The main stage was basically the small version of the Grateful Dead concert rig, which Meyer Sound and the Dead co-evolved through about 25 years of hard work. It is exceptionally efficient and clean and with proper EQing -- someone take a bow -- it works for electronic as well as acoustic/amplified music. The main problem was that when it was pushed too hard the bass got all mushy and drowned out the midrange in the bowl, which was a function of too much SPL and not any kind of distortion; believe me, at no time was that system really working all that hard.
But at moments -- Dan Bell's live work with the crisp sound of the analog gear and the middle of Mark Farina's set are the two that come to mind -- it was really about as good as you can get with open air concert sound. They tried hard, really hard, in the Underground stage, with an unusual arrangement of stacks flanking the stage and a curved bank of stacks along the walls. There was certainly enough power to overcome the un-overcomeable deficiencies of a concrete box, but then the rest is left up to the DJ, and only Punisher, who really knows how to work that room with her sparse but potent beats, got the idea right. Although when TP dropped Plastic Dreams to good effect I knew he knew as well, but his kind of melodic house doesn't work sonically in that situation. The rest I heard in there was from forgettable to atrocious, the less said the better. The waterfront stage was a modification of last year's with the high end now floating in air and some super-modern compact bass bins that really sounded great especially with the Newcleus and BMG. Didn't spend hardly any time in the tents, but there was serious gear there too. Paxahau certainly spares no effort on staging, sound and lighting, so good on them for that. fh ----------------- >what did you all think of the stages. i thought, unfortunately, the >real detroit underground stage had weak sound, and the main stage had >great broad range. the hawtin tent was really crisp and rich, but i >actually thought the stuff coming out of the pioneer pacha stage might >have been great too, though i did not venture into it to listen to >performances. > >-- >--- >Michael Kuszynski >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://www.planerecordings.com >New York, NY >
