Egypt - Sharm El Sheikh is one of the most popular holiday resorts on the Red Sea coast. Among the main attractions in the tourist metropolis are the new Il Mercato shopping mall and the Hard Rock Café. Electro-Voice is setting the tone in both locations.

The Il Mercato shopping centre boasts numerous stores, boutiques, bars, and restaurants. To ensure homogeneous coverage throughout the length of the mall, Electro-Voice partners Alpha Audio installed 68 SX300PIX, 38 ZX1i-100T, and 48 EVID3.2T loudspeakers. 10 CPS2-T amplifiers drive the installation. More Electro-Voice speaker systems serve the main piazza in a mobile capacity. The piazza is used for concerts and live transmissions of sporting events, and there are plans to extend coverage to the 1,000-metre-long shopping promenade. The way for the extension has already been paved with the installation of three NetMax N8

Canada - Tannoy's new QFlex line is central to the newly-refurbished sound system at the Queen of Peace Croation Church, Norval, Ontario.

Built in a traditional neo-gothic style and completed in April 2008, the Queen of Peace Croatian Franciscan Centre is now home to 1200 families from the area's Croatian community. "It's an extraordinary church," says Father Stjepan Pandzic. "Unfortunately the sanctuary, though aesthetically beautiful, is so reverberant that the 3000 plus congregation has been having difficulty hearing exactly what Father Stjepan has had to say since day one."

Enter Mississauga, Ontario based, RP Dynamics. While not a huge company, they've grown consistently, says Cynthia Wong, RP's accounts manager, cultivating a reputation for perfection and passion that allows them to continue to grow, even in troubling economic times.

Though a relati

The Met Challenged - A letter sent to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission is challenging the Metropolitan Police's right to gather information about live music. The commission has been asked to determine whether the Met is contravening race relations laws through its use of the 696 form. The letter's 50 signatories include Feargal Sharkey, head of UK Music.

Journalist Sunny Hundal said there were concerns the law was being used for racial profiling. About 70 London pubs and clubs are currently required to complete the 696 form. The document asks for the names, dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers of promoters and artists, for details of the target audience and for the style of music, "eg bashment, R'n'B, garage".

Mr Hundal, who drafted the letter, said: "I've heard from anecdotal evidence of people who've had no trouble at their venues just being h

USA - Live Nation's new House of Blues club in Boston was christened with a performance by the J. Geils Band, and 2,400 people got to hear the band via Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing consoles, two of which are installed there to handle front-of-house and monitor mixing duties. The consoles are part of a PA system that uses components from Harman's JBL, Crown and dbx brands. The system was designed and installed by Sound Image of Escondido, California.

Sited in the shadow of Fenway Park, on Lansdowne Street, the club's floor is wide and the stage is high, offering much-improved sightlines. A second level is ringed by colourful folk art and several bars; there is also a seated balcony area on the third floor.

House of Blues Boston's PA system features 10 JBL VerTec VT4888DP powered three-way mid-size line array enclosures and three JBL ASB6128 dual 18" subs per side powered

UK - Based on the South Coast, Apt Suspensions is a new distribution company offering rigging, and hoisting products at competitive prices and providing a comprehensive national sales service to the professional and amateur user.

"Utilising quality merchandise sourced from around the world, the company's ranges of products - from safety bonds to chain blocks - represent exceptional value for money and, therefore, an outstandingly good deal for the customer," the company says.

"Apt Suspensions give their customers an unrivalled level of personal care, and regardless of whether the requirement is to purchase stainless steel fittings and wire rope for use at an outdoor event; to rent chain hoists and slings to raise the roof on a temporary stage system, or hoisting equipment that needs to be inspected and tested prior to use, they have the expertise to advise and h

UK - Raoul Simpson was recently commissioned to create two site specific light installations by curator Carl Slater for an exhibition entitled SITU, held from 18 August to 3 September at the Holy Trinity Church Tattershall, Lincolnshire.

The commissions are made up of two pieces, Moondial, a time-based light installation to the exterior of the bell tower and Kinetic Pixels, an interactive light installation sited either side of the main aisle in the church. Support for the projects was given by Richard Martin Lighting (IP65 Thomas Pixelline 1044, Ether-Lynx ArtNET), PRG Lighting (cabling) and ChamSys (control for Moondial).

