Front-of-house engineer Peter Franco
Bauhaus are packing theaters around North America on their current reunion tour, with front-of-house engineer Peter Franco (of Delicate Productions) manning a Midas Heritage 3000.
According to Franco, “The ‘Midas sound’ really is an essential element of this tour’s success. Bauhaus wanted to change direction on this outing—the idea being to perform the songs with a more punchy, direct approach that would sound less like their records and more like Bauhaus live in 2005. The classic Bauhaus recordings from 25 years ago bear the production values of the genre the band helped define; full of cold, distant, glassy textures and tones. It’s a testimony to the enduring power of the songs that the band can reinvent them onstage so effectively, plus the fact that they’re literally being ‘warmed up’ with Midas preamps.
“Nothing else translates the feeling and nuance of a performance to an audience like a Midas console,” Franco adds. “[Bandmember] Daniel Ash has told me how good he thinks the shows are sounding, especially the drums, which are the driving force over which the band layers its songs. No digital console I’ve heard comes close to that kind of kinetic, resonant drum sound. It’s very satisfying to EQ the overtones out of a tom and hear it come through the P.A. so full and clear, you could literally take a bite out of it. Though Bauhaus is a standard four-piece lineup, there’s a massive amount of sonic detail and layering to address, and lots of room-filling effects. In this sense, the Heritage helps me both manage the mix and translate the band’s interaction and individual performances onstage into something intimate and tangible for the crowd. It’s like they’re hearing the songs for the first time.”
For more information on Delicate Productions, visit www.delicate.com. For more information on the Midas board, visit www.midasconsoles.com.
