You can call it “The Big Show,” or perhaps “The Main Event,” and for a great many pros in the sound reinforcement industry, all eyes and ears will be on Orlando for InfoComm 2013. This year, the convention kicks off its conference program on June 8, with the not-to-be-missed exhibit floor opening its doors on June 12. The audio demo rooms begin a day earlier, on June 11, giving attendees more time to focus on actually hearing products in a live and up-close environment.
With the continual improvements in the national economic picture, InfoComm marks an excellent opportunity to evaluate current purchases, while keeping an eye out for products and technologies that fit into your future plans and systems.
Highlights Galore
Of course, on that subject, this year’s show has a lot to see — and hear. FRONT of HOUSE will be there to catch all the action, and we’ll provide complete coverage of the highlights of InfoComm 2013 next month, in our July issue. For those who can’t wait, watch our fohonline.com website for exclusive FOH-TV show videos and breaking news stories as they happen. We’ve also provided a sneak peek at some of the show’s audio product debuts in our “New Gear for InfoComm” section, beginning on page 24.
Another highlight of this issue is an in-depth look at Avid’s highly anticipated new S3L, a modular, scalable live sound console/recording system on page 52, which makes its first major public showing at InfoComm 2013. The S3L definitely marks a departure for Avid’s sound reinforcement offerings, both in terms of its modular design and lower pricing, which opens the VENUE platform to a much wider user base.
The Other Big Event(s)
Huge stadium tours may be somewhat a rarity these days, but over the past few years, there’s been a huge increase of fan interest in festivals. Whether as smaller, local one- or two-day events, or as huge productions that span over several days, the festival scene is hot and provides huge opportunities for regional sound companies, subcontractors and freelance engineers and techs.
This month, we take a look at the birth and successful launch of BottleRock Napa Valley, a major new five-day/80-band festival that took place last month in the heart Northern California’s wine country. Music and wine seem to be a popular combination — at least from the popularity of winery shows which have sprung up all across the country — so this festival seemed a good idea, and the successful implementation of the upscale BottleRock event was a “win-win-win” situation for the promoters, the production companies and the local business economy as well.
Bringing an event that drew between 140,000 and 180,000 attendees to five stages in a fairgrounds that bordered a residential district on one side and an electrical power substation on the other brought its own set of challenges. Fortunately, Delicate Productions, which was brought in to handle audio, lights and video, worked closely with the promoters and came up with technology solutions that left both the community and music fans pleased with the outcome. Catch our detailed report, which starts on page 30.
But success rarely happens by accident. Large events require careful planning, the right team, the right tools and a lot of smart thinking. On the personal side of that topic, David Morgan offers some useful suggestions (on page 55) for surviving one-offs and festivals from the engineer’s viewpoint. Keeping a few of these suggestions in mind just might make your next outing a lot easier. On the theme of “planning is everything,” Steve La Cerra kicks off a new multi-part series (page 57) on the art of being both a tour manager and FOH mixer, based on his many years of experience on the road handing both chores for Blue Öyster Cult. And on page 50, Phil Graham takes an practical and in-depth examination of generators, which present all sorts of complications — in terms of safety and audio quality — to anyone who’s doing audio in an outdoor environment where hard-wired AC power isn’t available. This is an essential and important topic — check it out.
And Lots More!
There’s plenty more in this issue, including our annual spotlight on sports facility installations on page 36. And if you happen to be in Orlando this month for InfoComm, please stop by and say hello at booth 5950. Travel safely, and we’ll see you at the show!
Catch George’s commentary at www.fohonline.com/foh-tv.