(Jim Evans)

USA - Advanced Media Design (AMD) has announced an "exclusive value added distribution relationship" with Aethra.

Advanced Media Design now distributes the entire Aethra video communication suite of products, including the high definition range.

"Although not as well known in the United States as it is in other parts of the world, Aethra is a world leader in our business, and we're excited to team with them and contribute to their outstanding success story by leveraging our own extensive value added distribution experience in the North American market," said Gareth Wade, vice-president of sales and marketing, AMD/MediaPOINTE. "Our new partnership supports Aethra's global goals and proves our commitment of bringing the best available products in the market to our dealers."

Marco Viezzoli, chief executive officer of Aethra said: "This is a ve

UK - As most of the industry is aware by now, in Spring next year, Ofcom will be holding a 'beauty contest' for a band manager to manage the radio spectrum used by PMSE (Programme Making & Special Events) users. PLASA - the Professional Lighting and Sound Association - has recently announced its intention to apply for the role.

The best applicant will be awarded a package of radio frequencies or 'spectrum bands' that content producers depend on for the use of essential wireless equipment, including radio microphones, in-ear monitoring and wireless cameras.

For Ofcom, these 'beauty contests' are an unusual way of releasing spectrum. Generally speaking, bands that are 'freed up' for whatever reason are auctioned and awarded to the highest bidder. However, Ofcom has recognised that this would not work in the case of the Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) sector, which wou

Denmark - Trumpet player Randy Brecker has adopted the DPA 4099 clip mic for his international tours. Brecker put the mic through its paces during a two-week tour which took place in Lisbon, Singapore and Finland.

"It's the first time I've ever had a so-called 'clip on' that not only covers the full sonic range of the horn but, due to the ingenious bell-clip, has virtually no valve noise whatsoever," he says. "I think it actually improves my playing. This tour was acoustic, and in that kind of situation I would never have used clip-ons in the past."

(Jim Evans)

France - Musique Et Son, Martinique's APG distributor, was in charge of the sound system for President Sarkozy's visit on 26 June at Fort de France. APG4000, DS15S and DS12S loudspeaker systems were employed for this presidential visit.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - There were two significant but very different firsts for Mojo Barriers at this year's Lowlands Festival. It was the first time the Gatekeeper, Mojo's new intelligent turnstile system had been integrated into the festival's barrier system, and the first Lowlands Festival for Cees Muurling since being appointed managing director of the company.

The three day festival in Holland brought together 55,000 people to enjoy the festival experience with music from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Kaiser Chiefs and Snoop Dogg.

This year, Mojo Barriers' Gatekeeper was used for the first time at the festival as part of the entry and exit system for the main stage front audience pens. The Gatekeeper's turnstile system counted the number of people entering and leaving the enclosed pens immediately in front of the stage throughout the day to ensure the

UK - Lighting rental company Lite Alternative has invested in a new Kinesys K2 automation control system which has gone out on Depeche Mode's Touring The Universe world tour and the stadium leg of the Coldplay Viva La Vida world tour - both with lighting designs by Paul Normandale.

This reflects the growing trend for designers to incorporate movement as another visual dynamic into their shows, requiring accurate and often subtle control to change the nature and feel of the performance space.

The first Lite Alt Kinesys purchase was a fixed speed Elevation system with a Smart 8 8-channel hoist controller and Vector PC-based automation control. This was utilised for Keane's autumn 2008 tour, to facilitate Rob Sinclair's design. It then went straight out on the Kings of Leon, a co-design between Ali Bale and Paul Normandale.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Grammy Award-winning rockers KoRn visited the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota on 3 August, 2009 for a concert at the Full Throttle Saloon. Jacksonville, Illinois-based Mason Sound provided sound reinforcement for the event, including their XLC system from Electro-Voice.

