British classic rock band Cream played four reunion shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall in May 2005. The event, which brought singer/guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist/singer Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker together again, entailed three weeks of rehearsal time and extensive preparation. Engineer Chris “Privet” Hedge worked front of house, Chris Wibberly was in monitor world and the P.A. system was supplied by Concert Sound (Luton, UK).
Hedge and Wibberly used Midas XL4 consoles, noting, “There are about 30 inputs, which includes 14 channels of drum for Ginger, four channels of bass for Jack — who has two bass rigs a Warwick and a Gibson — and four channels of guitar for Clapton: two clean and two on his Leslie. Although the set list is the same each night, the solos, the lengths of the songs and even the basic arrangements can vary. It’s all about the vibe and going with what they feel.” To round out the system, Klark Teknik DN360 EQs were used and run in mono, then distributed to multiple zones in the venue.
