Arthur Lee and the band he fronted, Love, are acknowledged as one of the finest and most influential groups of the late 60s, their psychedelic-folk masterpiece, Forever Changes, regularly appearing high in polls of the greatest albums of all time. Their comeback tour included several weeks in the UK, with RMPA providing an Electro-Voice system with Midas control when required.
"The show was already challenging," says Rick Bailey of RMPA, "featuring a rock band plus eight-piece orchestra on stage. But as the word got out and the media got going, the audience capacity went from 30% to full houses; at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, for example, they had to open the balcony to cope with the demand for extra tickets."
Surprisingly, RMPA did not have to supplement their X-Array system to cope with the changing brief. A simple specification of four Xn HF cabinets with four Xb LF units, plus two Xds subs, was ground-stacked each side of the stage. "Most systems would have struggled," explains Bailey, who acted as systems engineer for the tour, "but, far from having to bring in extra gear, we had to take it out. On some shows, we unplugged the subs because we didn't need them, and on only one occasion, we had to bring in a pair of Xfs to reach a balcony.
"The EV system gave us inordinate amounts of headroom from the string section, so much so that it sounded like a studio session. And it was done with very few components; normally, one would expect to use five times as many devices, but this small rig was giving us 106-108dB at the mixer at the back of the room."
Amplification for the system was all EV P3000s, controlled from a Midas Legend out front, and with RMPA engineer Charlie Thorley using an Allen & Heath board for monitors.
(Ruth Rossington)