Mason Sound's Todd Spangenberg comments: "We do the stage at Full Throttle Saloon every year in Sturgis, South Dakota and have a good working relationship with Mike Ballard, the owner of Full Throttle. This year Mike explained we'd need to bring in a bigger system as he'd booked KoRn to play the outdoor amphitheatre behind the bar. We knew our Tour Grade (TG) powered XLC rig would be perfect for providing the perfect balance of punch and precision."

Mason Sound's original spec for the event included 36 XLC127DVX loudspeakers (18 per side), but height restrictions limited the hangs to 1

USA - Tannoy's QFlex digitally steerable, multi-channel speaker arrays have been installed in the Galesburg, Illinois' First Christian Church where they provide a compact and versatile solution for a challenging acoustic environment.

With nearly three seconds of RT, and the option of installing acoustic treatments off the table, owing to both budgetary and aesthetic concerns, First Christian needed a solution that would provide a rock solid fix without calling attention to itself.

"The Tannoy solution was absolutely a perfect fit for this application," says Trent Keeling, VP and co-owner of Peoria based, Advanced Audio and Lighting Systems. "The intelligibility factor was 'off the charts' poor. There was such a huge loss of intelligibility in the room that people were literally walking up to speak into a microphone to talk to one another."

"It took t

Denmark - Owned by Danish national broadcaster DR and costing over US$300m, the new DR Konserthuset is one of the most expensive live music venues ever built. A state-of-the-art facility which offers four performance halls and a home to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, it features cutting-edge technical and acoustic specifications.

A major requirement of the venue is hosting a wide variety of productions but, at the same time, addressing that most thorny of issues - amplifying classical and operatic music, while making the audience feel that what they're hearing is purely acoustic. With Yamaha digital mixing engines at the heart of its two main spaces, this has been very successfully achieved.

The two spaces in question are Studio 1 and Studio 2, seating audiences of up to 1,800 and 500 respectively. Both feature Yamaha DME units, a DME64N in Studio 1 and DME24N in Stud

Switzerland - The fourth St. Gallen Festspiele, including a classical open air opera, has earned its place among the finest of Swiss festivals and this year the production of Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah took centre stage in front of the backdrop of the Abbey of St. Gallen.

The monastery of St. Gallen is one of the few concert venues in Switzerland where the orchestra is positioned in an enclosed booth backstage, so sound has to be reinforced one hundred percent towards the audience. To pull off such a feat it is essential to have excellent sound quality, on a par with the carefully controlled acoustics in an auditorium.

M&M Hire AG, together with Habegger AG, the contractor, and Daniel Meyer from 2M Audio, d&b audiotechnik's distributor in Switzerland, provided sound engineering and acoustics expertise at the open-air festival for the fourth time in a row.

Countl

USA - In one of the highest-profile North American concert events of the season, the 2009 No Doubt Summer Tour culminated 11 August with a show at the Neal S. Blaisdel Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Building on its successful working relationship with No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani from her solo tours, rental firm Sound Image of Escondido, California supplied a JBL Vertec line array system for the tour, which was produced by Live Nation and featured special-guest Paramore and either The Sounds, Janelle Monae or Bedouin Soundclash as the opening act.

Commencing on 3 May at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the tour reunited one of the most successful rock groups from the 1990s, whose 1995 release Tragic Kingdom has sold more than 16m copies to date. In recent years, Stefani has enjoyed tremendous success as a solo artist. Sound Image supp

USA - American Music & Sound has confirmed that Phonic has joined the AM&S distribution network effective 1 September 2009. "Phonic has a fantastic Pro Audio and MI product lineup," says Lynn Martin, president of American Music & Sound. "We are very excited to bring them on board, and we are looking forward to great achievements with Phonic."

"Phonic's success in the US in the past few years outgrew our standalone Tampa office," says Stephen Wang, Phonic's chairman and CEO: "and prompted us to search for a local partner able to provide even greater support and faster fulfillment to users. American Music & Sound was chosen for its track record of brand development and its established distribution network that covers not only musical instruments but also the installed market. Phonic looks forward to expanding our US distribution with a trusted pa

UK - On their return to Football's Premier League, Burnley FC have treated supporters at their 22,000-capacity Turf Moor stadium to a fully integrated digital network public address system that is highly-intelligible and PA/VA compliant.

