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My wife and I have been fans of Dan Fogelberg for many years. We have seen him perform about a half dozen times here in San Diego and have always enjoyed the show. I was especially looking forward to this year when he would bring the band. (His acoustic shows seemed to me to be more work than pleasure for him. After all, you are up there all alone.) We were not disappointed. The show was great! However, this review is not about how Dan performed, it is about how he SOUNDED. Let me begin with a confession. I am a struggling composer, musician, and home studio engineer ( www.deandouglasproductions.com ). The only venue that I have seen Dan perform in is “Humphry’s by the Bay” here in San Diego. I can say without equivocation that “Humphry’s” has one of the worst public address systems I’ve ever heard. The sound that emanates from this system is a musical abomination, and it continues year after year. As a touring artist you often have little or no control over the actual sound. You show up, do your sound check, and hope that others do their jobs. Musicians spend thousands of dollars on their instruments seeking the best and most pleasing sound for their audience, often just to have some half brained audio tech ruin it because he doesn’t know the difference between music and noise! What I’m talking about is something that audio technicians call “amplifier clipping”. This results when the master level is up too far, over driving the amp. You can simulate this effect yourself by inserting a CD in your player, turning the volume control up all the way, and pressing “play”. (WARNING: DO NOT DO THIS! If you do you may BLOW UP YOUR SPEAKERS. Professional audio monitors are designed to take this abuse, your home stereo speakers probably will not). Over driving the amps is all too common at venues these days. It produces a cacophony of distortion. To be fair, “Humphry’s” is the only venue that I have seen Dan Fogelberg perform in. One of his concerts is the only reason that I would allow this venue to pack me in like a sardine in a tin can. I don’t know if all their shows sound like this. I can only say that every time Dan has performed there the PA has been awful, and someone owes Mr. Fogelberg an apology. The sound board at this venue is tucked backstage behind the PA monitors. I can see an earphone wearing tech behind the board. Although he is no doubt getting excellent sound through his pro headphones, this has no relationship to what the audience is hearing. He needs to come out from behind his board and stand with the audience so that he can hear what we are hearing. Just back off on the master level! Finally, I would like to ask those of you who were fortunate enough to see Dan at more than one venue this time what the other PA’s sounded like? Also, if you attend other shows at “Humphry’s”, what do they sound like. Does Dan travel with his own sound guy? I am unsure whom to blame for this situation. However, I feel the venue itself is ultimately responsible for the sound it projects to its paying customers. Dean
Douglas Dean
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Read
the
Red
Rocks
Review
from
2002
and
the
Humphry's
Review
from
2000
as
well
as
the
Sound
~
The
Problems
And
The
Reasons
Why
by
Rick
Nolan |
