On April 11, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (Cleveland) presented a Mick Fleetwood and Energizer EZ Change co-sponsored concert as part of their “It’s Hip to Hear” program, which educates music fans about hearing conservation. Rock band Eagles of Death Metal played two songs without any amplification — each audience member listened through portable FM radio headsets — and then followed it with three amplified songs.
According to monitor engineer Ron Musarra, for the quiet portion of the show (i.e., sans wedges), Shure 700s, 600s and E1s were used for the ear mixes, which were livened up with two SPX-990s. “It was basically your typical ear mix, but I was a bit concerned because the band had never done a show with ear mixes only. In the end, they were surprisingly happy with the sound — all hail the in-ear mix. With the lack of sound coming from the stage other than taps of the drum pads and strumming of the electric guitars and bass, the vocals were basically a cappella — that will give you an idea of how quiet the stage volume was.”
