Liverpool based ADLIB rounded off a busy April 2012 tour supplying sound, lighting and rigging equipment plus crew to globally successful comedian Jeff Dunham on his “Controlled Chaos” Tour.
In doing so, the company was renewing its penchant for working with some of the funniest people on the planet!
Lighting
The tour already had a design in place and a spec to which ADLIB worked.
Based on four trusses, the front one was in the ‘advanced' position, around 30 feet out from the front of stage. This was rigged with eight Martin Professional MAC 700 Wash moving lights, four ETC Source Four Profiles with 19 degree lenses and seven 4-way linear Moles for audience illumination.
Above the middle section of the stage was a 56 ft wide truss that provided mid-stage lighting positions for 12 MAC 700 Profiles and a 24ft wide by 18ft high projection screen flown at 8 ft off the ground, complete with black drape masking.
The back truss also had black wool serge drapes hung on it for masking.
7.5 metres upstage of this was a flown 2 metre truss section that accommodated two video projectors supplied by video contractors XL Video. The blacks on the back truss masked the left and right sides of the screen, leaving a clear path for the projector beams to shoot through.
On the stage floor at the back were 10 x PixelPAR 90 fixtures, up-lighting the rear blacks.
ADLIB also supplied a pipe-and-drape system onstage which was covered in black wool serge and used to mask beneath and around the bottom sides of the screen.
The lighting was programmed and operated by ADLIB's Charlie Rushton on an Avolites Pearl Expert console running the latest TITAN software. The cue list was supplied by Dunham's touring team and programmed at the first show.
Dunham was lit in white throughout, while the stage was washed in a variety of different colours, coded according to which of the five ‘characters' was acting out the scene with him.
Rushton worked with Jeff Bond as crew, everything went very smoothly and they also enjoyed the show!
Sound
FOH engineer Richie Nicholson and systems designer / engineer Tony Szabo were joined by Alan Harrison, and together they ensured that Dunham's multiple voices were audible loud and clear throughout each venue.
The main sonic challenge was keeping the sightlines absolutely clear for the audience to see the IMAG video screen which itself was 12 ft upstage. With the facial expressions of Dunham and his array of characters so vital to getting the punch lines, there was zero compromise on this aspect!
It involved the main hang of 14 x L-Acoustics K1 and 3 x Kara downfills being positioned 1.5 metres upstage of the downstage edge of the stage. This had to be achieved avoiding any feedback whilst still reaching a premium level in the mic and not obscuring the screen.
The elegant contours and superlative sound quality and power of the K1 made it a perfect choice. Left-and-right of the main arrays were side hangs of 10 x L-Acoustics Kudo, and at the bottom were 3 x SB28 subs-a-side to accommodate the low-end jokes!
Along the front lip of the stage six Kara's provided front fill, their low profile ideal for the application on the 4 ft high stage.
These were all driven by LA8 amplifiers running the new L2 Network Manager software. ADLIB supplied one of their standard Lake LM44 / 26 systems for control, which was run over Dante protocol.
The mixing console was an Avid SC48, specified by Nicholson.
The monitors comprised of four of ADLIB's new MP4 wedges which did an excellent job, driven by Labgruppen PM10000 amps. The MP series of wedges has become legendary in the live show environment, with its expedient size, power and quality output. The MP4 takes all the proven design elements of the MP3 combined with the latest driver technology into another first class multi-purpose product.
Completing the sound package was a Shure KSM9 mic plus backup.
Everyone was delighted with the results. Says ADLIB Account Handler Phil Kielty,
“Hooking up with production manager Marnell White again, after Adlib's partnership with Jeff Dunham's 2010 tour was a real joy. Marnell is so easy going and we all ensure everything is just right, so Jeff can do what he does best and entertain capacity crowds. His ever increasing array of characters from Achmed to Walter & Peanut now take pride of place in the ADLIB offices.”
For more press info. on ADLIB, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679 or +44 (0)7831 329888, or Email ‘[email protected]', Contact ADLIB direct on +44 (0)151 486 2214 or check www.adlibsolutions.co.uk