FRONT of HOUSE caught two sold-out nights of Måneskin at San Francisco’s Masonic Auditorium, performing stellar performances on the U.S. leg of its “The Loud Kids Tour.” Måneskin (the name, taken from the Danish word for “moonlight,” is pronounced moh-nay-skin) are an Italian rock band formed in 2016 with three albums out, topping the Italian and European music charts, winning the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest and just weeks ago, receiving a 2023 Grammy Award nomination for “Best New Artist.”
Although the band has toured extensively (including an opening slot for The Rolling Stones a year ago at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas), The Loud Kids Tour is the band’s first North American headlining tour, with the current leg wrapping up on Dec. 16, 2022 at the 4,500-seat The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas (formerly known as “The Joint”). After a month “off” in January — during which the band will launch RUSH!, its new album release — Måneskin’s 18-country European leg begins at Pesaro, Italy’s 13,300-seat Adriatic Arena on Feb 23, 2023, and winds up on May 19 at the 10,000-capacity Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia.
Composed of vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi and drummer Ethan Torchio, Måneskin exploded on the scene after arriving on U.S. shores and it’s easy to see why. The band is known for its fun and energetic shows and everyone was definitely having a good time in San Francisco, with the second night bringing even more high intensity to the stage (and in the crowd) for both the band and fans alike. We got a chance to speak with the audio crew — front of house engineer Enrico la Falce, monitor engineer Remo Scafati, systems engineer Domenico Lettini and Pro Tools engineer Luca Pellegrini — about the tour.
Enrico la Falce
FOH Engineer
FOH engineer Enrico la Falce is using the Yamaha Rivage PM3 for Måneskin’s tour. Since La Falce switched from an analog console to a digital board, he says he’s always been using Yamaha as his console of choice. “I did several tours with the PM5D then I went for the CL5 and now I am really happy to use the Rivage PM3, which is a wonderful machine. The board is really easy to use, is compact, has tons of brilliant plug-ins and it sounds huge.”
La Falce is comfortable using either hardware outboard or virtual processing and says he can make the band sound good whether it’s real or a plug-in. The Rivage PM series includes over 50 plug-ins, and ample processing power allows up to 256 instances of complex plug-ins such as the Portico 5033 or Portico 5043 to be used simultaneously. ”Using the Rivage PM3, the plug-ins I have available, I don’t regret missing the hardware racks. What I use most is the U76 to compress the snare drum, the Comp 276 for bass, Opt-2A for vox and guitar, Rupert EQ 773 more or less on every channel and the one I love most — the Portico II Master Buss Processor.”
As the band’s studio engineer as well as FOH mixer on the road, and being the person who mixes all of Måneskin’s records, la Falce adds that “technique-wise,” there is no a drastic difference between mixing the band live or in the studio. “My approach is always to have a big — but not annoying — sound and to have as much intelligibility as possible in a live environment. I can say I’m a really lucky guy — this crew is my family and I love working and being around them. Måneskin are a very talented young band and it’s always a real big pleasure to work with them.”
Remo Scafati
Monitor Engineer
At the moment, monitor engineer Remo Scafati is using a DiGiCo SD10 desk. In the past, he used an SSL 550 Live but for availability issues around the world he decided to adopt a more available brand.
“I’ve been using DiGiCo since 2003 with the D5 model and I’m really confident with this brand. In my opinion, its user interface is one the best for a digital desk and the internal features, like multiband compressors and dynamic equalizers on every channel, allow me to achieve the result in a fast way. As monitor engineer, I try always to have as little latency as possible (and plug-ins introduce it) and take full advantage of the desk. For me, achieving the goal without external gear is a must in terms of reliability, convenience and the speed of setup.”
Scafati notes that all band members are on in-ear monitors. “Sometimes vocalist Damiano David and Bassist Victoria De Angelis like to remove one or both molds to hear better as well as the audience or to listen to stage volume without total isolation.” Damiano and drummer Ethan Torchio use the German-made Vision Ears VE 5; Victoria uses Jerry Harvey Audio JH13V and guitarist Thomas Raggi uses Jerry Harvey Audio Lolas.
Damiano sings with a Sennheiser SKM 6000 wireless handheld; the capsule is DPA Microphones’ d:facto 4018V. “I’ve been using this capsule since the first moment with other artists and for me, it’s the first choice. We have added the silver studs around the mic body to avoid cupping the capsule — when he feels the studs in his hand he knows that is the limit,” he explains.
On Ethan Torchio’s kick drum, Damiano is using three mics: a Shure Beta 91, Shure Beta 52 and the Yamaha SKRM100 Subkick. “The last one is a loudspeaker in a drum shape used as a microphone, an electrical transducer used in reverse. It gives a great boost to the kick drum’s low end. We’re using a Sennheiser MD421 for Victoria’s Ampeg bass amp and for Thomas’ Marshall guitar amps, I have the combination of the Sennheiser MD421 and a Shure SM57.”
