Re: [ARSCLIST] Mellencamp

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Robert:

For me, this sums it up:
"alas, so has the volume levels now that the distortion is mostly gone."

I can't afford the hearing damage (or the ticket prices)!

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wasserman, Robert A - WHS" <Robert.Wasserman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 6:25 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mellencamp


Yes, the sound quality of most large concerts has greatly improved over
the years, but alas, so has the volume levels now that the distortion is
mostly gone. 
It is nice now when the only audio snakes needed to run for some shows
are now just CAT 5 computer cables, though some shows are still touring
with parts of systems originally built in the 1970's!!!!

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tom Fine
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 4:55 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mellencamp

I haven't been to a large-venue live show since the mid-1990's. Has the
sound quality gotten better 
with all this new technology? The reason I stopped going was if I didn't
use serious earplugs, I 
knew I was breaking my hearing and if I did, the sound quality was
awful. I would think that in-ear 
monitor setups would allow for better sound since that's one less place
to fight feedback?

My wife and I went to the Willie Nelson/Bob Dylan minor league ballpark
tour two summers ago. 
Willie's show actually sounded great. We were seated down the 3rd base
side toward the outfield. The 
stage was set up in the outfield with a self-contained sound system, not
using the stadium PA 
system. Like I said, Willie was great. Dylan was so loud, so distorted
and so unintelligable that we 
opted to save our ears and walked out.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wasserman, Robert A - WHS"
<Robert.Wasserman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mellencamp


Yes, I work many shows in my other job as an IATSE stagehand, and many
bands travel with a recordist, even some smaller "jam" bands have a
separate person to do only that, and for a few years now some now sell
CDR's of that nights show for $25 quickly bulk copied after the show for
leaving concert goers. Almost every band records audio and video these
days during a show, though not always a separate crew member to do that.
I hope they have some kind of archivist!!!

Also most bands do have their own monitor mix person(s), as do all of
the Broadway productions, though usually not one alone for a specific
performer, I recently worked a show on the Kevin Chesney tour, and even
though they were all using digital boards with gobs of extra memory, we
had to set up and switch during the show breaks 3 full completely
different monitor systems for the 3 band's crews.


-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of steven c
Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 8:28 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mellencamp

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Mellencamp has a personal archivist/headphone mixer?
>
> KIDDING!
No, quite possible...I used to be fairly close friends with Jeff Healey
(whom I met through CAPS and 78 collecting) and during his rock-music
heyday, he travelled with a full support crew! In fact, about anybody
who has reached "rock star" status (or THINKS they have, anyway) doesn't
have to do much other than sing and/or play on stage. I was quite
impressed when Jeff arranged a backstage pass for me for a John Mayall
show...and Mayall & Co. came in carrying their own equipment and set
it up themselves.

OTOH, what I iosually get is "The house PA is over there...I hope you
know how to use one of those!" (or else "I hope you guys travel with
a PA, 'cause we don't have one!). I recall one time I got there and
there was no stage lighting...so I had to rush to Canadian Tire,
and buy four garden spotlights (two red, two blue), a roll of
duct tape and a couple of 12' extension cords. When I got it
cobbled together and hung up, it looked almost like REAL stage
lighting!

Steven C. Barr