Graffiti Soul Tour: Featured In
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ON THE ROAD: Slmple Minds 1SIMPLE MINOS: SDUL 111 f1ji1 ]Ty,, & I THE SCOTS ROCKED ON PAST THE 30 YEAR MARK WITH THEIR LATEST TOUR, WHICH SAW AN ADAMSON PA CROSS THE BELGIUM BORDER. RACHEL ESSON REPORTS,,, Scottish pop-rock band Simple Minds European Gmflti Soul tour launched on street. are one of many major acts from 'the Nwember 26 in Amsterdam, and reached the The Belgian crew included FOH engineer decade of excdto hi the mad again UK and Ireland in December. Olivier Gerard, monitor engineer Fred Pignatelli recentty following a break from the stage. TPi caught the action at Manchester's MEN and PA tech Stephan Themps. EML's Patrick An appearance at Night Of* Proms in Arena. where it dismred one of the two Belglum, where the band were hugely Adamson systems that were on tour in Europe popular in the '80s and '90s. fo-red (outside of Belgium) at that time, provided by relatlonshlps between band members and EML Productions. the event's production team, whi& induded Tour manager David Yard (a.k.a. Zop) sound rental company EML. explained the Belgium link: 'Simple Minds did Thus in 2008, with a largely Belgian mew, ~VightOf The Proms a few years ago and it's a Simple Minds embarked on a sk-date sell-out Belgian production so they got to know Belgian tour of UK arenas to mark their 30th anniversary crew and started using EML. Their gwr is great and give fans their first-ever pei-forman~esof and they're nice guys to deal with." the entire 1982 multi-million selling album New The same video team from the previous 30 Gold Dream ... as well as new material. Ymrs Live campaign also returned to work on The success of this tour was boosted by sales this tour, which was production managed by of their latest studio album, GmffitiSoul, which Derek McVay. Said Zop: "It's good to see the was released lac May and became their fim same faces and know that you're running an album in 14 years to enter the UK Top 10, as operation that people are pleased to come back well as doing similar business in Eumpee. to." Produced by founders Jim Kerr (vocals) and Zop, whose history includes working with Charlie Burchill (guitar), along with Mel Gaynor Jamiroquai and Chris Rea, has toured with (drums) and Eddie Duffy (bass). the album Simple Minds since 2006. After touring with spurred Simple Minds on to book another tour one truck throughout the summer festivals, for 2009. accompanied by Andy Gillespie on the production was upped to four trucks (from keyboards and Sarah Brown on backing vocals. Stardes), for the latest arena dates, which were Following a series of Mwal dat~,the supported by OMD and promoted by Kenndy 40. TPi FEBRUART 2010 ON THE ROAD: Slmple Mlnds Demoustier had been the band's ADAMSON SOUND keep it warm. There are a lot of The sound crew was completed FOH sound engineer since they EML has headquarters in B~sels. reverberations," he said. by drum tech Derek Paterson, met on Night Of The Proms, but Amsterdam and Madrid, and whilst Demoustier originally specified guitar tech Hilko Nackaerts, Olivier Gerard replaced him 2008's most of its work encompazses the micu for the tour - Beyers keyhrdteEh Fons Ceuppen, 30 Ywfs Live tour. Belgium and Spain, the company on the toms, as endorsed by Mel and audio technicians Jermn It wasn't the easiest of is looking to expand its work Gaynor, a Shure Beta 52 on the Temmerman and Kelvin Mac. transitions for Gerard, as he throughout Europe. kick drums, Nordic Labs E5 on the explained: "I usd to work at Said Themps: "It's hard to get snare, Neumanns on the werheads MONITORS Anciennne Belgique but have ken into touring because of the pound, and hi-hat, Beta 57s on the guitar, Over in monitor world, Fred back on the road since 2003 with but we currently have two systems Sennheiser 421s on the bass and Pignatelli was mixing on a DiGiCa the likes of Hoowrphonic and out in Europe and we're trying to Beta 58A5 on vocals. Dl desk sending to six of EML's Mylo. However, I'd never done get into the market." arena sho~before and I believe Gerard mmmentd: 'The they had a lot more confidence in Adamson system is wonderful. Last me than I did1 year I was touring with Mylo and 'We had a week of rehearsals I used a lot of home PPs, but the planned but they didn't show up Adamson is way above everything for the first two da~and I had