hile I wouldn’t classify myself as a fully-fledged REM them – what I want to hear out of them and of course how they REM Live aficionado, like just about everyone else on the planet, want to be presented. It definitely takes a few shows to get that WI own 1992’s Automatic For The People. The new album, under your belt. I like to think that we came out pretty strong, Around The Sun, however, had passed me by. But when I got an but as the tour’s gone on it’s progressed and developed and Ol’ Blue Eyes and his band of middle-aged men are eleventh-hour call dispatching me to the Sydney Entertainment matured quite a bit. at it again, to much acclaim. Mark O’Connor gets the Centre to attend the first of REM’s recent Sydney concerts, it MO’C: Was there much direction from the band in terms of what was no unwelcome thing. they wanted from you, or was it more about intuitively feeling lowdown from two REM engineering ‘debutantes’. Further proof of my lack of credentials lies in the fact I’ve your way? never caught REM in concert before. So nothing could prepare BE: It was more intuitive. We definitely had some conversations me for the experience. I stood transfixed for the evening while at the beginning – I went in for a week’s worth of rehearsals in Michael Stipe, besuited and resplendent in his by now iconic Athens [Georgia], sat in with them, watched instrumentation, band of blue paint across the eyes, propelled his distinctive voice watched the members change around, and got a feel for what out into the packed arena, both songs and performance serving they were going to be doing on stage. Also, a mobile recording as a reminder of how REM have risen from indie favourite to truck was brought in for me to record one of those rehearsals become one of the world’s biggest bands. (which became an Apple iTunes exclusive presentation of some Sometimes you get more than you bargained for – a hidden of the material) – which was a nice opportunity to put what I was extra or two. doing under the microscope. And I was asking them quite a few The unexpected bonus on this occasion took the form of different questions about how true to the record they wanted to support band Bright Eyes, who literally stopped me in my tracks sound. with songs reminiscent of a young Bob Dylan and delivered MO’C: What was the response? with a voice of such passion and intensity that I recalled The BE: I think there are certain key effects, certain things that are Waterboys’ Mike Scott belting out The Whole Of The Moon. very important in the record, and those things are obvious. For When their set was finished I wandered back to the FOH desk example, when you think about the song Drive, the slap-back to find out the band’s name, and there struck up a conversation delay on the vocal you hear in the verses… that kind of thing is with mix engineer Jacob Feinberg-Pyne. I learned then what important to them. And definitely knowing what the dominant everyone at the band’s sellout headline gig at the Metro the instruments are throughout the arrangements. But I personally following evening already knew – that Bright Eyes are well and tried to make them a little bigger, a little more rockin’ live than truly on an upward trajectory, and their front man a rising star. perhaps what their more recent records have been. There’s a Essentially the vehicle for prolific 24-year-old singer/songwriter, different timbre to the more recent records – I’m not saying it’s Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes had been handpicked for the tour by a bad thing by any means, it’s what the records are – but live I REM, having recently shared the stage with them (and Bruce prefer to open it up and make it thump a little more. Springsteen) on last year’s Vote For Change tour in the US. MO’C: You mentioned earlier Michael being a ‘different kind of My conversation with Jacob was eventually interrupted as singer’. Can you tell us about your approach to his vocal? REM took to the stage with a denser, fuller sound than that of BE: Well, we changed quite a few things – when I say ‘we’ I their support act. I resolved, however, to track him down later mean, myself and George Squires, our monitor engineer. This [see box item for more]. is George’s first tour with the band as well, so we sat down and talked about everything from mics and mic placement to… just FOH Engineer – Brett Eliason all the technology that goes into it, because we have to share REM FOH engineer Brett Eliason’s last visit to Australia was all the stuff that’s up on stage. So he definitely had a hand in with Pearl Jam in 2003. Brett’s been the Pearl Jam ‘sound some of the decisions as well. For example, we talked to Michael guy’ since the band’s inception. While he was understandably about changing microphone types. He was a Shure Beta 58 user reluctant to draw comparisons between the two bands, – always has been. I didn’t really care for the sound of that mic I enquired how mixing each of them presented different on his vocal. We still use a wireless version of it and it works just challenges, drawing upon different areas of expertise. fine, but for the wired vocal that goes on throughout the show we Brett Eliason: Certainly there are differences. I mean this switched to an Audix OM7. It’s a very clear mic that has a nice is a different band to mix than Pearl Jam. With Pearl Jam it’s warm low end and great gain-before-feedback characteristics – generally more rock-oriented, more in-your-face. I think there’s you can really crank up his foldback; it gives me something extra more variety with REM – they play a slew of styles that range for front of house; and retains good stability. The other thing I from pop to more in-your-face riffy rock kind of stuff. And do with vocals is I have a preamp on stage and I run the main Michael’s definitely a different kind of singer. There are different vocal – both his wireless and his wired mic – to that preamp, tonalities on stage – with REM you have six musicians that are and then line drive that signal out to front of house. Doing that playing very arranged, very different parts that take a little while decreases the amount of signal degradation that I get over long to get your head around, to figure out what you want to do with cable lines. It doesn’t get as mid-rangey, and it also lowers the it and where it all needs to go. noise floor – things can get kind of buzzy when you’re running Mark O’Connor: So there was some ‘learning the ropes’ in a mic signal hundred of metres, so it really cleans up that path. early stages of the tour then? The other thing I use is an Empirical Labs Distressor on his BE: Yeah, definitely. This is the first tour I’ve done with REM vocal, and on the other vocals as well. It’s a compressor that can and I’m definitely getting my feet wet, figuring out how to shape be used in several different ways. I find that it really helps with Michael’s transient information. He’s got a lovely voice, parts of the world where we’ve played – or are yet to but everybody’s got their characteristics and he can play – that aren’t quite so geared up. Also when you get quite bright in the top end, so the Distressor helps show up with everything basically preset, all you’ve got control that a little bit – helps control his dynamic and to do is just wrestle the PA into place and you’re ready really keep it solid. to go. MO’C: You’re using the Midas XL4 console. What led EAW 760 Line Array you to that choice? MO’C: What was behind your decision to go for the BE: Firstly, it has a tremendous number of routing EAW PA? capabilities. Also, it’s a big console – this is a 56-input BE: Several years ago I was planning a change in PA frame and every input is full. The EQ is very useful for Pearl Jam and tried an EAW 760 line array for a – it’s smooth, yet active. The preamps sound wonderful couple of arena shows. I was quite blown away by – they’re warm and punchy. It’s just a really lovely- it – its presence, its coverage, and its punch. It’s not sounding console that tours well. I’ve used Midas’ perfect – none of them are – but for the way I approach Heritage series, which is a nice board, but I had some things, the way I mix, I find it a very, very friendly PA problems with the computer section and eventually to use. There are great aspects to many of the other went back to the XL4. line arrays but, thus far, this one’s still my favourite. MO’C: Can you take us through some of your outboard MO’C: Norwest has supplied the PA system here but gear? you’ve brought in everything else? BE: I’ve got a lot of stuff – quite a few Distressors, BE: That’s correct.