Page 28 - the NOISE February 2014

>> CoNTiNUeD FRoM 27 >>
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The revamped orpheum Theater, with Greensky Bluegrass. PHoTo
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(the constant flow of whiskey supplied by the Mac didn’t hurt either). They even took the skinny Englishmen to some of the south- side’s famous blues clubs, where white faces were a rarity (apparently Green had a knife pulled on him at one joint and Dixon had to step in). The Chess sessions weren’t released until nearly a year later, when Fleetwood Mac were no longer Blue Horizon recording art- ists. It was a fitting farewell to the blues.
Also in January 1969 came their second US LP, English Rose, a hodgepodge of tracks featuringhalfofMr.Wonderful,the“Albatross” and “Black Magic Woman” singles, and four Kirwan songs. The cover is a hideous photo of Mick Fleetwood in drag.
On this same US visit, the Grateful Dead introduce Fleetwood Mac to two of the Dead’s favorite pastimes: free-form jamming and LSD, preferably combined. Both were to have an incalculable effect on the music and mind of Peter Green.
>> TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH ...
— Tony BallZ
The Revamped Orpheum Theater
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When rapper yelawolf headlined Flagstaff’s Orpheum Theater in November, he stopped his performance prematurely after inces- santly whining about the quality of the ven- ue’s sound. Having been in attendance that night, I couldn’t understand why the prima donna was complaining. The audio sounded great from the theater’s seats, and the ecstatic response closer to the stage insinuated the same. Granted, Yelawolf ’s musicianship was shite, but the Orpheum team wasn’t there to
“George Martin” a lost cause. The theater’s crew was doing what it was supposed to — work- ing with the artist to put on the best show possible for the audience. It wasn’t Orpheum production manager Scotty Jensen’s fault the pompous act decided to skip sound check.
A little over half a year before the Yelawolf debacle, sometime around March, the Or- pheum began a process of revamping its pro- duction capabilities. According to Mr. Jensen, it started with the purchasing of new sound consoles — a couple of Venue SC48s, if we’re going to get technical, which the company’s website describes as a fully integrated system
offering several innovative workflows that streamline the mixing process, resulting in amazing audio clarity in any room.
By the time the Alabama rapper per- formed in November, the Orpheum’s own SC48s had been continuously tried and tested, never once failing during the six or so shows I attended since their installation. This is why it must’ve been frustrating for the venue’s techs once the rapper began bitch- ing in front of the packed house — behind the audience, at the helm of the SC48, Mr.
Jensen was picking up the same, great au- dio as the crowd. Hell, ask Yelawolf’s opener, Hopsin, who spent most of his performance running around the theatre. Not a peep out of him, because none was needed.
That was the first rap show I attended at the Orpheum, and one I wish I hadn’t. Not that it was a bad performance production wise, but because of Yelawolf. He deprived his audience of a full set because he hadn’t come early to adjust the monitor audio to his liking. On top of that, he blamed the venue, which didn’t come off as intelligent to any- one knowledgeable of the Orpheum’s refur- bished audio capabilities.
I usually go for strings over turntables anyway. Instrumentally driven orchestration tends to result in much more vibrant and elec- trifying performances, which the Black Uhuru show in early December further proved.
After the sound and digital consoles had been well implemented, early autumn saw the focus shift to the venue’s lighting. When I had the chance to talk with Orpheum owner Chris Scully, he seemed most excited about this aspect of the theater’s investment. Until late last year, the stage had been lit by gel lights, which involved a tedious process of ladder-scaling to obtain different colored beams. Fortunately, a new LED system was purchased and has been in a continuous process of incorporation over the past few months. According to Mr. Scully, the new sys- tem is lighter, brighter, and runs significantly cooler than the old gel projectors. Likewise, they also have the ability to change color without the burden of a ladder treatment.
Black Uhuru swayed through an excellent set of reggae jams pulled from the arsenal of their 40-year existence. As it was during Yelawolf’s show, the audio came through crisp and clear. But any experienced concert
28 • FEBRUARY 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us