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SYDNEY — During their recent seven-stop Australian tour, the two-piece Brit band Goldfrapp stopped at the famous Sydney Opera House for a side show. In the grand setting of the Sydney Opera House, Goldfrapp emerged as a six-piece band dressed entirely in white, and were fittingly accompanied by a 14-piece string section including two harps, on a stage set consisting of bunting and a maypole. Sydney’s own Norwest productions provided the PA system for the stop, as well as for Parklife Sydney and Parklife Brisbane Festivals.

ELKHART, Ind. — Crown’s MA-12000i amps were featured in XXXX Audio System’s live applications for a number of concerts this past summer. Artists such as KISS, Sammy Hagar, Jason Aldean, Frankie Valli, Daughtry, Lifehouse, Ne-Yo, John Michael Montgomery, Gladys Knight, Al Green, Sheryl Crow, Mike Ness and the Black Keys all performed with sound systems that integrated MA-12000i amps and JBL VerTec speaker systems.      

PreSonus Audio Electronics has announced the StudioLive 16.4.2 Digital Performance and Recording Mixer. The 16-channel digital mixer features 16 high headroom and quiet XMAX microphone preamplifiers, built-in 22 x 18 FireWire recording and playback engine, “Fat Channel” processing with 4-band EQs, compressors, limiters, gates, DSP effects, six aux buses, four sub groups, extensive LED metering, mixer save/recall, channel-strip save/recall/copy/paste, talkback and more.

PRAGUE —  One of Europe’s leading arts houses, The National Theatre in Prague has transformed its technical capability with the installation of a pair of Lawo mc266 consoles as part of a comprehensive audio management network, to suit the theatre’s current techniques and future needs.

QUEBEC CITY, Quebec — Directed by Frédéric Dubois and staged in the recently renovated Capitol, Quebec City's oldest theatre, this new production of Les Misérables has broken new ground in terms of its simple and direct staging, high-end cast and audio quality. With 32 live microphones on stage, the new Sennheiser MKE 1 lavaliere mic proved a valuable asset.

ENGLAND — An SD8 is being used to mix monitors for Art Garfunkel and his band, currently in the midst of a 12-date European trek. Playing to venues of around 2,000 capacity, it’s a one truck tour, so audio rental company AudioLease needed a monitor desk that was compact but delivers the kind of quality a music industry living legend like Garfunkel needs. 

AUSTIN, Texas — Founded last year by Grammy-winning producer Hank Neuberger, Springboard Productions is no stranger to the festival circuit, after supplying digital new media production services for events, including the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Rothbury Music & Energy Festival, Lollapalooza and others.

BEIJING — Harman Professional audio was recently used at the Paralympics opening and closing ceremonies. Hosted at the 90,000-capacity Beijing National Stadium, both events were designed by artistic directors Zhang Yimou and Zhang Jigang and featured spectacular, highly evocative performances of sound and light that provided a beautiful culmination to inspire 12 days of competition. 

TEMPE, Ariz. — After 18 albums and more than four decades of touring, Alice Cooper certainly isn't showing any signs of slowing. Currently out on his aptly named "Psycho-Drama" tour, the original shock rocker has among his collection of essential stage items a guillotine, electric chair, boa constrictor, plenty of fake blood and, now, 10 coaxial L-ACOUSTICS 115XT HiQ stage monitors.