source equipment locally, because it's prohibitively expensive for most bands to fly in all their touring gear."

Ovesen later explains that Aerosmith also had a number of specific demands in terms of the production set-up, which Mirage were obliged to meet.

"They're very specific in terms of their staging requirements," he says. "We had to construct a t-shaped stage, which is an Aerosmith live production trademark.

However, it's a stage configuration that has never been used for a concert before in the Middle East. We also received very specific requests relating to video projection. Aerosmith arena shows traditionally feature an AD wall to the rear of the stage, which is accompanied by projection screens to the left and right. The band was committed to providing punters in Dubai with the same experience."

Mirage contracted Dubai-based production specialist and equipment rental company Production Technology (better known as Protec) to supply the vast array of production equipment required for the show. Protec operations director Rick Wade says he was somewhat bemused when he first received Aerosmith's equipment rider for the concert.

"We were concerned because the consensus was there was no way we could do this show here - it was larger than any thing any of us had ever worked on," he says. "But then they called to apologise saying they had mistakenly faxed through the rider for their US shows!"

Despite the initial confusion, Wade says that while the band's production demands were extensive compared to typical shows staged in Dubai, it was nothing Protec couldn't handle.

"The equipment rider list was fairly typical of an arena-style rock show, which is nothing unusual in Europe or the US, but is still considered a fairly unique event in the Middle East," he says.

"For example, they specifically requested a covered stage incorporating rigging to hang the lights. We're the only staging rental company in the region that can provide a covered stage customised to suit specific requirements."

However, Wade says while Protec designed the stage as per the band's request, at just 18m x 16m with 11m x 16m wings, it wasn't "stadium sized".

"It was actually built to the same dimensions as the stage they use for their European stadium shows," he explains. "Obviously, the Exiles venue isn't as large as a stadium, so the stage itself was pretty impressive given the show could best be classified as a large arena gig."

In terms of audio equipment, the main sound system utilised a combination of JBL Vertec, Nexo and Turbosound speakers; Canco Vortex amps; XTA, BSS and Nexo control systems; and Turbosound speakers, MC2 amps and XTA control systems for out-fills and in-fills.

The lighting rider included ETC source fours and ACL bars, Clay Paky Alpha washes, Diversatronic 3k strobes, Strong Super Trouper and Gladiator follow spots, and Grand MA full-size consoles.

The show utilised an extensive array of video production equipment, including Sony cameras, monitors, mixers and switchers. Protec also supplied two Christie Roadster 20k and four Barco ELM G10 projectors and associated screens.

According to Mirage Promotions production manager Andy Jackson, who was responsible for coordinating the technical aspects of the show and liaising with Aerosmith's production crew, the extensive use of video equipment guaranteed maximum visual impact and lent weight to the production's stadium rock ambitions.

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