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livefeature MONSTER RIGS
Other hire companies doing well out of funny business are Adlib Audio, which most recently put a Coda Audio LA12 and ViRAY rig out on Jack Whitehall’s arena shows, and Capital Sound Hire, which works with the likes of Alan Carr, John Bishop, Michael McIntyre, Al Murray and Lee Evans, who starts the big-venue Monsters tour in August. Whitehall, much of whose comedy stems from his well-to- do, public school background and not being in touch with everyday life, played a series of UK dates earlier this year that climaxed at Wembley Arena in March. The comedian uses his own DPA headset, which was recommended by Adlib. FOH engineer Sam Proctor, who mixed at a Midas PRO2, describes Whitehall’s voice as “very strong” and says the mic “worked brilliantly” in the arenas, with good rejection of any reflections and achieving maximum gain-before-feedback. In stark contrast to the urbane, smug Whitehall, the hyperactive, rubber-limbed, constantly sweating Evans played a number of small venues earlier in the year to try out new material and will perform some more “work in progress” gigs before moving on to bigger halls, culminating with The O2 in London and Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena during November.
Paul Timmins, Capital Sound’s general manager, says
that over the years of working with Evans, the company has developed three designs of rig according to the size of the venue being played. “The C system is used for small venues like Brighton and Cardiff, B in medium-sized halls at Sheffield and Nottingham and A for big arenas such as The O2,” he explains.
“Some people think comedy can get away with really small systems, but we put in one that is as big as something that would be used by Stereophonics,” Timmins continues. “That gives the coverage and wow factor the audience really gets with someone like Lee Evans.” A devotee of old-fashioned handheld, cabled microphones, Evans is skilled in mic technique, banging it on his head and producing sound effects using his mouth. A sound highlight is the climax of his shows, a mimed version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, for which Capital specifies extra subwoofers. “They’re purely for that bit at the end to blow people away,” Timmins explains. Capital offers both Meyer and Martin Audio systems for comedy touring.
“WORTH SPENDING SOME TIME ON…”
Lee Evans’ front of house engineer is Phil Tame, who started out in live sound during the post-punk boom of the late 1970s and worked with Gary
Above: Jack Whitehall, supported by Adlib Audio, on his recent UK arena tour
Right: Whitehall’s FOH engineer (fourth from left) Sam Proctor with the Adlib team
Numan, Marillion and Frankie Goes to Hollywood before creating a niche for himself in comedy mixing for Jack Dee, Dara O Briain, Michael McIntyre and Al Murray, famous for his Pub Landlord persona. Tame observes that comedy tours, especially those taking in arenas, are considerably more involved than a basic mic–loudspeaker configuration, requiring a full production with stage, set, lighting, video screens,
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...
They may, as Michael Palin has said, be doing it purely in the name of greed, but the Monty Python live shows at The O2 in London from 1-5 July and 15-20 July will see the five remaining members of the pioneering comedy group – Palin, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam – bringing in new technology to combine onstage performances, video and a full band. Andre Jacquemin, the Pythons’ longtime audio associate and co-owner, with Palin, of Redwood Studios, agrees that much of their humour is influenced by the technical possibilities of television, where the show Monty Python’s Flying Circus originated, radio (most of the members cite The Goon Show as an inspiration) and film, the medium they graduated to, hitting their peak with Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The mixture of visual gags, slapstick, animation, wordplay and surreal
FOH sound and monitors. “The only difference between full-band touring and comedy is the absence of backline on the stage,” he says.
Tame points out that even coverage is important; he aims for the same response everywhere in a venue as far as possible: “This can be difficult with some venues. Getting
Longtime Python audio man Andre Jacquemin with Terry Gilliam: “Things have changed a lot since they [last played live]…”
non-sequiturs has been translated to the live stage on several occasions, but Jacquemin comments that “things have developed a lot since they started all those years ago” and that “the equipment is different” from when Python played the Theatre Royal Dury Lane (1974) and the Hollywood Bowl
(1980, with an album release two years later). “Back then we were cueing effects from tape and in those situations everything would heat up and the edits would sometimes unsplice,” he recalls. This summer’s shows will be different artistically and technologically. The surviving Pythons will perform
supported by what is promised to be a massive production, with technology that will, among other things, allow sixth member Graham Chapman, who died in 1989, to appear “by the magic of cinema”. The sound system is being supplied by Sonalyst, run by sound designer Rory Madden, who has much experience of working at The O2. Instead of quarter-inch tape, the audio – and video – cues will play- back from a QLab system, with front of house mixing on two DiGiCo SD7 consoles; one for voices and playback, mixed by Simon Fox, while Dave Dixon will mix the band on the other. Bill Birks is to handle monitors on a third SD7. Madden describes the main PA as “massive”, consisting as it will of 88 Meyer MICAs, 30 M’elodies, 12 M1Ds, 24 UPMs, 20 UPAs and 16 600HP subs, running with six Galileo 616 processors. The delay and effects loudspeakers are to be a combination of Mica, M’elodie and M1Ds. The wireless mic system will be Shure and
the different elements of the system working together is worth spending some time on, including relative delay times, EQs and levels.”
Systems vary, again according to the hall. “Sometimes I have to use whatever is supplied,” Tame comments. “For arenas, we tour with a Capital Sound Martin line array – the W8L
18-channel of Axient radios, including 45 channels of UHF-R and Shure Wireless Management software. On the monitoring side there will be 20 channels of Shure PSM 1000 IEMs. Jacquemin observes that in-ear monitors are “a bit of a no no” as far as the Pythons are concerned – although they will be using head-worn mics – but the band will be using them, including musical director John Du Prez, another unofficial member of the Python troupe. “We’ll have talkback to him had he’ll have a remote control to the playback area, rather than relying on us at the desk,” explains Jacquemin.
The comedy messiahs – or just very naughty old men – will play two weeks at The O2 with an break in the middle to let Robbie Williams in, which means rigging, de-rigging and then rigging all over again. There will also be a live relay to cinemas, with Red TX providing audio broadcast facilities.
www.montypythonlive.com www.redwoodstudios.co.uk
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