10/12: Roseland Ballroom:
Attendance: 3500
Cap: 3500

New York City! Big buildings, bright lights, and the biggest show of our tour. The 3500 capacity Roseland Ballroom was the next stop on our adventure across the country. It’s a bit of a shame that the biggest show of the tour was so early on. But either way, we were ready to rock it.

The day started off great for everyone. The local union loaders took care of getting all the gear off the truck and into the venue. We didnt have to touh a single case on the way in(we really werent even allowed to), which was great. Just point where the case needed to go, and they took care of it. They set up all of our risers and made things come together very quickly.

I walked into the venue and was very happy to see that they had met my rider needs for the PA. I had 6 JBL VT4889’s per side, 12 subs in the middle and a Yamaha PM5D out front. Im not a huge fan of JBL Vertec’s, but I had to make due with them.

CAUTION: SOUND NERD STUFF:
I’ve never been a fan of JBL highs. It’s just something about them that I dont like. They always seem to have way too much 6.3k and 8k. They are overly bright and get harsh very quickly. Come to think of it, Im not a fan of the whole JBL mid/high section on the vertecs. They have a horn honk that can get out of control and the mids have a certain characteristic to them that I really dont like. And it’s not just one set of boxes. Every JBL rig Ive ever mixed on has had the same problem. I highly prefer the sound of d&b or V-Dosc to these boxes. The only good thing I see with Vertecs is how easy they fly. Sound quality always leaves a lot to be desired…

The rig as Roseland packed every usual Vertec issue. The mid high section of the boxes just gets out of control when you start pushing the boxes. I ended up taking a big cut out of the PA at 2.5-4k and again at 6-8k. That smoothed it out enough to make it workable.

END SOUND NERD STUFF.

After Sound check I decided to take a walk outside to scope out the line. I walked out the front door and saw the start of the line to my left. Then I looked to my right and saw the end of the line! So, the line for the show completely wrapped around the whole city block. It was insane. There was also a barricade keeping the kids from coming up to the front door. As soon as they moved the barricade, the kids started running toward the front door. I saw a little girl in the front of the line start to run, trip, fall and get completely trampled. I never saw her again…

Come show time the place was completely packed. 3500 screaming kids were inside of the venue. When ATL hit the stage I was pushing 108dBA at FOH for the intro. The crowd was still overpowering the PA. The kids were singing louder then I could mix. The vertec’s were giving it all they had and it just wasnt enough. I finally settled on a 106dBA mix and it seemed to work well. I was into complete limit on the subs and lows of the PA, and was tapping the limiters on the mids during louder parts of the show. 6 boxes a side wasnt quite enough rig for the gig… It would have been nice to have 1-2 more boxes a side just for a little more get up and go.

But in the end, the show was a complete success. Everything was flawless in the set, and all the upper end management of the band was very happy with everything. The night couldnt have gone any better.

10/13: 9:30 Club, Washington DC
Attendance: 1200
Cap: 1200

Ive done this venue many times before. I pretty much have always known what to expect at this place. I was expecting to walk in and see the usual EAW KF850/SB100z rig in there, but I got a pretty nice surprise instead… They had replaced the old rig with a brand new d&b J-series system and B2 subs. A Digidesgn Profile was also now living out front. I fired the system up and it just sounded fantastic. Great all around with no EQ at all. Sound check went very smooth, and the show was just as good. I was averaging 106dBA for most of the show, but with the low end slamming, I was hitting peaks of 122dBC. It was insane. During Dear Maria, I opened the rig up some more and hit 110dBA @ FOH, and the system wasnt even struggling. I was still 20dB down from limit on the mains!

After that show I would say 9:30 club has the best installed system in the country. It absolutely blew me away.

After the show, I got to head home with Roxanne and spend a nice relaxing night at home. Cant beat that!

Back to the world of rock and roll!