UK - December saw the chance for over 100 up-and-coming bands to reach a potentially huge audience as London's O2 ran its December Sessions music programme, giving music fans the opportunity to enjoy 20 nights of live music at no cost. With Sennheiser equipment featuring on every show, one special performance saw the company unusually embracing the sound of silence.
The December Sessions took place on a specially-constructed stage in the O2's London Piazza and were supported by Sennheiser UK, which also sponsors the nearby British Music Experience. For every performance, the company provided ew 300 G3 GB in-ear monitors and e 604, e 614, e 901, e 902 and e 935 wired mics.
In the first of a series of events organised by innovative live events company Silentgig, for one very special performance, the company supplied SKM 5200 wireless mics with KK 105 heads, KMS 105 wired mics and RS 120 headphones. The latter are significant, as this show saw The Feeling perform a 'silent gig', with all the audience listening to the show on headphones.
The band are established Sennheiser users, but this was a new experience for all of them, especially frontman Dan Gillespie Sells and bassist Richard Jones, neither of whom normally uses in-ear monitoring.
"In some respects it was quite similar to being in the studio, but having a live audience and no audible PA or backline made it very different," says Jones.
"We play acoustically, even though it's electric instruments and Swordy (band FOH engineer and production manager Jon Sword) has always said that he pretty much just puts the faders up and we're there," adds Gillespie. "This was different, because we were giving him a dry signal. He had a lot more to do than usual."
