Europe - Alongside the release of their eighth and final album Heaven :x: Hell in March 2024, pop-punk icons Sum 41 announced Tour of the Setting Sum, an ambitious multi-continent arena tour that served as a fitting farewell to a 30-year career.
Throughout Asia, North America, and Europe, the Canadian rockers played more than a hundred shows for millions of passionate fans eager to see them one last time. For the 24-venue run in Europe, culminating in a sold-out performance in Nanterre, France, production manager Ivan Copelan said they considered several audio systems, ultimately selecting Cohesion for “the simple reason - the sound of it”.
16 Cohesion CO12 per side comprised the main hangs, and an additional 12 CO12 were hung on either side. “The CO12 go so low - the subs are there for lifting,” said FOH engineer Bryan Campbell, who has also mixed for Papa Roach, Breaking Benjamin, and Of Mice and Men. “I’m mixing punk rock, so I want that kick drum at 60–70 Hz, and I want that bass to have that dog-snarling midrange tone. I’m not looking for oomph, I’m looking for coverage.”
“On the whole, the low end of the PA is powerful,” said Valdrian Sulejmani, system engineer for the European tour. “We can be a bit more equal by not having to push the subs much. It sounds absolutely phenomenal.”
Six Cohesion CP218 II+ were hung per side. “Flying the subs kept the low end up and provided even coverage,” said Campbell. 12 additional CP218 II+ were deployed on the ground, and a Cohesion CP118+ was used as a drum subwoofer.
“The CP218 is the most musical, most powerful sub,” said Sulejmani. “I have never run out of headroom with it. I think it’s the best sub out there.”
The team opted for eight Cohesion CO10 as front-fill to provide “a much fuller signal for guitar and bass - it helps it sound truer to the mix,” said Campbell.
The tour carried a dozen Cohesion CM14 for supporting artists Dynamite Shakers and Neck Deep to use as stage monitors. AudioRent Clair, a Clair Global brand, deployed the audio system each night.
The performance in France required additional PA to allow 40,000+ fans to best experience Sum 41’s final European show. The side hangs were increased to 16 CO12, and additional rear hangs of eight CO12 were flown. Six more CP218 II+ were added on the ground, and all subwoofers, flown and on the ground, were deployed front-facing. Four delay towers of twelve CO12 each were deployed - a necessity for full coverage in Nanterre’s Paris La Défense Arena, Europe’s largest arena.
“In the past, they might have said, ‘We can get by,’ but now? ‘Let’s spend the money, let’s go.’ It’s the final run. This is it,” said Copelan. “We didn’t max out the budget using Cohesion; we actually saved money. The most important thing at the end was the sound quality and consistency for [Sum 41 lead singer] Deryck [Whibley]. That France show was fun, intense.”
Setting Sum travelled from Netherlands to Nanterre and more than 20 stops in between, so the audio system needed to meet the demands of the production team. “The size of Cohesion worked for us. We had the PA in one truck through Europe,” confirmed Copelan, who previously managed tours for Wiz Khalifa, Megadeth, Incubus, and Dogstar. “It was compact and quick to get up, and it packed a punch. It sounded amazing.”
Sum 41’s tour - and career - wrapped in January at an emotional hometown show at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. They will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on 30 March.
