During soundcheck at Hallam FM Arena, the artist listened carefully to the playback of his mandolin track at the three different delay points (each containing three clusters of four Martin W8C's). He is equally concerned about his monitor sound - and although production carries Martin Audio LE12J floor wedges, these are generally forsaken in favour of boosted side fills (provided by six Martin Audio W8LM Mini Line Arrays).
The shows are promoted by Off The Kerb and the production manager is Mark Harris. Capital Sound Hire, meanwhile, were able to draw on their comedic experience gained in the past (notably on Eddie Izzard's Sexie tour).
Their solution for the large-scale shows has been to rig two hangs of 16 x W8LC Compacts, supported by six W8C's, forming the outfills on either side of the main PA, with a total of eight Wavefront W2's deployed as frontfills.
Comments Mark Harris, "Production wanted a set-up that would deliver a good sound but could also be toured and rigged easily. The mid-sized enclosures are great as we can hang 16 a side - plus the outfaces - and they can still be trimmed sufficiently high to keep the sightlines intact." This is important, since three landscape LED screens provide a stunning opening sting to the show.The tour ends on December 12 at London's Wembley Arena.
(Jim Evans)
