Has anyone else noticed that the opening acts never sound as good as the headliner? Why is that? They use the same sound system and probably the same board ops. Do they intentionally impair the sound for the opening act? I have seen/heard this at big shows and small, most recently at the REO/Benatar concert. REO was the headliner, with Benatar as the "undercard", though she played after REO. As best I can tell, the subwoofers were turned off, and the vocal mix was poor.
I also experienced this at a 4-act show with Reel Big Fish as the headliner. There was a startling difference in the sound quality when they went on.
Comments?
Support acts rarely get allowed anywhere near the stage for soundcheck. Can't have them showing up the headliners. I remember nights opening for other guys, we always had to fight to get five minutes to set up and check the sound, and even then it was clear the guys on the desk didn't want us there.
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Alan's answer covers most of it.
Other things: the opening act's soundman is running someone else's rig. And had almost no time to tweak things.
Often the opening act is only allowed a limited number of channels on the board (or a separate smaller board). If they are using the main board, the generally aren't allowed to mess with the headliner's EQ or EFX settings.
As far as production goes, the opening act is an afterthought at best. The system is designed around the headliner's needs.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
I agree with you for one night line-ups, but it doesn't make sense for 50-city tours.
I think you'd be horribly surprised. There are endless horror stories of major tours where the support acts haven't even spoken with the headliners
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
I agree with you for one night line-ups, but it doesn't make sense for 50-city tours.
Think about it from the promoter's perspective (and more importantly, his wallet):
The more time the crew is on the clock, the less profit (AKA no soundcheck).
The more gear that is rented/set up/trucked around, the less profit (so no extra board/snake/mics/effects/monitors...)
And then some headliners (or sometimes their sound guy) are prima-donas (no one touch our stuff after our soundcheck! In fact, don't even look at it. )
It isn't how it should be done, but that's the reality of the beast.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
