News
Power crackdown at major Melbourne venues
MELBOURNE 10 MAY 2017: Without warning the Melbourne and Olympic Parks venues have commenced a strict inspection and enforcement regime that will heavily impact concerts and also may exceed AS/NZS 3112, the harmonised Australian and New Zealand Standards for AC Plugs and Socket-Outlets. A roadshow at Melbourne Park Function Centre yesterday narrowly avoided shutdown after venue staff deemed…
Read MoreHistory – 5, 15 and 25 years ago
The archive of Channels, Connections and CX magazines is online (here, free) now. Here are some highlights from five, fifteen and twenty five years ago this month. 25 YEARS AGO: CHANNELS The May-June 1992 edition of Channels (#13) ran to 44 pages and included a new studio and broadcast section. In industry news we reported…
Read MoreWe will pay. Eventually
By Julius Grafton I’m continuing on from last months ‘Magnificent – Unconscionable Behavior’ riff, which centered on the lowly paid and vulnerable in society. Remember the magnificent example of the Radio Rentals ‘Rent, Try, Buy for $1’ promotion? Where the poor buggers eventually paid $2004 out of their pensions for a washing machine worth about…
Read MoreJustin Bieber Production Report
By Cat Strom After a year of touring the world with his Purpose arena show, Justin Bieber began a run of stadium shows in Australia, shows that will continue through the rest of the year. Kenneth ‘Pooch’ Van Druten built his reputation as a FOH sound mixer with bands such as KISS, Kid Rock, Linkin…
Read MorePerth industry faces tough times
Perth’s entertainment industry is struggling as the state endures a technical recession, and tours start to stay away. The pressure on professionals working across events and production is building, evidenced by an outpouring on a Facebook page called ‘100 percent upfront’. As reported in CX, audio operations manager Andrew Chambers named several event producers who he…
Read MorePL&S 2017 – New audio!
By Jason Allen It’s been two years since I covered PL+S for CX, and in that time, the physical layout of PL+S and MusikMesse has flipped around, and the co-located shows offset by a day. Overall, I think it’s had a detrimental effect on both shows, but PL+S is still the healthier of the two.…
Read MoreProLight & Sound 2017 : Lighting roundup
By Cat Strom The organisers of ProLight & Sound 2017 shuffled the halls and changed the days around but it seemed quieter than the past couple of years. Add to that a rather lack lustre offering of new products and the general response was a little ‘meh’. I spoke with many attendees and it seemed…
Read MoreUnconscionable Conduct: Magnificent examples!
Imagine you have a science research lab doing essential work leased from Monash Uni until 2030, but they decide to chuck you out to gain a ‘free building’? Or you are a poor person renting a washing machine on a ‘Rent, Try, and $1 Buy’ deal from Radio Rentals but discover the deal is not…
Read MoreAustralian Technology Park venue shock
It was a no brainer. “Our last event, on a weekend we had people trying to park everywhere. It was impossible”, said Ruby Chronis, Director of Sales at Australian Technology Park Conference & Exhibition Centre in Sydney. They took the decision to close the venue six months ahead of plan, after developer Mirvac acquired the site…
Read MoreWhat happens to the tech when the gig is TOO HOT!
By Cat Strom As the temperature hit 46°C, organisers struggled to keep the punters cool. A large shade area was erected, as well as a rather small misting tent, and a water truck dumped water on the crowds at the back. There was free drinking water but by the time it travelled through metal…
Read MoreJazzright Productions use AXIS to bring the Latin heat!
Sydney is one of the most diverse cities in Australia bringing together cultures from all over the world. The Latin American Festival is a celebration of one of these many vibrant cultures and has been running for 37 years. After a two-year absence, the Latin American Festival returned to Bondi on February 26th 2017. Famed…
Read MoreJPJ Audio for Don Henley Tour
Eagles co-founder, vocalist and drummer Don Henley returned to Australia this month for a run of indoor and A Day on the Green outdoor shows. Don was joined on stage by his fifteen-piece band for a show that has had critics raving. FOH engineer Tom Evans has mixed for a wide variety of acts in…
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