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[Mac Kerr]

I just got home from a week at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas doing a beer company distributers conference. Lots of hours, usually working 8am to 10pm, and one day of 8am to 2am. I'd like to sleep for a week, but tomorrow I fly to Ft Lauderdale to do the same thing for a pharmaceutical client. It beats not working.

We were all set to have a band from Denmark, Asteroid Galaxy Tour, close the morning session, we had the band carts built so the could roll out from under the screen while playing, the backline was in place, we were just waiting for the band to arrive so we could soundcheck with them. They were being flown over to play one 4 minute song, one that they had played in a commercial in Europe. It was a long wait. They were unable to get visas, and we had to cut them from the show. It was a disappointment, but considering how long the days were without integrating the band into all the other elements, probably a blessing.

The PA at the Joint is pretty nice. There are 12 d&b J8s over 2 J12s per side, with 6 flown JSubs per side. We didn't use the 2 Infras per side because we had audience seating right up to them on the floor. Both the FOH console and the Mon console are Avid Profiles, and the house wiring is up to date with 24x4 spigots at several spots around the stage wired to a 96 channel Radial splitter.

It was a bit of a learning experience for me as I didn't have any actual show experience on a Profile, only a couple of afternoons in a shop trying it out. As someone pretty familiar with Yamaha consoles the workflow took some getting used to. I think the Yamaha scene capabilities are better, and easier to use, and I think it is a PITA to have to use plug ins for eq and dynamics on output channels, there  are only native graphic eqs, but there are plug ins to do all that, and the FOH console had both the Venue Pack, and the Waves Live Sound bundle. I also prefer the file handling system on a PM5D, the labels are not always clear on the Profile. I do really like the way the Profile does stereo channels, Yamaha should pay attention to that.

We didn't stress the system, although there was a lot of pretty loud playback from the 11 stereo playback machines (6 video playback computers, 2 graphics computers, 2 Instant Replays, and 1 Laptop running iTunes), but the night before our load in DJ Tiesto was in. I expect he stressed the system much more than we did. Their show ran till 4am, and the load out was still going on when our load in started at 7am.

In addition to the 11 stereo playback machines, there were 12 executive RF lavs, 2 RF string players, a couple of BS VO mics, a FOH VO mic, some audience reaction mics for applause in the recordings, and a BU RF in the assistant stage manager's pocket. Had the band gotten their visas there would have been 24 more mics on the band. This show filled up the Instant Replays more than any other I have worked on. Between the 2 of them I had over 80 individual hot keys programmed. I had to set up a playlist for each machine for each of 4 sessions throughout the day as I was not confident that I could hit the right cues in the dark as fast as I needed to. The playlists worked out fine.

Here are some phone photos of FOH, the PA, the biggest teleprompter I've worked with, and a shot of the show.

Mac

[Lee Brenkman]

Mac,

I know you're busy in Ft. Lauderdale but when you get the time...

Is that the usual FOH position at the new Joint?

I remember at the old place the mix position was in a balcony and I nearly hurt myself running up and down the spiral staircase to the stage level.

[Daniel Cash]

Mac,

Thank you for posting this, its fun to see how things work at the top of the industry.

I dont know if you are trying to protect the name of your client, but you might want to change the name of your first picture.

Have you ever used QLab? If you were using the Instant Replays as a playlist, QLab might have been a better fit.  Maybe you require the playback to be a hardware device only?

[Tom Young]

I just got home from a week at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas doing a beer company distributers conference. Lots of hours, usually working 8am to 10pm, and one day of 8am to 2am. I'd like to sleep for a week, but tomorrow I fly to Ft Lauderdale to do the same thing for a pharmaceutical client. It beats not working....... Here are some phone photos of FOH, the PA, the biggest teleprompter I've worked with, and a shot of the show.

Mac

Thanks, Mac. Fascinating and insightful.

Your post reminds me of how much I miss doing gigs and (at the same time) why I don't do them anymore 

But I can't help feeling envious. And I just may get up and walk to my mailbox so I don't feel quite as much like a common, garden-variety slug.

Hope you fare well over the next week.

[Mac Kerr]

Mac,

I know you're busy in Ft. Lauderdale but when you get the time...

Is that the usual FOH position at the new Joint?

I remember at the old place the mix position was in a balcony and I nearly hurt myself running up and down the spiral staircase to the stage level.

Lee, yes that is the new FOH position. In our case it was mostly full of lighting, who had to leave one of the Grand MA consoles in the case, there was only room for 3.

Mac

[Mac Kerr]

Have you ever used QLab? If you were using the Instant Replays as a playlist, QLab might have been a better fit.  Maybe you require the playback to be a hardware device only?

I have used QLab, I have been on shows where my only responsibility was setting up and organizing QLab, but it not as useful in a run and gun situation as Instant Replays are. This show was unusual in the number of sound cues, and how fast they came. I'll see in the morning if I have 2 IRs this week, if I do I won't need both.

Mac

[James Feenstra]

Lee, yes that is the new FOH position. In our case it was mostly full of lighting, who had to leave one of the Grand MA consoles in the case, there was only room for 3.

Mac

4 mas? Really? Why so many desks, there's not that many fixtures in that rig

[Mac Kerr]

4 mas? Really? Why so many desks, there's not that many fixtures in that rig

One board for lighting, one board for video fixtures (DL3s) and LED wall, plus a BU of each. They went with a single BU board programmed for both versions. It's a pretty common setup in my experience.

Mac

[James Feenstra]

One board for lighting, one board for video fixtures (DL3s) and LED wall, plus a BU of each. They went with a single BU board programmed for both versions. It's a pretty common setup in my experience.

Mac

Interesting

Wouldn't it be more cost effective to run it all off one desk with a backup running in tracking mode? If its a matter of dmx output that's what nsps are for

Mind you, if the clients willing to pay for 4 desks, more power to them!

[Mac Kerr]

Interesting

Wouldn't it be more cost effective to run it all off one desk with a backup running in tracking mode? If its a matter of dmx output that's what nsps are for

Mind you, if the clients willing to pay for 4 desks, more power to them!

No. That would mean all the programming for both kinds of content has to be done by one operator. In the kind of events I do there is heavy production that requires being able to make lots of changes very quickly, often right up to doors opening. Even with two operators they often have to work through the night to keep up with changes. On some shows we also have someone who creates content on another system (MBox) and updates the show machines.

It is about being ready for any eventuality.

Mac

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