Daniel Caesar at Budweiser Stage
audiotechnik J-Series system from her fre-
quent collaborators at PRG Toronto.
Weigold joined the Caesar camp about
a year prior to the Budweiser Stage shows in
the summer of 2018. As they progressed to
larger venues and festival stages, the crew
found themselves increasingly busy and
in need of some logistical support, which
prompted Rowland to put in the call.
A consummate professional, Weigold
says the only key difference or consideration
between these shows and the others on the
tour was scale. “The body and soul of the
show remain intact regardless of the size of
the venue with all the different variations
we’ve come up with over the past few
months on tour,” she shares. “The main thing
to account for is ensuring we have ade-
quate production in place to deliver a clean,
clear, proportionate show. If you’ve seen the
show, it’s very modest in terms of the pro-
duction on deck; we want to create an ex-
perience that relies on energy, atmosphere,
and feeling that isn’t overshadowed by any
of the production – only heightened by it.”
That said, the increase in scale made
managing the local crew and ensuring her
team had the support they needed to get
up and running even more of a priority;
however, she says once everything was
loaded in and in-place, the days ran “like
clockwork” in terms of “patching, program-
ming, and perfecting the small details.”
Speaking to the choice of the J-Series,
McLellan says that goes back to the con-
cept of a more rock- and metal-style mix.
28 PROFESSIONAL SOUND
“I’ve found the d&b J-Series gets me closest
to home in that respect – that scooped
punchiness that I’m after with low-end that
hits you in the chest, rather than low-end
that brushes by your shins.”
The first of these two shows marked
McLellan’s first time behind the console at
Budweiser Stage, and he admits it’s not an
easy venue to mix – lots of concrete, a high
roof, and, at least for sound check, a sea of
plastic seats. “That said, it’s night and day
compared to a full house in there for show-
time,” he says. “Everything tightens up and
warms up nicely, and the endless decays
that haunted you during soundcheck seem
to disappear.”
Flying and overseeing the rig was PRG
systems tech and touring vet Jon Halliwell,
who McLellan asked to work with by name,
and he, Weigold, and Rowland all offer
praise to the local crew that supplemented
their efforts. Of course, with all three based
in Toronto and deeply rooted in its live
production community, there weren’t many
strangers onsite.
“It’s always such a comfort to come
back to a place that has familiar faces and
an unparalleled work ethic,” Weigold says
about the Budweiser Stage and its typical
Nasco Staffing Solutions crew. “Their crew
chief, Biscuit, is a Toronto staple and his
team matches his skill, problem-solving, and
humour. Stage hands are the pillar of the
industry and without them, we wouldn’t
be able to achieve the scale of production
we do. A good crew makes for an even
better day, and Bud Stage’s is among
the best.”
Having a solid crew to lean on
also helps to mitigate some of the
inherent challenges with this iconic
venue.
“This is a tougher shed to mix,”
Rowland states outright. “I find I’m
talking with FOH and our systems
tech a lot more on these kinds of
shows. There’s a point where the
room can be ‘excited’ too much and
all of a sudden, you’re reaching for
your mixes, trying to clear out what
FOH is pushing back onto the stage,
so you have to stop and remind
yourself to keep up communication
with FOH.”
He reports that halfway through
the set on the first night, they hit
their stride, and the second show was
mostly seamless from start to finish.
“Cam and Jon had pushed and pulled
the system into what they needed
for Cam’s mix and the room, and we
had a J-Series rig, which is actually my
favourite to stand behind,” he laughs.
Unlike McLellan, Rowland sup-
plemented his S6L with some exter-
nal tools – namely, a suite of Waves
plug-ins. “For Daniel’s vocal, I use the
C6 [multiband compressor] and API
2500 [compressor]. The C6 is my go-
to for every vocal. I reach for it before
my channel EQs.”
On the RF side, he deployed
a complement of Shure PSM1000
receivers with Sennheiser 6000 mic
transmitters and Shure UR4D sys-
tems for backline wireless. Speaking
to the PSM1000 platform, he says: “In
the pursuit of headroom and clarity,
the PSM1000 definitely does the job.
I’m also a fan of [Shure’s] Wireless
Workbench [software] and how you
can get relatively detailed – or not –
about your RF configuration.”
As for his approach to mixing
Caesar and his band, Rowland notes
that the singer is still navigating
the transition to IEMs. “He has a
dedicated crowd mic channel, and
depending on how they are along
with the room – whether it’s being
forgiving or not – I’ll adjust it from
song to song.”