Laura St Festival

 A few weeks ago, I was having dinner at a house in Laura St Higate Hill and the discussion turned to the existence of the Laura St festival.  I was advised that this house's contribution was their front veranda would be a stage with bands on it.  I offered to help with the PA. Closer to the festival, I received a email requesting I register as a volunteer.  I did that and then I received a phone call asking if I could be a floating PA tech.  I agreed to that with the proviso that my stage was OK with it.

On the day I had the first Come-And-Try at Centenary Rowing Club.  

Also There was a complicated set of arrangements with Cars.  Jemma had the Tiida and went to the GC with friends.  Chris loaned me his dual cab ute.  Chris was with Mackenzie.

For the first time in several years I'm volunteering at a festival. This is the Laura St festival at Higate Hill. It's on 'till late in the evening so come on down. There's music at several stages along with all the usual festival stuff.

This was really good fun.  Cathartic in a way.  A great bi-product of being the floating tech was that I met lots of people and experienced a much larger range of music than I would have if I was on one stage.   

 Laura St Higate Hill. Kids with a lemonade stand. Weird musical thing and a band jamming on a verandah. I'm a sort of roving techo. When there is a small PA issue like the sound guy is in the band, then they call me. I was roped in to make sure the welcome to country could be heard. I mixed a mic and piano for a choir using a digital mixer. Now mixing a band Yokomodo who are jamming on a verandah.

First job was mixing for a community choir.  The sound guy was in the choir (Blue Tee shirt 4 from L).  Easy but better than leaving the system un-attended.  There was a bit too much reverb in the mic.  I enjoyed finding my way around the app and reducing the reverb.

I just love this.  I wonder what the BCC thinks about paint on the road.

Welcome to country.  I set up and operated this PA.

 

 

 

Early in the evening, I received a call from mission control asking me to go to this stage as they had sound problems.  I arrived and located a young (20ish) girl holding and ipad.  She had been handed it and asked to mix.  She said she had little experience but enough to know that one mic had zero signal.

The place was pumping.  Under a house with bessa block walls.  A "window" had a big fan in an attempt to draw in some fresh air.  It was hot loud and full of energy.  I found myself crawling around in the band attempting to trace cables and work out why the singer had no signal.  There was a tangle of wires and some went nowhere.  Got the singers mic up.  Next the mandolin had no signal and I discovered some wires that went nowhere.  Sorted that and then the ipad went flat.  Luckilly the mixer was a X-Air 18.  Exactly the model of mixer I have.  Luckilly again they had omitted adding a wifi key and so I connected my phone and fired up the app and we were back on line.