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Kylie Feeds the 500 Through W8LC
A unique private concert was given by Kylie Minogue in a converted Barcelona casino recently. The audience comprised 500 VIP guests of Deutsche Bank, who were treated to a 70-minute Greatest Hits show, with sound reinforcement provided by Kylie’s system providers, Capital Sound Hire.
Forming the repertoire was a mixture of arrangements from the last two major tours, Fever and A Night Like This, although the staging was on a much smaller scale than the conventional touring production. The venue was the Finca Mas Solers outdoor casino, just outside the Catalan capital, and Cap Sound were contracted on behalf of Kylie Minogue, by the event production company, Outer Sanctum.
Although this was only a one-off show, the preparation took in excess of two weeks, with ten days rehearsals and four days on-site time. “The production was quite specific,” explained Paul Timmins of Cap Sound, who have been working with Kylie for the past four years. This was because the full ensemble — including drums, guitar, bass, keyboard player, two backing vocals and Kylie herself — were all on in-ear monitors.
At front-of-house, Martin Audio W8LC Compact Line Array loudspeakers were flown in two hangs of seven per side, under a pair of WLX subs, with a floor-mounted W8LS on each wing. The system was optimised using ViewPoint predictive software.
The stage was built by Outer Sanctum to Kylie’s specifications, but with the system flown about three metres behind the front line of the stage, the dispersion was quite adequate to cover the nearfield, obviating the need to use the front fills.
Paul Timmins remained confident that this configuration would not induce feedback. “When we did the Fever tour in 2002 there was a similar thrust; it worked then, with Kylie performing in front of the PA, so that when we knew there was going to be a stage extension again I was confident — despite the proximity of Kylie to the hangs.”
The bigger problem, he says, was in access and loading. “We had eight trucks of equipment, including the Vari-Lite lighting,” he said. “In total we carried a crew of 93 people — for an audience of just 500!”
Engineering the show were Kylie’s trusty team of Chris Pyne (at FOH) and Rod Matheson (monitors), who agreed that the use of Martin’s mid-sized W8LC line arrays had been perfect for the requirements of one of Kylie’s first ever private corporate shows. “This was the first time I have used the W8LC's as a main system and I was very happy with the result,” retorts Chris. “I also think Martin have one of the best rigging systems on the market today! Dispersion wise the system worked well and we were able to aim it just over the front lip of the stage and avoid any feedback problems with Kylie’s vocal mic.”
The system was tuned using XTA devices. Four DP 226's controlled the 16 x W8LC line arrays, four WLX and two W8LS subs. The W8LC’s were running 6-way, with two mid bands and three high bands in use. The subs were controlled using a DP226.
Production managing the show was Kevin Hopgood, working alongside tour manager, Shaun Fitzpatrick. Cap Sound’s Dave Wooster was system tech — and Colin Partridge superintended the DigiCo D5 mixing desk.
In picture: Chris Pyne at FOH — with W8LC in the background and Martin Line Array against the spectacular backdrop of the Casino.
17th August 2004
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