Pop diva Anastacia’s four month tour of the UK and Europe’s theatres and arenas finished in style in the middle of September – with what was commonly considered its best sounding date – in Kiev, Russia. DiGiCo D5s sat at both Front of House and monitor positions throughout, in the safe hands of Tony Blanc and Becky Pell.
Tony is no stranger to working with Anastacia, having performed FOH duties for her on and off since her first single broke some eight years ago. He is also no stranger to DiGiCo and was happy to be able to specify a D5 for her latest tour.
As the tour didn’t carry a full PA system, Tony utilized 56 of the D5’s inputs and fed the varying systems with five sends: main PA, front fills, subs and delays as required.
“The show was her usual pop style, where the songs vary in colour and intensity,” he recalls. “Most programmers work at home, so the ‘pro tool’ playback elements can often be level perfect, but not sonically right for the mix in a live environment. However, it’s easy to address such issues within peoples programs with the digital trim on the console.
I use a template session to start a tour that drives external effects and sometimes cue system. The board is such a great tool that you quickly forget how many issues it has already solved!”
Tony also multi-tracked every show using an RME MADIFace and Nuendo software which, he says, worked extremely well.
“I’ve had a great time with the D5 on monitors for Anastacia,” adds Becky. “It sounds warm and natural, and the fact that it is so intuitive to get around means that I can keep my eyes on Anastacia and the band, and not have to look down too much.
“There’s quite a big dynamic range between her songs, from gentle piano-based ballads to full-on rock, and so the thing that really stood out for me was the snapshots – they’re so versatile and user-friendly, I couldn’t have done it without them. It’s a fantastic desk, and I really enjoy using it!”
Whilst Tony takes his D5 on to pastures new, Becky will work with Anastacia once again, but this time on a DiGiCo SD8 for the forthcoming Here Come The Girls tour in November, which also features pop legends Lulu and Chaka Khan.
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