To restore The Masonic Temple to its former glory as a music hall, it underwent a $9-million renovation by the designers of Toronto's stylish Drake Hotel. The venue will be used as MTV's Canadian headquarters and TV-studio, but will also be a highly desirable mid-size venue for touring acts. "It was restored it with an ear and an eye to the past, and we respected the history" commented Brad Schwartz, senior vice-president and general manager of MTV Canada.
The launch was recorded for the one-month-old MTV Canada and will be aired on 12 May. It will also be shown as a 30-minute show called MTV Live at the Concert Hall: Kanye West; that will air on international affiliates of MTV, including those in the United States, Australia, Russia, the U.K. and Africa.
The venue was filled to its 600 person capacity (the venue has a capacity of 1,200 with the television studio equipment absent), made up mainly of media, contest winners and music industry types. Sam Roberts took the stage first performed songs from his Juno-winning (Canadian Grammy's) We Were Born in a Flame album, as well as his just-released album Chemical City. Kanye West later performed hits such as Gold Digger, Touch the Sky and Jesus Walks, with an all female 12- piece string ensemble, and backing-vocal duo that included Canadian rhythm and blues star Jully Black.
"The hall's new sound system was formidable, handling (the sound) comfortably and warmly." commented Globe and Mail's entertainment critic Brad Wheeler on his summary of the festivities. The sound system was made up of 16 Spektrix flown L and R of the stage, with four SpekTrix subs and two Sx18 places on the floor along side the stage. The System was powered with the standard Adamson specified Lab.gruppen Amps and XTA Processing. The SpekTrix compact line-array fit the venue perfectly with its sleek unobtrusive aesthetic, and consistent with the Shooter Software's precise calculation, the SPL was perfectly even in all areas of the venue including the balconies.
(Chris Henry)
