Country music’s top-selling female artist, Shania Twain, tours ‘Queen of Me’ with audio solutions from rental partner, Eighth Day Sound.
FOH Engineer Rob ‘Cubby’ Colby says his “great” experience mixing this tour has been down to the hard-working production crew: “Production Manager, Denny Rich, Production Assistant, Libby Dostart, Tour Coordinator & Tour Manager, Joel Eriksson, Stage Manager, Brandon Bogaert and Music Conductor, Marco Gamboa helped to make it a joy to be a part of.”
His time with Eighth Day Sound’s direct team has also been smooth sailing: “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Tom Arko and his team at Eighth Day Sound. I’ve enjoyed getting to know their different crews, project managers & office staff. Most recently on Shania’s tour, I requested a small footprint at FOH, and everything was addressed perfectly both at their US and UK shops,” he adds.
“To be trusted is always an opportunity to focus on why I've been chosen to mix FOH on tour, and I'll do my very best to mix the music as the artist intended it to be heard,” he states. “The reactions from the audience, artist, and management & promoter feedback are important; I want to know I’ve delivered a great experience.”
He continues: “I familiarize myself with recorded versions of the songs, not just the biggest hits, and concerning Shania’s huge catalog, there are many stories from her extensive career that offer a better perspective on what the song might be about. I take what I learn into her live production and create a sensitivity to the music mix.”
Cubby’s console of choice has been DiGiCo since the desk’s inception. “Currently, I’m on an SD7 Quantum with two 32-Bit SD Racks. I use pretty much everything on the desk itself as my approach has always been of pure path, and this console offers everything I need. The only plug-ins I use are the Waves PSE & F6.
“I multitrack via 2 x MGB to BlackMagic Drives & use Logic Pro as the DAW.
I have a Tascam SS-CDR200 for quick reference mixes and there are also 2 x Smart C2's in my rack, just in case,” he adds.
Cubby comments that the ‘Feel Like a Woman’ hitmaker wanted a pop/rock approach from his mix: “Her voice is so strong, and her band are great musicians, so I enjoy the emphasis on the segue into different parts of the show. Shania has a very good knowledge of audio and musical sounds in general, and her vocal ability to harmonize and select the parts best suited for each singer in her band is interesting. She explains her vision for the live shows and I translate that; she’s always the producer.”
SYSTEMS
Each tour date unveils a leopard print stage, a glimmering motorcycle and crystal-clear audio. In the UK, the latter is courtesy of 148 cabinets powered by over 70 D80 amplifiers. The team opted for a d&b audiotechnik rig comprising main and side hangs of KSL (8s and 12s) and flown & ground stacked SL Subs with Y10s on the inner placements and AL60s on the outer.
Cubby says of the PA set-up: “In today's world of system choices, I couldn’t do a show without a good Systems Engineer. Nils Knecht has been such a pleasure to work with, he truly knows his stuff and is a positive force to have around.
“He gives me the same system every day despite being in such different venues, which creates the consistency I’m looking for, and he therefore provides the best results for the whole production.”
Knecht furthers: “Cubby’s a great engineer and his mix translates Shania’s music perfectly. He likes a round system with some low end and doesn't want to overachieve with the d&b ArrayProcessing on a long throw; he wants to make sure there’s a natural touch.
“In the larger arenas where seats are sold all the way around, we have a 270-degree hang made up of V12s and V8s. We use ArrayProcessing on all the hangs, which helps to make everything even throughout the venues. The Y10s and AL60s make a little curved cluster to get the near fill we require.
“From Cubby’s SD7Q, he drops a couple of AES lines which I take into the Lakes at FOH to distribute the signal everywhere. All my processing happens in the amps, so my Lakes are a big matrix used to route the signal wherever I need it to go.”
MONITORS
Fellow expert engineer Connie Fernstrom has been mixing Shania’s monitors for around 11 years and echoes the desire for consistency. “Shania wants things to be consistent, night after night, venue to venue. That's what we strive to deliver,” he notes.
Engineering on a DiGiCo SD5, he describes each song as unique: “Every song is unique in terms of how she likes to hear it live, but once we get that locked in, we do our best to deliver that same sound each night. For any monitor or FOH mixer, or backline tech, you must earn the artist’s trust and then deliver on it repeatedly.”
Fernstrom is generating eight mixes plus the crew shout-out lines and is happy with his Shure system. “Everyone uses Shure PSM1000’s with Shure Axient and ULXD for RF, it’s a wonderful sounding system.”
He continues: “Our DiGiCo drive racks and my RF inputs/outputs are in one big rack, which is very convenient. Like Cubby, I’d say Eighth Day has been great with my packaging. I asked them for a small footprint, which is why the SD5 is perfect.”
Fernstrom’s right-hand man and Monitor Tech, Nathan Fenchak, says: “The goal we have is to achieve the right mix without adding complexity to the monitor system. We have a couple of analog splitters because Cubby and Connie don't share a cage but the whole show pretty much fits in one rack.
“The only unusual thing we're doing is that all the backline RF is in our monitor rack. The signal comes into our rack, we then return the guitars out to the musicians, which run through their Kempers and Helixes and come back to us.”
Fenchak’s RF file is built into a Shure Wireless Workbench, which he says gives peace of mind: “I love the way Shure integrates into Workbench, I can monitor and manage the whole system so easily.”
Additional peace of mind comes thanks to Eighth Day’s people-first touring mentality. “They take care of us,” adds Fenchak. “They have a good company culture, and we feel like they always have our backs out here.”
Nick ‘Niko’ Labas handles the tour’s comms, and when not routing cables from hardwire systems, he’s singing the praises of Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercom system.
Chosen for its robust nature and ability to handle up to 100 antennas at one time, Labas says its made his role on the tour second nature, despite using the system for the very first time on ‘Queen of Me.’
He praises: “Bolero is easy-to-use and intuitive even if you’ve never done comms before. It’s a powerful intercom that I think anyone can get comfortable using. I’ve had some nice feedback and I’ve loved working on with it.”
Eighth Day Sound’s touring audio crew is completed by PA Techs Sam Hydorn and Jamie Tremelin. ‘Queen of Me’ played 78 shows across North America and Europe, showing live audiences- for the first time in 5 years - that Shania’s beautiful blend of heartfelt songwriting, and delivery, is still in full reign.
