Roy Williams, the veteran FOH engineer at the helm of Plant's live mix, reports, "There are some softer numbers - particularly duets with Patty Griffin - with a breathy quality that demands absolute transparency. But on others, we push it up to send a message to the Zep fraternity that, when we want to, we can still do it. The Mica system handles the dynamics with no problems at all."
The tour's complete Meyer Sound complement comprised 12 Mica cabinets per side, buttressed by dual 700-HP subwoofers per side, and was further extended by side hangs of five-each M'elodie line array loudspeakers and five M1D line array loudspeakers for front-fill. Available for on-stage foldback were side-fill stacks of two 600-HP subwoofers topped by dual MICA cabinets, plus eight MJF-212A high-power stage monitors.
The system front-end was hard-wired and analogue, with Shure SM58 vocal mics (except a Neumann KMS 105 for Griffin), feeding a Midas Heritage 3000 console. According to Williams, "There's a warmth generated in this music that we want to come through, and the system seems to be accomplishing that quite well."
(Jim Evans)