Acoustic consultants AMS Acoustics, had already implemented an earlier first phase upgrade last season to bring three stands into VA compliance. During the course of this exercise the capture of a full range of measurements was required and the resultant data, after analysis, was used as the cornerstone for an entirely new design the following year.

During the short close season AMS returned with ETA Sound to implant a complete Harman Pro solution, using a fibre-based signal network that would extend to the three main stands - the North (James Hargreaves) stand, the East (Jimmy McIlroy) stand and South (Bob Lord) stand.

The West (David Fishw

Serbia - Just in time for the World Student Games, which were held in Serbia in July, a new sports hall opened in Smederevo. The new 3,500-seat hall meets all the demands of today's major sporting events. Mega Music, Dynacord's partner in Serbia, was responsible for the installation of the sound system. Together with the new hall's management, Mega Music opted for a Promatrix 4000 system, all-in-one solution.

More than 160 Dynacord DL 96A and DL 84 ceiling loudspeakers round off the installation to ensure homogeneous coverage not only in the main hall but also throughout what is now Serbia's top indoor sports complex in areas such as the bowling alley, shooting gallery, passageways, staircases, and changing rooms.

Mega Music's Davor Tomovic comments: "We had meticulously prepared the whole installation in advance and the system worked flawlessly from the start. All we nee

UK - Arcstream AV was commissioned by music video directors Between the Eyes to create the visual laser effects in the video for Sugababes new single Get Sexy.

The video sees the singers enclosed in a cylinder of mirrors and Arcstream AV had to devise a way of creating the special effects within the cylinder. By installing a 10 watt RGB laser and diffraction mirrors within the cylinder and feeding the lasers and a camera through a small aperture in the side of the cylinder, the action within the enclosed area could be captured without disrupting the laser stream.

Wayne Haxton, director of Arcstream AV explained: "Capturing the images was a challenge due to the tight space restrictions, so we used defraction mirrors to bounce the laser beams within the cylinder allowing them to be directed."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - The audacious, ambitious in-the-round touring spectacle that is Britney Spears' Circus World Tour has been wowing fans in the UK before heading off on its latest international leg in Europe, North America, down under and beyond. Literally at the heart of the giant production is a mammoth circular Stealth LED video curtain, raised and lowered with millimetre precision several times every night by an XLNT Advanced Technologies CyberHoist motion control system.

The complex, three-ring, non-stop show is a cornucopia of aerial action, with acrobatics, nine automated lifts, and a central 5.18m (17ft) diameter rotating device, all contributing to the Circus theme, and with over 100 lift cues there's not a moment to draw breath.

The concept is the work of co-lighting designers Nick Whitehouse and Bryan Leitch, with tour director Steve Dixon and show director J

UK - Electro-Voice line array systems have made their way down to the extreme south-west of England, recently appearing at the annual summer picnic festival for the Plymouth Jazz Club. This concert marked the debut for a new XLD system purchased by Light Years Light and Sound, complete with EV amplifiers, system controllers and microphones.

Light Years Light and Sound, from Tavistock, has been servicing the events of the Plymouth Jazz Club for many years, and chose the annual outdoor festival at National Trust property Saltram House as the first outing for its all-new EV inventory.

"Our old point-source system just ran out of steam," says Anthony Plumridge from Light Years. "The criteria I had for a new system was that it should be compact, quick and easy to set up, with superb sound quality. We went over to Shuttlesound's demo facility in south London and liste

USA - Dating back to 1904, the Ravinia Festival is the oldest outdoor music venue in the US, hosting a series of marquee performances every summer from June to September. Ravinia offers open-air concert experiences within its park-like 36-acre site near the shores of Lake Michigan, including the summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ravinia Music Director James Conlon.

While the site's 3,200 seat main pavilion could well be called the centerpiece of its lush, tree-lined setting, Ravinia's lawn is a place where concert-goers are encouraged to claim a space with an outspread blanket and have a picnic. One of the few venues in the country that permit full meals and alcohol to be brought in and consumed at its concerts, Ravinia is accordingly visited by patrons toting lawn chairs, coolers packed with food, lawn accessories of all descriptio

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