Washington, DC (January 5, 2018)—Outfitting a mid-level concert venue from the ground-up is an increasingly rare opportunity these days, but that’s what happened when The Anthem opened in Washington, DC this past fall. The 57,000-square-foot, $60-million venue—owned by I.M.P., which also owns The 9:30 Club, Lincoln Theatre and the Merriweather Post Pavilion—required a rider-friendly house system that would meet the needs of top-shelf bands, like Foo Fighters, which played the venue’s first show.
Explaining the though process behind the system, Chris “Sherman” Robb, the technical director for I.M.P, noted, “We have an enormous amount of experience when it comes to knowing what touring artists want and need, and what it takes to make a venue the best it can be for a wide range of shows.”
Outfitting the house system, the Anthem purchased two DiGiCo SD12 digital mixing consoles through Eighth Day Sound for its FOH and monitor positions, and also took on a d&b audiotechnik J-series line array system to reach every pair of ears in the room.
“The SD12 is a good fit for The Anthem,” said Robb. “It has a small footprint and we don’t have to strike it as we configure the room for different artists and types of shows, plus the SD12 is upgradable, and with the Optocore and MADI interface, we can connect with anything that artists can bring in.”
Some of the artists that have already performed at The Anthem in its first few months include Bon Iver, The National, The War on Drugs, Lorde, Kurt Vile, The Killers, Trombone Shorty and Phil Lesh. Robb noted, “This is a console that most of the artists that play here are used to. It’s part of a full production package that we designed—sound, lighting, rigging, et cetera—that would let even the biggest artists just plug in and play.”
The Anthem • www.theanthemdc.com
Eighth Day Sound • www.8thdaysound.com
DiGiCo • www.DiGiCo.biz