I've heard. I believe there's a way to programme 24 songs into my af working the system and EM L Long established PA deskl" really knows how to workwith it. The preparation time for this Stephan really knows his job." Company For Sale tour was no less hectic, said The Adamson line array system Gerard: "On the last day of the was designed using Shooter rehearsal Jim [Kerrl came to me prediction software and was and said there were 20 songs that configud as 12 Y-18s per side UK based with well-known weren't in the set but had to go in. on the main hang, four Yl 0s on international artists as part of I ended up programming abut 50 the underhang per side, with 12 songs and we're playing 25 songs YlOs on each outer array and eight client roster each day." Spektrix for frontfill ahnine of Carried over to the tour was EML's own 5318 suk per side. Demoustier's choice of desk, the Centre fill was handled by 48-channel DiGiCo SD8 digital two of EML's EMF speakers; Serious enquiries only to: console. It was the first time amplification was managed by Turner Butler Business Brokers Gerard had used the d~k,having Lab.gruppen and processors were worked with a DiGiCo 05 the year XTA DM&, including two used Ref A1024 before. at FOH as a matrix for the whole 'It sounds really great" he said. system. Attn Tony Bell "I have been on other tours using Themps commented: 'You different digital desks, but this don't need to worry about the sounds better than any other I've Adamson system, you know it's workd with." going to deliver what you need.' Tel: 01 895 256 000 EML's PA tech Stephan Themps Gerard used the DiGiCo SD8's Mob: 07870 553 963 explained how the company on board effects. with the addition chooses its brands: "Adamson is of a 430 producer pack and a Email: [email protected] the best PA, DiGiCo have the best Manley Voxbox for compression desks so that's what we buy; we on the vocals, and a tube tech don't go with the taste of the unit for the bass. "You have to year." control the power of the sub and TPi FEBRUART 2010 * 41 ON THE ROAD: Slmple Mlnds ~el~lydoc- fm top I& :md englneer Mldw Gwsrd; P#ted~Stephan Themw s;pmmDtw q~Mkk Roblmm; lwd slngwlbn I(en In fmnt of the Adumwn llne sng; LD Stephen Pdbnl; Pm Twb opersWl adkqkard pqremmer Rogw Lpr~Andy Lid&. own wedges for Burchill and Duffy, then to A series of trusses with Martin MAC 700 profiles want, within reason. is mine to haw. They are Sennheiser 3000 series lEMs for the rest of the moved between the walls of Versa Tubes added always very fair. I have an idea in mind, Julian band, who use Variphone ES-2 ear moulds. The a fluidity of motion to the show. The lack of any tells me what's new in their stock and we all system was also driven by Lab.gruppen amp and front vuss created an open lookto the stage work together to figure it out. Their service and XTA pmcesors. and allowed the lighting to project forward attention to detail i5 impe~~able." Pignatelli had worked with the band since and the looming walls of Versa Tubes to be Pollard's approach to lighting and set design 2002, and mmerted to the DiGiCo Dl in '05. He unobstructed. starts always starts with a concept, rather than said he liked the analogue sound that the desk 'I consider the Versa Tubes to be a lighting leafing though a catalogues looking for the mated and added: 'I must say the advantages instrument" explained Pollard. 'I put videa latest products. He created a variety of 'big af a compact Dl with almost no outboard are content into them but I try not to use them as a looks", which were achieved by moving the much bigger than the sound difference between video screen. I use content and digital masking lighting trusses with Liftket motors - "the [digital and analogue desk]. Also the features to create a variety of compositions that are upside to this system is the economical use of of a digital desk are now indispensable. integral to the rest of the lighting.' gear, and trudc space." 'It's great that I can use a separate reverbe He also had each Versa Tube painstakingly Spread across the trusses on Liftket motors for every backing vocal and still haw one for the covered with a neutral densrty filter to make the were 12 MAC 700 profiles, six Robe 2500E AT5 drums. I use the lPCs on the IEM mixes and the otherwise white tubes disappear when parts or and six Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500s.