livefeature 9TH JUNE BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY SUMMER BALL 1ST JUNE BILLY OCEAN
OK, so at the start of the month I was working with Billy Ocean on his UK tour as a FOH system tech, where we were using L-Acoustics dV-DOSC, dV subs and SB28 subs; and we had an Avid Profile system at both ends of the multi. Then, bizarrely, I went in to the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton to do The Gruffalo… not sure why… that really isn’t my kind of thing. In fact, why did I mention it? Anyway, moving on…
8TH JUNE GOODWOOD RACES
OK, it’s the first night at the Goodwood Races DJ night with Groove Armada’s Andy Cato – we’ve got a good sized set-up consisting of 18 L-Acoustics dV-DOSC and eight L-Acoustics SB28 subs; also, four dV subs, six Nexo PS15s and four Nexo PS10s. Everything was going perfectly until two minutes before showtime when we had a massive power-cut, and the night got completely cancelled. Ridiculous. Thankfully though, on 15 June, we came back to do another DJ night at Goodwood with Dermot O’Leary, which went really well.
22ND JUNE HOT CHOCOLATE, WESTON SUPER MARE
I have been FOH engineer and tour manager for these guys for 10 years, however this was NOT a good gig. For a start, it was in an amusement arcade and it was on the pier in Weston-Super-Mare. Add to that the severe lack of PA equipment – just one stack per side of EV X-Array. This kind of kit would have been fine for sidefills, maybe, but not for a main system! Oh, and I was given a Yamaha LS9 32, which I hate. Sorry, but I just do.
24TH JUNE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
I’m currently in the midst of this festival, coated in mud most of the time, to be honest. Basically, I am the system tech for the Goodwood Action Sports Arena. For this venue, we have deployed seven stacks of dV-subs and dV-DOSC, all running on LA8 amps and contorted with Lakes in Mesa EQ mode. And actually I’ve been able to relax in my hammock for most of the day. In fact, I am writing this from my iPad, from my hammock! n
On tour with Billy Ocean
I was working as assistant sound manager for this gig, which basically meant I got lumbered with overseeing four stages, most of which were DJ stages, but we did have Feeder headlining – they’re a really solid band, and it was a great night.
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GRAHAM BURTON’S MONTH At just 16-years-old, Graham Burton was whisked across the pond to tour with Bon Jovi. Six months later, and six stone heavier (“the US will do that to you”, he still insists), he began a professional career in FOH sound engineering. Now, sporting a considerably lighter frame, Burton spends much of his time on the road working as a system tech – a role that he feels is often underrated…