Radiohead is touring the U.S. and Europe this summer in support of its latest album, In Rainbows, using L-Acoustics loudspeaker arrays. After a handful of initial U.S. dates starting in May, followed by a European/UK tour in June and July, the band returns to the States for the entire month of August before heading on to Japan for additional performances.
Firehouse Productions of Red Hook, N.Y., is serving as the sound provider for the U.S. tour legs, with Wigwam Acoustics of Heywood (Manchester, UK) handling the European dates.
System engineer Sherif el Barbari
The tour’s front-of-house loudspeaker configuration, designed by freelance system engineer and L-Acoustics certified V-DOSC engineer Sherif el Barbari, features left and right arrays each comprised of 15 V-DOSC cabinets with three dV-DOSC hung below for front-fill. These loudspeakers are complemented by two additional arrays of 14 V-DOSC plus three dV-DOSC to address both the far left and right seating areas. For low-end punch, the system features 32 SB28 subwoofer enclosures, all driven by L-Acoustics LA8 amplified controllers.
“With the exception of two shows at Bercy in Paris, all of the concerts are outdoor shows—stadiums, sheds, green fields or amphitheaters—which make the sound design very challenging,” notes el Barbari. “However, I am impressed by the power of the 32 L-Acoustics SB28 subwoofers driven by LA8. We have also used the SB28 in cardioid configuration on several shows now and the results are impressive.”
FOH engineer Jim Warren
Radiohead’s FOH engineer, Jim Warren, adds, “I still sometimes find myself going to switch off my near-field monitors in an arena show, only to find that they are off already. The clarity and precision of the V-DOSC system continues to surprise me even after 10 years of using them in just about every live sound environment there is.”
For more information, visit www.l-acoustics.com and www.firehouseproductions.com.
