Re: (313) movement stage sound system reviews

[Fred Heutte]

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.

--
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Michael Kuszynski
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.planerecordings.com
New York, NY

Re: (313) movement stage sound system reviews

[theREALmxyzptlk]

Personally, I thought the Red Bull/Myspace stage (riverfront) kicked the 
biggest share of tail this time out. The Pioneer stage was also really, 
really nice - Andy Toth's set was quite memorable there for me.
When there wasn't a monkey blowing out the bass signals at the Beatport 
tent (rarely was that the case when I walked over there), the sound was 
good. I avoided most of the few artists I was interested in hearing on 
that side of Hart Plaza simply because they couldn't be HEARD.

I liked Guillaume and the Coatu Dumonts' set.
 Hauling up those bottoms and lining the top of the underground 
stage was a good idea; it opened up some of the highs and cleared out 
some of the 'basement mud.'
Main stage was fine as long as the bass wasn't pushed too hard/signal 
overcompressed/ over whatever the f*^ one does to blow the entire mids 
 and most of the highs out of range (maybe they heard them in Windsor?).
I can do boom-boom as well as the next person, but way too often it was 
just a complete waste of what, by all appearances, was some fine 
technology. Mind you, nothing came close to that wonderful Funktion One 
setup at the riverfront last year, but everything else was definitely 
raised a notch. The canopies (vs. the tents) were good ideas too.
 Let's talk numbers. What I noticed is that there were more people 
EARLY on Saturday than I've ever seen...and less people mid-day and into 
the evening on all three nights (not that I stayed all 3).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looked like a low turnout to me.
And, to be honest, despite some nice sets, it wasn't the most memorable 
fest. I always go. I hope I always will (?)


jeff



Michael Kuszynski wrote:

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.