Patrick first worked with Simple Minds in 1997 at Night of the Proms, a huge musical extravaganza in Belgium. "We struck up an instant rapport there, and I've worked with them ever since," he confirmed. "Last time was an arena tour. This time the band has gone for slightly smaller venues with the result that it's sold out everywhere and they've had to announce new dates, so it's been very successful."
Patrick uses a Midas XL4 with full flying faders. "It's absolutely my favourite desk ever!" he enthused. "I've tried a digital console, and it was OK, but it's not the same thing. When you're used to the EQ on an XL4, nothing else comes close. There is just no competition." It was no surprise to find a 48-channel Midas Heritage 3000 at the monitor position, and the support band, The Real People, had a Midas Venice 320 sharing space with the XL4 out front.
On stage guitar tech David Robertson took the opportunity to put the latest wireless system from Electro-Voice through its paces. "We used the new RE-1 wireless beltpack on guitar and bass," he said. "In fact, I used two systems for Charlie [Burchill], one with an acoustic bridge pick-up and the other with an electric pick-up straight into a stereo jack on the guitar so that Charlie could simulate an acoustic sound without actually having to change instruments. It worked really well. We also had an RE-1 on bass guitar and a headset vocal mic for Mel [Gaynor] on drums. Apart from the fact that they sounded clean and were very simple to use, I was really impressed with the way they clipped onto the guitar strap and stayed there. With every other beltpack I've used, I've had to gaffa-tape them to the guitar strap to make sure they stay in place, which is not really an ideal solution from any point of view. The RE-1s, however, were as solid as a rock. I tell you, sometimes it's the smallest things that make all the difference!"
(Lee Baldock)
