Sound Company
Various (Promoter provided subcontracted P.A.)
Venue
Various (Tour)
Crew
- FOH Engineer: Reggie Griffith
- Monitor Engineer: Frank V Farrell
- Systems Tech: Bryson Jenkins
- Guitar Techs: Bob Kemmis, Kyle Lutz
- Drum Tech: Will Spodnick
- Ableton/Piano/Keys/MIDI and Melodica Tech: Louis Pavlo
Gear
FOH
- Console: Avid S6L
- Speakers: Promoter provided subcontracted main hangs subs and fills, with d&b and Clair CO systems preferred as rental options
- Processing: F6/C6 comps, SSL comps
MON
- Console: Avid S6L
- Processing: Avid console plugins; additional plugins: McDSP, Waves, Empirical Labs Arouser, Sonnox Oxford
- Speakers: d&b audiotechnik M2/M4 wedges
- Amps: d&b D80
- Mics: Sennheiser e935, Neumann 104, Telefunken M80, DPA 4099, Ear Trumpet Labs, Earthworks SR25
- Wireless: Shure Axient AD4Q, PSM 1000
Tour Details
Elvis Costello toured North America in June and July with fellow hall-of-famers along for the ride, including Steve Nieve (keys), Pete Thomas (drums), Davey Faragher (bass) and Charlie Sexton (guest guitarist). Steve Jennings spoke with FOH engineer Reggie Griffith and monitor engineer Frank Farrell about supporting the shows.
Reggie Griffith, FOH Engineer
Griffith notes that, given the caliber of the band members, they pretty much command the sonic spotlight the whole show. “The most important approach when it comes to the mix, with such a dynamic- acoustic to techno, is controlling any and all open microphones, mostly manually in real time, says Griffith. To constantly try to lower the noise floor. Fader compression is my companion this entire tour.”
Griffith has his reliable go to plugins, the SSL series of comps and channels and F6/C6 comps that he uses. “The first several shows since there were no rehearsals was spent dialing them in on a show that would have whispered songs and slamming 808 samples. Using the S6L is the keystone to a mix of clarity.”
Griffith notes the collection of vocal mics for the tour. “Besides the Ear Trumpet Labs vocal mic, there’s a Bullet vocal, a Neumann and a Sennheiser e935 vocal used at any time on any song. I inherited this layout sound designed from some great engineers- Fern Alvarez, Michelle Sabolchick and Pete Keppler. I’m upholding a standard they’ve handed over.” Griffith adds that five weeks into dialing in the tour he went into rehearsals when they added horns for the last portion of the tour. “A great challenge and very fulfilling to work with a team creatively driven.”
Frank V Farrell, Monitor Engineer
Frank Farrell is mixing monitors for the tour. When he came onboard, he inherited a well-planned system from Steve McCale that had the band and background vocals on IEM’s and Elvis on wedges with side-fills and subs all time-aligned to a four foot center position. “Over time this changed to Elvis wanting a simpler setup with three locations for his exploration and everyone else going to wedges at their locations. I found that most of what was needed to create soundscapes for the IEM’s was not needed in wedges.”
With wedge monitors, at lower volume, each player needs a mix based on their stage location compared to the sound of the other musicians, with the goal of a natural blend between the two, says Farrell. “Elvis and his band work very hard at keeping the stage volume appropriate for the style of song being performed. Elvis’s catalog is so diverse, the band can be playing a hard driving punk rock song and next play a song reminiscent of the 1930’s complete with an Arco upright bass solo. This keeps me on my toes and gives me great pleasure and satisfaction when it all goes to plan.”
Farrell’s plugins consist of McDSP and all the Avid Plugins (he is a beta tester for the S6L). “I also use Waves, the Empirical Labs Arouser and a few Sonnox Oxford plugins. My world is more about correcting than enhancing. I mainly work with phase and stage distance to keep my world in check. It’s more about not doing things that has kept me in this chair. After I get wedges set, I help Reggie see how much real estate is left in the room before feedback for Elvis’s vocals as he wants the flexibility to sing with the intensity he sees fit for the song and it’s Reggie’s gig to bring that to the back of the house. Not as easy as it sounds. All the other seven locations on stage are stereo mixes using d&b M4 mix powered with a D80. The guitar tech and keyboard tech are using IEM’s. We have 20 wedges with 80 inputs.”
