L-Acoustics backs Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life
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FOH mixing duties for the Sound Image-reinforced trek have been in the capable care of Kevin Madigan, perhaps best known for his work with David Crosby, Graham Nash and Steven Stills. With the task of bringing Del Rey’s dreamy, intimate pop to audiences in hockey arenas and other equally acoustically challenging venues, Madigan has two secret weapons: a well-honed ear for great, vocal-based song craft, and a passion for exceptional PAs, in this case, a DiGiCo SD5-driven L-Acoustics’ K1 system.
“We’re not trying to get huge SPLs - quality is the key, and that was taken into account with the PA choice and system design,” Madigan notes from Orlando, Florida after surviving a month of dates mostly in the Midwest and Northeast where the temperature on opening night in Minneapolis was 26 degrees below zero.
“It really is a show that’s very vocal-based. It’s all about the songs and her voice. So, keeping that in mind, I initially met with L-Acoustics’ Dave Brooks [application engineer, touring liaison] and we came up with a system design that allowed us to maintain the feel of intimacy in a large arena show. The coverage and the quality of the system make that possible and the linear reproduction of sound everywhere really helps people to feel as if they’re quite close up. The idea that, sonically, no one ever feels far away from the stage. To achieve that, we take a lot of care and spend a good deal of time every day listening and measuring so that the sound is consistent all the way to the highest seats in the arena.
“We’re using K1 for the main hangs, with K2 for down-fills and out-fills, and there are some K1-SB in there as well,” Madigan says. The day-to-day system consists of 14 K1 over four K2 as the main L/R, with eight K1-SB flown outside of the main hangs. In addition, 18 SB28 subs are ground-stacked in groups of three across the stage in a cardioid configuration.”
The pace of the tour - nearly two dozen dates in six weeks - can take a toll on a singer, and both artist and crew have been very happy with the system and its design. “We count on L-Acoustics because, at the end of the day, it’s all music and the common factor is usually that vocal. L-Acoustics systems in general, and this design specifically, have been a major factor in the success of getting that vocal out there and representing it well on each and every show.”
(Jim Evans)
