Installation Case
- category:
- Concert
Dear Mr. Fantasy
— Yamaha Make Fantasy with PM5D —
Overview
It’s often the case that the most influential musicians, and those most loved by their peers, are the ones who never become high-profile household names.
Jim Capaldi was one such example. The drummer and lyricist was not only a key member of the highly influential band Traffic, but he also had significant solo success and enjoyed collaborations with many of the world’s greatest musicians: Hendrix, Santana, Clapton, George Harrison, and Paul Kossoff to name just a few.
Capaldi died of stomach cancer in 2005 at the age of 60, and in January 2007 a fitting tribute concert was held at London’s Camden Town Roundhouse, with all profits going to the Jubilee Action Street Children’s Appeal: a charity which Capaldi’s wife Aninha works for and which he had also helped with.
Simon Kirke, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Dennis Locorriere, Jon Lord, Gary Moore, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Paul Weller, Bill Wyman and, of course, Traffic’s Steve Winwood were just some of rock music’s royalty who were happy to spend an evening performing Traffic and Capaldi songs in honor of their former friend and colleague.
Titled “Dear Mr. Fantasy” after the Traffic song of the same name, the show’s varied line-up and inevitable last-minute changes that such ‘all star’ gigs always throw up meant that sound company RPA would be kept on its toes. But where better to give a thorough workout for their recently purchased Yamaha PM5D console?
- Place:
- Camden Town Roundhouse
- Performers:
- Simon Kirke, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Dennis Locorriere, Jon Lord, Gary Moore, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Paul Weller, Bill Wyman, Steve Winwood (Traffic)
- Interview date:
- 01/2007
Product List
- Mixers:
- PM5D, 02R96
Details
PM5Ds Take the Unexpected in Stride
“It would have been a very hard show to do with an analog console,” says RPA owner Ian Grove. “With such a large variety of acts, keeping everything running smoothly was going to be a challenge and we knew there would be unexpected elements. We didn’t know what some of the acts were going to do. For example we didn’t see Pete Townshend until the gig itself.”
He continues: “All of that made the recall side of board extremely useful. It meant we could set up at the rehearsals stage and then only have to tweak during the show. Probably three-quarters of the show was pre-programmed at rehearsals, but we still needed the flexibility of being able to mix on the fly.”
Total Reliability and Industry Acceptance
With digital consoles being essential for the show, the sheer number of artists meant that there would be a corresponding number of FOH and monitor engineers. Ian specified PM5Ds for both positions (the latter console supplied by Britannia Row) for more than just their excellent facilities.
“The main thing was the reliability of Yamaha consoles and that they seem to be the most accepted within the industry,” says Ian. “There are engineers who swear by analog consoles, but also those who use digital boards and get used to a certain operating system, as they’re all slightly different. The combination of facilities, user interface, and ease of use on Yamaha digital consoles makes them the most acceptable to the widest selection of engineers. So PM5Ds were the ideal choice for this show.”
Ian also specified a Yamaha 02R96, which was used as a sidecar desk for the announcements by event host ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris and as an interface between the PM5D and the separate console used exclusively for Steve Winwood’s set.
Recall Safe Saves the Day
Another of the challenges faced by RPA was that the rehearsals used the company’s d&b PA, but the show used Britannia Row’s Outline Butterfly line array system, which had originally been installed in the Roundhouse for the Vodafone Live Music Awards. But the PM5D’s recall safe facility ensured that potential problems when switching between the different systems were minimized.
“The first time we used the Butterfly system was on the day of the show. Different systems project differently so we had to make a few changes on the day. The PM5D’s recall safe options meant that we could quickly and easily change some elements of a particular scene, but not have to recall all the parameters,” says Ian.
“For example, we could keep a lot of the EQs recall safe, so they stayed the same throughout the programs, but we could quickly and easily change other parameters. Although I had mixed on PM5Ds previously, it was a facility I’d never really used before. But it was very intuitive, and the user interface made it very straightforward. It’s quite something!”
Run to the Limit ... with Flawless Operation
The PM5Ds certainly had a good workout. All 48 mono input channels and several of the stereo inputs were used. “We ran them right up to the limit and they worked flawlessly,” says Ian. “The snapshots and safe recall facilities were absolutely invaluable and it was a clear indicator to me that I had made the right decision to buy a PM5D.
“George (Moore - monitors) said the same, and that he’d have liked me to buy another one!”
Continuing on a streak of success, RPA has since taken its PM5D out on tour with Dennis Locorriere, the former lead singer with Doctor Hook.
“Again, we’ve worked the PM5D hard,” says Ian. “Every song has totally different settings. It’s all done on recalls, one program per song. There are eight effects used on one song alone. We’ve pushed the console to its maximum capability and it’s taken it all in stride.”
