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DiGiCo for FOH World, Monitor World and Spice World
It perhaps came as something of a surprise to many that the Spice Girls reunion tour would end up taking in 47 shows, such was the demand for tickets. Certainly, 17 dates at the 20,000-capacity O2 arena in London is nothing to be sniffed at. It was always destined to be an absolutely top drawer show, so the sound needed top drawer consoles - three DiGiCo D5s, in fact.
With seven musicians on stage (drums, bass, percussion, two guitarists and two keyboard players), sequencer tracks and the five girls plus spares, the show is running around 109 inputs, including VT feeds and talkback mics.
Monitor engineer Matt Napier is using two D5s, one for the band and one for the girls, with both the musicians and Spice Girls using Ultimate ears UE7s with Sennheiser G2 IEMs, plus flown d&b C4 side-fills for the dancers. “I decided to use two D5s as I wanted to be able to approach the in ear mixes for the girls in a different way to those for the musicians,” he says.
“The band all have a relatively conventional in ear mix, with minimum EQ and compression. For the girls, on the other hand, I have approached it more like a FOH mix, with a more ‘glossy’, album-like feel, utilising EQ, compression and effects.”
In addition to the D5’s onboard FX, Matt has also added an unusual add-on to his effects arsenal - running Apple’s Logic 8 sequencing software, interfaced through a MOTU 896HD and connected to the D5 via ADAT light-pipe. Logic 8 features a number of very high quality effects plug-ins, allowing Matt to utilize those plug-ins as an additional, very powerful effects unit.
“It's not an overly complex show to mix, although that’s easy to say after touring it for several months,” Matt smiles. “I certainly remember some late nights when we were rehearsing back in September / October, trying to figure out how we would approach specific problems.”
He continues: “Wigwam has provided a fantastic crew which makes my job a lot easier. Nick Mooney (the monitor tech) not only looks after all the kit, but has become a second set of eyes for me during the show. With five ladies to keep my attention, Nick watches the band, and passes their requests onto me.
“Stephanie Thompson (the RF tech) deals with all the quick changes and does a brilliant job of making sure the ladies are ready to go back on-stage after a quick change - there's no point in sending a good mix to the ears if there not wearing them, or the cable isn't securely attached to the pack!”
With the amount of changes in the set and the variety of songs, Matt has taken full advantage of the D5’s snapshot feature to ensure that events run as smoothly in Monitor World. “I’m running about 32 snapshots for various songs, segues, etc, with both desks linked via MIDI. This enables me to utilise the scene change button on the D5 to step the entire systems through the show and it works very well,” he says.
“I have to say that the D5 is, at this time, my favourite desk. I think the ergonomic layout is ideal for monitors, while the sound quality and back-up from DiGiCo is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, at Front of House, Ray Furze is manning a third D5, mixing the show via a d&b audiotechnik J series rig, with system tech Sid Rogerson. Here the DiGiCo snapshots feature is again at the heart of the show.
The nature of the five girls performance means that Furze has a cue sheet to keep him informed of who’s singing at any point of the show. He co-ordinated this sheet with the desk’s mute and control groups during rehearsals and now only has to make tweaks as he steps through the show using the snapshots, making what could be an awkward situation very straightforward.
Ray is also using the D5’s flexibility to record every show, utilising the MADI output to record a full multitrack mix direct to a PC running Cubase software. Listening back the following day to the previous night’s show, it has enabled him to make minor system tweaks and do any necessary troubleshooting, which ensured the sound is as good as it can possibly be and maximises the musicality of the entire performance.
Ray’s reasons for choosing the DiGiCo D5 is the ease of use, its great sound and the unique ability to access three sections of the mix individually on the surface, giving quick access to the many input channels.
With the Spice Girls claiming that there will be no more tours together as they return to their various solo projects, it seems that this will prove to have been a one-off, albeit one with very high production values. So it’s fitting that, as the tour concludes a few shows early, Matt Napier should have the last word on the DiGiCo consoles which have been an integral part of it.
“I think the D5 is probably the best monitor desk out there,” he says. “Although I am looking forward to playing with the DiGiCo SD7!”
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