Pittsburgh PA, The Rex Theatre

Okay, the best thing about the Rex Theatre in Pittsburgh is the pinball machine in the lobby.  It was right next to the merchandise sales table, and since I sold merch that night, I got to play a few good games.  Captain Fantastic, featuring Elton John (before he was knighted).  My high score was 94600.  Beat that!

In the theater, there was something seriously wrong with the PA, and the room wasn't helping at all.  I don't think I've ever had to fight as hard to keep things balanced.  I literally could not take out enough 630 Hz.  It was dumped completely on the house graphic, and also on every input channel, in both parametric mid sweeps.  And that wasn't the only problematic frequency.  All over the map, crazy drastic cuts were needed to smooth things out.  Thank goodness there was a separate monitor board, so I only had to get one mix right (one was a challenge).

What a way to end a tour, feeling like I was driving on ice the whole night, barely keeping it on the road.  Well, we still had fun, and I'd like to thank Lisa, the theater manager, Tim "Spankyman", the house manager, Chris on monitors and Rocky at FOH, shown below in action.  Kinda dark in there...

After the show, my boss bought pizza for all, and we hung out and partied like rock stars.  What a cool tour.  

Kent OH, The Kent Stage

Where do you play in Kent OH?  The Kent Stage.  The house sound guy was late, but other than that, things went smoothly and we had another fine show.  Bitter cold backstage, huddling around a few space heaters and keeping moving for warmth.  It was about 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

The Soundcraft Venue mostly worked.  The PA was okay.  I don't really remember too much else.

Ann Arbor MI, The Ark

The Ark is yet another favorite stop among the acoustic musicians.  A JBL MR series rig hangs from the ceiling, and at FOH sits a Soundcraft K2, and all the usual outboard gear.  This was a solo gig, not a co-bill, and it was nearly sold out.  Gotta love that.  Nice room, nice gear, great staff...  Props to Dan on sound who was more than helpful, he was a great guy to hang with.  They even let us stay quite late after, and still cheerfully helped us load out.

Madison WI, The Majestic Theatre

The Majestic Theatre in Madison has one very notable feature:  The balcony and back of the house take a turn, sharply angled like a broken nose.  Take a look at their online seating chart:

The main PA is hung straight on, and the only way the balcony gets coverage is by "bouncing" the sound up there off the walls.  It's actually not too bad up there, but it gets a bit swimmy there and in the back of the main level.  To get a real sense of what the people up front are hearing, you must leave the FOH booth.  The system was great, with a Digidesign D-show Profile out front, and PA with hung Martin traps and Turbosound subs.  Scott, the overall technical professor, was super solid and helpful, especially with showing me around the D-show Profile.  Many thanks!

Milwaukee WI, The Historic Turner Hall

Milwaukee's Historic Turner Hall is very old.  I'm sure it was lovely in its day, but it needs some TLC now.  It's still a nice vibe, and a cool place to take in a show.  And the tech crew runs a tight operation, with Simon as TD, Kevin at FOH, Dan on monitors, and Eric as the stagehand.  It was great working with these guys.  Here's Kevin at the helm at FOH.  

Everything at the hall is wooden and creaky, and the original turn of the century (190x?) stage has a pronounced rake.  On the walls, most of the paint has peeled away, leaving a patch work of plaster and exposed wood beams.  Maybe they're working on it, I didn't ask.  The ceiling had a series of nets suspended across the main ballroom area, presumably to catch falling plaster.  Here's a picture someone else took:

The PA was Martin top boxes and EAW subs, stacked on the hollow stage (quite boomy).  At FOH there was a Midas XL3 and all the regular outboard choices.  I think it's a better room for acoustic music, and a better PA for rock bands.  It took a bit of tweaking to get things tamed, but we got there and had a great show.  Here's some musician types on stage during sound check:

Lastly, a very large personal thank you to Simon.  After loading out and getting back to the hotel, I realized I left my iPod behind.  I called Simon and he called back right away, and promised he would figure out a way to help me.  Everyone would be gone from the club until after the time I needed to leave the next day, so he made a special trip in from home (over 30 minutes away) and even delivered my iPod to me at the hotel in the morning, in plenty of time before I had to leave.  I won't forget that kindness.  He fixed my mistake, and did so with kindness and a smile.  Simon, you're the best.

Minneapolis MN, The Guthrie Theatre

The fairly new complex at The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis was stunning.  I got to tour the whole place with Ross, the FOH sound tech.  There's a proscenium theatre (where we played), a thrust stage (a re-creation of the original Guthrie Theatre), and a black box space, all in one complex.  They have a production schedule that keeps them very busy, rotating productions with two spaces always running shows while the third space builds the next show.  We set up on the apron of the stage where the set was already built for a production of Shadowlands, the set reflecting the library with the famous wardrobe in "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe".

The tech crew is very proud of what they've accomplished at the Guthrie, and well they should be.  The system consists of L'Acoustic ARCS and EAW KF730 speakers, with various fills everywhere, all run over fiber networks, and mixed on the Stagetec Aurus.

Never heard of the Stagetec Aurus?  Me neither until now.  A German product that hasn't gained much traction here in the US, the Aurus is a digital mixer with an impressive interface.  The Guthrie has two, a larger one at FOH, and a smaller one at Monitors.  The surfaces are merely large remote controls for the brains that are centrally installed with the digital snakes and system networking downstairs (right next to the on-site professional recording studio).

I have to say, it's pretty cool.  Ross was an excellent teacher, and I got the basic mixing procedures down in just a few minutes.  The only peculiarity of this system is that Stagetec does not include any on-board effects.  I guess the approach is that rather than try to create effects for every user, they would rather the user select the outboard gear they want to use, and patch it like an analog board, reducing latency and increasing choices.

Honorable mention to Paul on monitors, and Gary the stagehand, and many thanks to Mitch, the TD.  What a great crew, and what a great space.  If you get the chance to visit the Guthrie, make sure you take in the view at the top lobby at night.  Amazing.  And try the restaurant.  Yum.

Reports back from the talent indicate there's somewhat of an aural disconnect for the performers on stage, in that it's hard to hear the house from the stage.  So they felt oddly distanced from the audience, but that's the only down side here.  The sound in the house was incredible, so the audience was very happy.

The next morning, I got to visit my friend Ben Geffen at the Walker Art Center.  It was great to see him and get the tour there too.  Minneapolis is obviously a great place for the arts.  Thanks Ben!

Chicago IL, The Old Town School Concert Hall

In Chicago, at The Old Town School of Folk Music, the Concert Hall is a unique and intimate place to see a show.  It's wide and shallow, with a balcony that wraps around, and pews of seats toward the back with an area up front that can either be open for standing/dancing, or filled with tables and chairs.  The sound system is a custom mix of Renkus-Heinz stuff, in LCR positions, but all in mono, with JBL subs.  It's almost like a the front part of a cinema sound system, but in mono.  At FOH is a Soundcraft MH2, dbx comps, an MPX-1 and a M2000, along with KT EQs.  FOH also drives the Bag End monitors.

Peter was the house sound guy, and he was most helpful.  Many thanks, it was the first gig back after two weeks off for Thanksgiving, and it was a welcome return to the shows.  It was a long day, starting in Seattle, flying to Chicago, checking into the hotel, and then going to the gig, but I barley even felt tired!  It must be that I enjoy what I do so much, I didn't notice.

I even went out after the show, to get a mini-size pizza at Pizzeria Due, to try the Chicago deep dish pizza style right there where it started.  Pizza like that at midnight will sit with you for most of the next day.  It was fabulous and filling and tasty.