ENGLAND — Featuring internationally renowned surf and skate competitions, the week-long Rip Curl Boardmasters festival held in Newquay Cornwall, also features top line music events at various locations around the beachside town. Three iLive digital systems were used by two PA companies managing the two main music sites.
The main music event is the weekend-long Unleashed, the South West's largest outdoor music festival, which takes place above the Watergate Bay. This year’s event hosted BBC Radio 1’s Chris Moyles for a special one-off afternoon show. Local PA company, Impact Sound & Light Ltd., managed the sound requirements, selecting an Allen & Heath iLive-112 digital system for the live show and broadcast feed. The Zutons were special guests on the live show, performing an acoustic set to the assembled crowd, in addition to the usual Moyles show elements, such as the mash up sessions, involving a live DJ contest between the presenters.
“First of all, load-in and setup is very simple with iLive as the system runs on CAT5 cable, which connects the stage rack to the control surface at FOH, so there is no hassle installing a multicore. The iLive-112 surface is very light and compact, which makes it ideal for transporting around and space-saving in the FOH area, which can often be ‘cosy’ in a festival situation,” explains Impact’s MD, John Burbridge. “More important than the logistical aspects, iLive sounds stunning — it’s crystal clear — I am astonished by the sonic quality.”
The main focus of the Rip Curl Boardmasters festival is on the famous Fistral Beach, which hosts the 5 Star Rip Curl Pro Men’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) surfing competition, featuring some of the world’s best surfers competing for a $100,000 prize purse. Europe’s biggest skate competition, the Vans Summer Session, runs alongside it.
UK pop-punk newcomers, Elliot Minor, opened the festivities with an hour-long set held in the beach side Fosters Beach Bar. AV requirements were managed by SPS Systems, who selected an iLive-144 system at FOH, with an identical system on monitors. SPS took the opportunity to use the newly released v1.3 of the iLive software, which includes new features for monitor engineering, such as IEM stereo fader.
“This was the first time the band’s engineer had used iLive but he soon got to grips with the system. He also commented how it sounded miles better than other digital desks he’d come across,” explains Allen & Heath’s product manager, Leon Phillips, who was providing support to SPS at the event.
The same venue and technical setup was used for the Beach Sessions, five nights of live music from some of the world's best up and coming acts, including Kids in Glass Houses, Rodney P and The Nextmen, British Sea Power, Shapeshifter and Seth Lakeman.
FOH engineer, Dave Cann, from BCS Audio mixed Seth Lakeman’s show, using the new software: “Dave is a true systems guy and really warmed to the idea of AB mic inputs for quick-change stage set ups, EtherSound and other I/O options compatibility, and using PL remote controllers for FX and other immediate mixing tasks,” explains Phillips.
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