Line check is over, the PA is set to go, and right now it’s relatively quiet as Brad Divens savors a moment when he can kick back and provide a little context for his work.
“This is a dynamic show with a lot of energy – and very visual,” he says of Enrique Iglesias’ current tour, which brought him to the front of house helm to preside over a PA provided by Sound Image (Escondido, CA and Nashville). “And I must say it’s a very fun show too. A fun show to mix, and a fun show to attend. No one could come out here and not find themselves enjoying it and having a good time.”
If the 15,000 or so primarily female fans who turn out every night are any indication, Divens’ assessment is more than accurate. “The fans are totally engaged,” he adds. “They know all the words to every song and sing along. Enrique isn’t afraid to get out among them either, up close and personal. We frequently set up a ‘C’ stage when we have the space, and it’s directly behind my mix position.
“When Enrique appears there, everyone goes from looking at the main stage to rushing the C stage. I’m in their direct path, of course. At these moments there’s not much I can do but literally duck and cover.”
The show may be packing arenas, but as Divens alluded to earlier, it doesn’t lack intimacy. Capable of rocking out with a power pop tune and then turning on a dime to unleash ballads and quiet acoustic numbers, Iglesias moves like a magician among his fans from all angles, appearing at a second, circular “B” stage found downstage center where the thrust starts to go into the audience, walking directly into the crowd itself, or disappearing entirely only to suddenly materialize on the C stage, where his band is already playing.
“When Enrique pops-up on the C stage, the crowd goes into a frenzy and can easily hit 108 dBA,” Divens says. “I generally sit at 101 A-weighted, peaking at 103, but when he’s on the C stage I pull it back just a little to make things a bit more dynamic. When the crowd realizes we’re no longer at a normal show level, it gets really quiet and you can hear a pin drop as he addresses everyone and introduces the next song.”
Divens is joined on the tour by Sound Image systems engineer Jim Miller and monitor engineer Eddie “El Brujo” Caipo. As a primary PA caregiver, Miller can quickly run down the tour’s cabinet count with speed and alacrity: “In the main hangs there are 14 L-Acoustics K1s per side along with four Kara down fills,” he quickly rattles off. “There are subhangs using a half-dozen K1SBs per side, side hangs comprising 12 Kudo cabinets each, and a pair of rear hangs also utilizing a dozen Kudo boxes apiece.
In The Box
A VENUE Profile from Avid is Divens’ console of choice, loaded with five DSP cards and offering 96 channels.
Using snapshots to incorporate reverb and delay time changes, small fader moves for the band’s DJ, keyboards, and other things he doesn’t have on the VCAs, the show is fairly consistent from night-to-night, giving him the luxury of not having to worry about things changing a lot level-wise.
Everything is played to a click-track, keeping the tempo the same, and insuring that the delays for vocal effects follow suit.
The delays for the PA will change depending upon trim heights and whatnot, but are deftly managed and kept honest by Miller.
