Frederick, MD (January 6, 2016)—Comedian/Actor Kevin Hart’s latest movie, Ride Along 2, hits screens next week, but he’s not resting on his laurels. The man has been on the road with his ‘What Now?’ tour of the U.S. and Canada for months now with audio support from Showtime Sound LLC of Frederick, MD, which fielded a Martin Audio MLA system at each stop.
Showtime Sound’s Scott Tydings explained, “We’ve worked with Kevin since 2010 and did the last tour, so we kind of know what to expect—but there are always a few surprises. Showtime has been in business since 1996 and we do a lot of music tours, but lately there’s been more of an emphasis on comedy artists, including Amy Schumer who we’re on tour with right now.
“The Martin Audio MLA rig has been a big help for both Kevin and Amy’s tours. We first used it for the ‘What Now?’ tour after hearing the MLA Compact at a demo. We’ve wanted to use it for a long time and just needed this opportunity to put it out there and showcase it.”
The set up includes 15 MLA and one MLD a side, a dozen MLA Compact cabinets a side for outfills and 8 MLX subs ground-stacked alongside the stage. The system also includes a Midas Pro2 live digital console, a Shure wireless mic with an SM58 capsule and a Lake LM44 digital audio system processor.
You might expect that the audio requirements for a stand-up concerts are simple, especially since there’s fewer input sources to deal with, but it turns out that’s hardly the case. “If you miss one word he says, the joke’s not funny,” said Tydings, explaining why they brought out a rock show-level PA. “It’s more important to have even coverage and intelligibility for a comedian than any rock concert you’re ever going to do.
“In fact, I sold MLA to Kevin Hart, his tour manager and Live Nation––just kept telling them and telling them about it. When I finally got the opportunity to put it in front of them, they loved it so much that when we picked up the Amy Schumer tour, they were insisting we use MLA for that as well, which is all arenas. It’s the same hang.
This month, Hart continues his “What Now?” tour in Europe, Australia, Singapore and South Africa.
Martin Audio
www.martin-audio.com
