ProAudio Review - July 2008 - (Page 54)

FROM THE ROAD by Tom Young A Week In The Life — Gear Essentials Working with Tony Bennett has always afforded me the ability to work some pretty diverse types of shows and venues, usually drifting pretty far from the standard tour-bus type of routed gigs. Below is a general diary of what goes on a typical couple of weeks for me. I always make notes using my Outlook before the show with contacts and pertinent equipment to be supplied and then after the show; as years go by, I can go back and refer to them on the experience and venue. WEEK OF JUNE 16-20, 2008 I had advanced the show scheduled on June 17 for the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in France since April via email and phone. It is a private show sponsored by Sony/BMG and Yahoo in a ballroom for invited guests. My production contacts were Sarah Fraser, the event planner from Eventures, and Serge Kolpa, the production manager hired for the event. A picture was forwarded of the room that caused some issues. The room contains columns that go down both sides of the room; this limits the stage size that must be contained within the pillars (16’ x 12’). My initial thoughts were the sound system would need to be more distributed to cover the entire room. I then received a list from the sound provider of proposed equipment: Main PA: 8 ARCS — L’Acoustics 2 SB218 — Sub Bass NEXO 4 LA24 — Amp Racks 2 x 1400 W @ 4 ohms L’Acoustics Monitors: 6 PS15/PS10 — NEXO Upstage Side-fills: 2 CQ1 — Meyer Sound 100° Downstage Side-fills: 2 CQ1 — Meyer Sound 100° Drum fills: 1 700hp — Meyer Sound Console: Yamaha PM5DRH LOAD-IN When I arrived for load-in the room, was smaller than was represented in the picture and in discussions with the technical staff from France. It was only about 120’ x 60’ with the columns in the picture definitely causing a site line problem by dividing the room into thirds. By just stacking the PA as intended with 3 x 3 wide of the Arcs (six per side) on top of the subs, it would not work. If the PA were configured like that, two of the PA speakers would be firing directly into the columns. So instead, we stacked three Cannes Ballroom Before Setup L’Acoustics Arcs on top of a sub in a vertical column aimed just inside of the column. For another subwoofer on the outside of the room, I positioned a Meyer CQ-1 to cover from the outside walls to the column. An interesting side note: something I had never seen before in the US was the way the piano movers loaded in the piano. In France, they use a device made in Italy called a “Piano Plan” (see picture). It is a Piano Plan $30,000 motorized movable dolly that goes up and down a truck ramp that turns and goes up and down requiring none of the usual back muscle. SERVICE AND UNDERSTANDING Unless you are doing a tour that falls within a certain type of traditional venue (theaters/arenas), all shows are designed and equipment-specified for what works best in the venue. This requires advancing and understanding of the physical space and musical act, which is why touring engineers are employed to provide the best service and understanding on how to communicate the act’s musical interest in the required physical environment. Keeping notes after each show on my laptop is a nice way to develop a personal database of venues. Tom Young is lead engineer for Tony Bennett. Tony Bennett's Band Post-Setup 54 | ProAudio Review | July 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - July 2008

ProAudio Review - July 2008 Contents Publisher's Page: Inside Broadcast Production Studio News and New Products Steinberg Nuendo 4 Digital Audio Workstation Developments & Trends: Digital Audio Workstation I/O JZ Microphones Black Hole BH-1 Apple Logic Studio Behind The Scenes: JBL Professional – A 60-Year Legacy Broadcast News and New Products WLOY: Real World Facilities For An On-Campus Radio Station Post News and New Products Hot Gear InfoComm 08 Chandler Limited TG1 Abbey Road/EMI Series Limiter/Compressor Live News and New Products Cerwin-Vega! Professional Active Series CVA-28 and CVA-118 Speakers QSC Audio Model GX5 Power Amplifier From The Road: A Week In The Life — Gear Essentials Contracting News and New Products Taming The Driving Factor — Drums UpSampler: sE Instrument Reflection Filter Buyer’s Guide: Live Sound Amplifiers Single Slice: Roger Powell “Fallout Shelter”

ProAudio Review - July 2008

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