When you’re on a world tour, and you cannot always bring your own gear, simplicity can be a winning weapon, says Scafati. “Enrico and I are working ‘in-the-box’ with just our desks, which improves the speed of the setup and the reliability of the system, because the more machines you have, the more points of failure can appear. Another point for the monitor engineer is the latency. Any analog insert or software outboards have latency, and if the various inserts and paths are not aligned, the sound is a disaster. And musicians also perform better with the latency reduced to the minimum. Obviously things are different at FOH — if you have 12-15 ms or more, due to some Waves processing added to analog outboards plus extravagant routing, the issue is less relevant. The ‘kids’ in the band are young, but very professional and they know what they want in terms of sound on stage. so for me it’s quite easy to give it to them.”
Domenico Lettini
System Engineer Tech
The Måneskin tour in the U.S. takes place in venues where a resident P.A. system is supplied, notes systems engineer Domenico Lettini. “My monitoring system consists of using a Lake LM44, where the analog and Dante signals of Enrico’s PM3 console enter and a spare L / R is coming from the Mix Monitor, and I send the L / R / Sub / FF signals to the processor that manages the P.A. of the venue. For a verification of the P.A. system, I use Rational Acoustics’ Smaart V8 software with two iSEMcon EMX-7150 measurement mics, with one at FOH; the other I position at various points of the venue to obtain an average of the optimal frequency response. I pay particular attention to the phase between the primal system and the subs.”
With Lettini’s setup at FOH having two Lake LM44, a Focusrite 18i20 and a SmaartV8 Lake controller, he has another PC with Dante Virtual Soundcard to record the show and run the virtual sound check. “I monitor the Dante network with the Dante controller. My job consists of putting Enrico in the most suitable condition to perform his mix in the best way. I first do an analysis of the P.A. system, making any necessary changes to the frequency response and to the phase coherence between P.A. mains and subs after Enrico listens to the P.A. with virtual-sound check, inserting further changes on his indication. During the show, I am attentive to any changes in the response from the room with the audience. I’ll attach wiring and AC diagrams of the FOH setup for greater clarity.”
Lettini says the band’s sound is driven with big bass, drums and electric guitars. “With the band’s high-energy playing, Enrico wants to reproduce on record that same energy live so we need powerful and precise low frequencies and a defined mid-bass response that is controlled, along with a medium-high part present that’s non-invasive in the various venues. We have been able to obtain excellent results also because we take into consideration the various types of P.A.”
For this North American tour leg, the band is not carrying P.A., but Lettini notes that “if we were to carry P.A., my preferences would be for L-Acoustics K-Series as main / side fills, and Arcs II / A-Series as front fills. I also like a sub flown array of d&b audiotechnik GLS / KSL series main and side fills with a KLS-SUB flown-array, and d&b point-source speakers as front fills. I also like the JBL VTX25 series and Adamson’s Energia Series.”
Luca Pellegrini
Pro Tools Engineer
Pro Tools engineer Luca Pellegrini says the main environment is to delegate to a redundant Pro Tools system based on Playaudio interfaces for both audio and MIDI, while the SMPTE is entrusted to a Rosendahl Studiotechnik system that allows him to monitor, read and provide lighting director Jordan Babev a perfect time code. ”In fact, the entire show is mainly based on time code, both for audio and lighting. This allows us to automate many aspects, such as recalling presets on Vic’s [bassist Victoria De Angelis] and Thomas’ [guitarist Thomas Raggi’s] pedals for each part of the songs, making them free to move around the stage or go through the crowd without having to worry about foot pedals. A third monitor I have is a dedicated PC for recording all the 64 channels (via Dante) on Reaper.”
Pellegrini adds that, despite advanced technology, Måneskin will not use sequences. “It’s a very brave choice today. Except for one song where we have representative choirs, the rest of the show is simply made up of the four members getting all the guides needed to stay on grid for me and my Pro Tools — counters, clicks, reminders and references. The good part of working with Måneskin is that the work is always different; I follow them in the studio as a recording engineer, as well as in the post-production of their live gigs. They are truly beautiful people and that makes a big difference when you spend a lot of time with artists.”
The Loud Kids Tour wraps up its North American leg on Dec. 16, 2022 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Måneskin: The Loud Kids Tour 2022
AUDIO CREW
- FOH Engineer: Enrico la Falce
- Monitor Engineer: Remo Scafati
- System Engineer Tech: Domenico Lettini
- Pro Tools Engineer: Luca Pellegrini
- Production Manager: Matteo Xerri
P.A. GEAR
- Mains: House-supplied systems
- Analysis System: Rational Acoustics’ Smaart V8, (2) iSEMcon EMX-7150 measurement mics
- P.A. Drive: (2) Lake LM44, Focusrite 18i20
FOH GEAR
- FOH Console: Yamaha Rivage PM3
- Onboard Plug-ins: Yamaha Rivage U76, Comp 276, Opt-2A, Rupert EQ 773, Portico II Master Buss Processor
- Recording DAW: Reaper, fed via PC with Dante Virtual Soundcard
MONITOR GEAR
- Monitor Console: DiGiCo SD10
- IEMs: Vision Ears VE 5, JH JH13V, JH Lola
- Wireless: Sennheiser Digital 6000 Series
- Vocal Mic: DPA d:facto 4018V capsule on Sennheiser SKM 6000 transmitter
- Guitar Amp Mics: Sennheiser MD421, Shure SM57
- Bass Amp Mic: Sennheiser MD421
- Kick Drum Mics: Shure Beta 91, Shure Beta 52, Yamaha SKRM100 Subkick
