Still best known for their 1985 number one Don't You Forget About Me from the film The Breakfast Club, Simple Minds is playing all manner of venues, from the most intimate to the vast. The tour is predominantly one-niters, so the tight turn arounds and diversity in size of venues demand a flexible and easily programmed sound system.
Sub-hired from rental company Concert Sound to main supplier EML for the UK leg of the tour, it comprises an Adamson Y10 line array, half of which is flown and half ground stacked, plus EAW subs. System control is courtesy of seven XTA DP226 crossovers via a PC tablet using XTA's proprietary AudioCore software and their Walkabout Wireless kit.
"We have found the XTA kit offers plenty of scope with EQ and boost and the internal headroom is more than adequate for our needs," says FOH engineer Patrick Demoustier. Concert Sound system technician Arron Ross adds: "We're using Adamson Axis Shooter software alongside the latest version of XTA AudioCore - 8.1. It's so easy to use and has allowed me to tune the room in fine detail."
Demoustier is mixing both Simple Minds and the support band on a DiGiCo D1 Live. He says it can only be a DiGiCo console because he believes these are the most straightforward and intuitive digital consoles on the market. Having one of the first models off the production line, he took delivery without an instruction manual. "But I didn't need one, because it really is very simple," he smiles.
Demoustier has been with the band since 1997 and knows better than most that Simple Minds does not necessarily equal simple sounds. "The band is well known for its imaginative 'soundscapes' and effects," he says. "On tour, they expect to sound as true to their original recordings as possible. This demands plenty of pre-programming for each song, which means I need a quick and easily programmable digital console. To manage that on an analogue desk would be impossible, but to set it up on the D1 is easy."
Quite apart from its superb sound quality, for Demoustier the D1 has helped cut down on outboard by over fifty percent. "Some people say digital is very expensive," he comments. "But, if you take into account the time it saves in setting up, the space it saves in the truck and the reduction in staff required to manage it, you'll find this just isn't so."
The band's passion for presenting fresh high quality live performance is reflected in the choice of equipment. And they still feel they have plenty to give. To that end, lead vocalist Jim Kerr can often be found FOH keeping everyone on their toes, conferring with Demoustier and fine-tuning the audio.
(Chris Henry)
