Constanza Grgurina

This is the best group I worked with, and with whom I still have contact to this day.

An unexpected twist, I was just chilling when I had a call, "do you speak English?" I said yes, and they took me to a room with a round table full of people

"Please, can you translate this words and phrases for me?" Of course I said, little did I know it was for Zack de la Rocha himself.

According to them, best crowd ever!

I had the pleasure to work two times with this band and as always I had to pick them up at the airport, 

arrange the logistics to take them to the venue in different groups multiple times and attend to some last minute errands.

Here communicational skills came into play to cover all the things I had to pull together in a short period of time.

Watching them live was incredible, they are truly amazing and know how to put on a great show!

Besides of doing all my regular jobs such as going to the airport and running errands 

it was super important to maintain networking in real time  to ensure all bases were covered,

and in this festival once again I got to meet really amazing people and artists, connections I maintain to this day.

And then after all the preparation the thrill to see them finally go on stage and experience the show from backstage and in the wings.

With Slayer things were a little bit different as they had one show in Santiago and one in Viña del Mar. So there was A LOT to do, picking up different groups at the airport, ensuring their migration papers were in order for work visa requirements and also to catch up with all the logistics information we had for the tour.

The tour wasn´t without some challenges! Laundry was kind of a nightmare because they didn't want to pay more than $20 dolars for the service and in the hotel it was way more expensive. So i had to talk with the people in charge and make alternate arrangements, which thankfully I was able to organise. And then in Viña I had to find someone that would do it in his house and bring it to the hotel in matter of hours, which I managed to do as well.

That wasn't the end of the laundry dramas as Tom Araya, lead singer of Slayer, needed some pants adjusted. The challenge here was that Tom was going straight back to the US so I had very limited time to fix his pants, and finding someone in Viña in an hour that had the skills and time was critical. But as always, I managed to find someone who could adjust the leather pants. I will say that It was stressful, but all good, we got there and the show went on..

Last minute cake? No problem, and once again I had a very small frame of time with the request happening just before the show. This wasn´t an easy job to achieve, but I made it work including doing the cake decoration myself, managing all the last minute expectations to deliver a fantastic cake - everyone was thrilled.

First was picking up  the crew at the airport before the rest of the touring party arrived.

This is Luis, the amazing guitar tech who is part of the road crew when the band is on tour.

Sold out show! The hours are long and the days hard, but its very fulfilling when you see everything coming together.

And here we are loading out at the hotel at 2am, we have to have everything ready for the next day!! 

This was a super special opportunity as I got to work for a whole week with Jack Johnson and his family. There were early challenges as the van wasn´t where it was supposed to be at the airport, and although they were super chill and relaxed, "no worries# he kept saying to me, but all the while I was freaking out on the inside, until it all got sorted.

I mention discretion because he was with his family and 2 kids, and had commitments to take them sightseeing. So we went to Pueblito Los Dominicos to see typical Chilean souvenirs and art, and also we did a hike in Cerro San Cristóbal.

One of the highlights for me from this tour was getting to see the sound check from backstage. Jack gave 110% and its just so apparent what an amazing performer he is, as well as being a very down to earth guy.

Jack Johnson also took a trip to the coast amongst the tour itinerary, acknowledging and celebrating the protection of Punta de Lobos.

With Bon Jovi I had to pick them up at the airport, taking them to the hotel, to the venue, and also be there generally if there was anything they needed. 

Here I talk about flexibility because in production everything changes at every minute.

There are often requests that have to be done in matter of hours, and you have to be willing and available to do almost anything and everything.

Heres a snippet of the concert, such a good artist and performer, with so much experience and who knows how to put on a great show!

Adaptability was a very important skill in this show and in production in general, you have to learn how to respond to different scenarios and changing situations. 

This was my first time working in wardrobe! In this show I got to do the Ironing, folding and helping the dancers with their changes of outfits during the show.

The best part was I got to meet Rod Stewart, and give him a lightbox of a photograph I took and some customized glasses. I had them whith me all the time and thanks to Julie the wardrobe manager, when the opportunity was there she came and found me, and said: "its time".

And I went to his dressing room and got to chat a little bit with this Celtics fan. He was so lovely in person, and really liked the presents. As you can see from the pictures, I felt over the moon!

For Bruno Mars I had to do some backstage arrangements and check his dressing room to ensure everything was correct with regards to the band rider and catering etc.

I also had to do the laundry for Bruno Mars stage outfits which was very exciting and also be responsible for artists catering for the post show hospitality.

This can be super stressful as the catering in this case was sourced from outside the venue, and the pressure was on to ensure perfect timing, where the food is kept warm, and you have to be seriously organised to make this happen.

Showtime!

Attention to detail was imperative in this show as there were many things to do, things that the artist requested, and needed to be perfect, as you can see from the following.

Shoe malfunction: It was 4 pm and I had the task to put rubber to Katy Perry´s shoes. Simple you may think but it wasn´t, This was on a Saturday, the doors opened in 2 hours, and the closest place near the venue to do the shoe repairs could only have it ready for Monday. That was a problem. Paying extra and having a little pep talk was crucial there and I was able to have the shoes ready in time!

Bonsai: At the same time she also wanted a bonsai plant for the dressing room, easy I thought just go to a flower shop, but didn´t realize how special and difficult to find they are, let alone just how expensive they are. But with some perseverance I managed to find one that was perfect for her dressing room and got it sent to my house.

Beams: another super difficult job was finding 5 meter beams to support the stage, It wasn´t as easy as going to a hardware store and putting them in my car, And with some more aptitude and perseverance, I managed to find a place which had the right materials and dimensions, and was able to arrange the freight to transport them to the venue for the show just in time!

Problem solving was a must here where the request from the artists were out of the ordinary you could say. For starters they wanted to do a photoshoot in a particular winery in Chile that didn´t allow people in, the winery is so well known that they keep a low profile.

So after exploring numerous connections and many phone calls, I managed to talk to the owner and was able to eventually make the photoshoot happen. I also managed to arrange a wine tasting, have horses for their photoshoot, and an hour guided tour through the cellars and vineyards.

Other highlights from this tour included some guitar signings and you can see the set list from the show in the photo here. They put on a very good show which was the product of years of planning, The previous tour had been cancelled, and so the expectations were high.

Incredible view from the FOH