#7 Paul McCartney
Kid Rock’s NYE Bash in St. Louis
“Though we’re a big band with a large input list, we’re simplified in many respects,” Kid Rock’s FOH engineer Steve Cross says. The one-off Rock put on at the Scottrade Center arena on New Year’s Eve was certainly big (Lasers! Pyro galore! Balloon drop!) And, simply put, the audio team made it sound great, despite no real rehearsals and the audience hearing it all through a new console. The show was at this town’s home of the NHL Blues hockey team and, as a room, it’s pretty neutral, says Cross. “We had to put up quite a tall array to get the coverage we needed, but it worked out well. It’s always fun to take a large P.A. into a sold-out arena and have a great show. Couldn’t think of a better way to start the New Year… unless palm trees and sand were involved!”
Read More »
My Fair Lady
Australia-Based Production Gets an Audio Makeover
On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, GFO and Opera Australia recruited the original Eliza Doolittle, Dame Julie Andrews, to direct a production of My Fair Lady beneath the sails of the Sydney Opera House. This landmark production, which opened Sept. 6 and ran through Nov. 5, 2016, featured sets, costumes and lighting based on the original 1956 design, with a few more up-to-date touches, like seamless revolving stages and automated lighting. It also sold more tickets than any other production staged at the iconic venue. In 2017, a touring version of the production will be staged in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia along with Sydney’s Capitol Theatre.
Read More »
San Francisco Armory
At over 100 years old, the former National Guard Armory is one of San Francisco’s most distinctive buildings. Designed to convey the impression of a heavily armored and forbidding Moorish fortress, the massive structure features four octagonal towers, rough clinker brick exterior walls and narrow rectangular lancet windows. Now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the building measures 192,300 square feet and includes the administration building (84,700 square feet), basement (68,000 square feet) and Drill Court (39,000 square feet).
Read More »
Seven Recent Nightclub Projects
The nightclub biz is booming. And there are plenty of reasons why. No matter where you go in the world, people like to go out for a few drinks, perhaps a bite to eat and some social interaction — particularly when it’s accompanied with great music. And in any successful nightclub installation, great sound is an essential part of creating just the right ambience and feel, whether in an intimate lounge, disco, supper club or live band venues playing rock, pop, country or R&B. With that in mind, we decided to look in on seven recent club installations, each presenting their own set of needs and challenges, yet all that found success through the combination of a skilled, experienced integrator applying just the right audio system to meet the needs of that particular application.
Read More »
Road Cases
If sound is your business, then you’re aware that “stuff” happens. And when gear is moved, it is occasionally subject to rough handling. Here, a good case can make the difference between a show going on or being cancelled. Today, there are hundreds of companies building transport cases and we’ve presented a selection of them. Note that many companies also provide custom foam cutting and most have case templates for common equipment, so a “custom” design for your piece of gear may be fairly simple. And if you want custom colors or graphics, many companies can accommodate your request.
Read More »
RME Fireface UFX+ Audio Interface
German pro audio manufacturer RME is no stranger to users seeking no-compromise digital audio interface products for studios, broadcasters — and recently — into an increasingly growing number of live production applications. The company was launched 21 years ago with the DAM1 (Digital Audio Monitor) and a PCI recording card and continues leading the industry, constantly improving and expanding the scope of its product range.
Carvin Audio TRx3810A VELA Vertical Array
Mention the phrase “line array” and images of VerTec and V-DOSC systems usually spring to mind. But in terms of line array technology, systems with narrow vertical dispersion modules aren’t the only game in town. In fact, lately there has been a surge of interest in high-performance vertical column array systems.
Read More »