Glorious Glasto for ADLIB

News

Andy Wood Jul 17 2008, 8:30am

Liverpool-based audio specialists service six stages at Glastonbury Festival

ADLIB Audio approached Glastonbury 2008 with their usual enthusiasm and spirit, supplying sound to six stages and fielding a crew of 20, chiefed by Hassane Al Essiahi. The project was co-ordinated by Dave Jones back at HQ in Liverpool.

Dave Jones comments, “The Circus & Cabaret fields at Glastonbury are now part of our heritage as we have supplied sound systems since 1994. This year was especially poignant to us as a mark of respect in memory of Bella Churchill, a significant and very sad loss to the festival. We will always look forward to being associated with the Glastonbury Festival Circus & Cabaret fields. To us these stages epitomise what this festival is all about.”

Cabaret Tent

ADLIB set up a Nexo Alpha system in this arena, tech’d by Nick Bellis, Steve “Patto” Pattison, George Puttock and Kenny Kristiansen, complete with a Soundcraft Series 4 at FOH and a Soundcraft MH3 console for monitors. Onstage they also supplied 10 ADLIB MP3 wedges and an 8-way send rack.

ADLIB also supply a tea urn for the Cabaret artists and crew backstage area. This can be more important than the PA system on occasion, especially to the stage manager Mark Collingwood.

Circus Stage

Richie Nicholson, James Coates, Neil Holloway and Tom Cunningham were the happy ADLIB crew in this very busy tent, running a 6K ADLIB FD rig, with AA61 wedges hung at the back of the tent on a small raked seating stand to cover the higher sections of this.

The FOH console was a 48-channel Yamaha PM5D-RH, chosen for its flexibility, speed and ease of use. This arena had to be up and running from 5 p.m. on Wednesday before the festival opened on Friday to accommodate the massive amount of rehearsals and sound checks needed by the myriad of different artists appearing over the 3 performance days.

A 24 channel Soundcraft Delta was utilised for the monitor mix along with 6 ADLIB AA121 wedges.

Astrolabe Stage

This consisted of an ADLIB FD system with a Yamaha LS9-32 digital console at FOH that was also used for monitors, along with 6 AA121 compact wedges. It was looked after by John Fitzsimmons, Otto Kroymann and Laura Davis.

Blazing Saddle Stage

This featured another ADLIB FD system, with 8 FD2 high packs a side and four ADLIB DF415 subs, with a Yamaha LS9-32 console out front, a 24-channel Soundcraft GB4 for monitors plus 8 AA121 wedges. This was overseen by Chris Sudall, Michael Flaherty and Hannibal Chaabouni.

Outdoor Circus Stage

A small 3K FD system, Allen & Heath Mix Wizard and AA121 wedges were deployed here, crewed by Jay Smith and Jay Petch. The outside circus stage featured some special performances in addition to its regular schedule, including the aerial dance by Fidget Fee and Eddie Egal’s famous nightly pyrotastic fire shows – which have become a Glasto landmark!

Going Mobile

ADLIB also had a mobile system on site – a small Yamaha EMX 500 powered mixer with two speakers on stands, which flitted around constantly to different areas providing sound reinforcement to various events as and when they happened. It was minded by Dave Cowell and Chris Wall.

Playback facilities for all these areas included CD and mini disc players.

Jennifer Wait was in charge of all ADLIB’s radio mics – 12 Shure lavalier, 4 Shure Beta hand-held and 6 Beyer headset systems, all licensed through JFMG.

Pictured are ADLIB’s Richie Nicholson (L) and James Coates in the Circus Tent

adlibaudio.co.uk