ON THE ROAD: Sting


Below: Monitor and PA Tech, Steve Carter; Head Rigger, Bill Spoon, and Stage Manager, Chris Deters; Julie Galetar and Andrew Solomon from Live Nation; Lighting Crew Chief, Ken Burns Junior; Howard Page, Clair Global’s Senior Director of Engineering worked on the production values he’s passionate about.


Jo, Rufus and Vinnie all use IEMs along with


Sting who uses one ear mix and wedges. The tour carries 20 wedges but only 12 are utilised for the 4,000 capacity show in Toulouse. They comprise Clair 12AMs and ML18’s with R4’s for side fills, four per side and two front fills per side. The stage wedges are positioned centre, left, right and upstage centre. The bass rig for Sting is in the middle, it comprised two ML18’s. “To mix Sting every night, well this is one of


the gigs you dream of, audio wise. What sound guy doesn’t like the tonalities of Sting? Plus he’s a great guy, he really is so nice and this crew is the best of the best. We get treated really well, Sting is a great person and we have his music every night so you’re never fatigued, you’re in a good mood,” Monitor Engineer Buess continued. “Sting can be demanding about sound, but


he’s never difficult about it; he’s kind. He always wants the best, but he’s a kind-hearted guy, so we’re very, very lucky. I’ve done a lot of audio gigs and this is one of the best in the world.” For RF, Carter used Pro Wireless


Intermodulation software, and incorporated the entire guitar lines into the wireless, additionally using WinRadio to spectrum analyse.


EXPERT ADVICE FROM HOWARD PAGE “Unfortunately far too many live concert shows are just way too loud overall and totally dominated by bass and sub bass, very out of proportion to what real sound is, as though if the sound isn’t overwhelming, the crowd won’t get into it. The problem with that is that


you quickly fatigue your crowd with too much bottom end or out of balance too loud mix. You can see it in even the most hardcore of metal bands; the audience becomes less interested quickly because you’ve basically just beaten them over the head with an audio baseball bat,” Page said. “A concert can certainly have loud moments


in it, but one of the things Sting and I worked long and hard on with the Symphonicity tour which was the challenge of a having a small group with an orchestra, was to work on the absolute dynamic levels shifts within each song and for the show as a whole and we’ve carried those dynamics concepts over to this rock group set up. “I’ve had people come up and tell me that


this show sounds like the greatest show they’ve ever been to, but it’s not necessarily just what I’m doing, it’s what Sting and the band are playing, and how we’re all delivering it. It’s the sum of the total. You have to know your audience; you have to give them the sound quality they expected when they bought their ticket. Know the reference point. Their reference point is listening to Sting records at home, with the album quality of mix texture. They don’t come here expecting to have their heads blown off, so I won’t blow their heads off. That is the key to live sound; giving the audience, exactly what, my years of experience, tells me that they want. “Some of the critical reviews we’ve had on


this tour have stated that the sound was perfect, but that’s frankly because it was exactly


what the audience imagined and hoped it would be!” he smiled.


A CLOSE-KNIT TEAM TO BE PROUD OF Within minutes of meeting Head Rigger for the Back To Bass tour, Bill Spoon (U2, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen), it is instantly apparent he is proud to have been a part of Sting’s crew for nearly 25 years after first working with him on the 1988 Amnesty International benefit concerts. Compared to the musician’s previous tours, the current stripped back production required a simple rig and only four local riggers at each venue, plus Spoon - the tour’s only full time rigger. “It’s about getting back to the basics this


time around so there’s no video or moving elements like we’ve had on other productions. I think the audience enjoys it too because they concentrate more on Sting and the band than the video screens and movement,” explained Spoon. “This show is only around 12 tonnes so


it’s very lightweight and doesn’t have many complex components. We made the decision to keep it light to fit in with some of the venues we’ve been playing. With this tour starting in the US and playing small theatres, it had to be pretty simple and it’s been the same here in Europe because we’ve played some small tricky venues.” Due to the uncomplicated nature of the


rig, Spoon has started work an hour before the rest of the crew at each venue by marking on the floor the points where hoists lifting the


TPi MARCH 2012 • 07


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