The key to consistency

Delivering two international festivals on either side of South Africa over the same weekend can be a logistical nightmare. But working with trusted partners ensured that Bad Weather could do just that

Taking place over three days in Cape Town and one day in Johannesburg, Rocking the Daisies and In the City are festivals that attract a world-class lineup to South Africa. While the events take place on either side of the country on the same weekend, they share a lot of similarities. Rocking the Daisies is the larger of the two and offers performances on multiple stages. In the City essentially mirrors the Cape Town festival’s main stage with an identical lineup and technical setup. Managing the production for both events is Bad Weather. The Bad Weather team has been working on both events for a number of years and, over that time, has developed preferences for the equipment it uses and the companies it works with. For the 2019 editions, it meant that the PA across all of the stages came from d&b audiotechnik.

‘It was quite a feat to pull off everything just on d&b, but it was definitely worth our while, that’s for sure,’ says Jonathan Bandli, creative director at Bad Weather. ‘We had four rental companies but there were a lot of people sub-hiring inside of that as well, so pretty much everyone with d&b stock was involved. For Cape Town, it was Eastern Acoustics for the CANDO Main Stage, with Ampere and ULTRA handling the Visa Beach Club and Johnnie Walker Jungle, respectively. And for Johannesburg we used Blue Array. Having the same PA across multiple stages means that if one rental company needs to go to another rental company, the conversation is pretty straightforward. I just never think about audio, because I know that with d&b, we spec it out and that’s the end of it.’

Hidden out of sight: 16-strong hangs of J Series supported the main stage

While the German manufacturer’s rig met the technical rider requirements of the touring acts, there were also other reasons behind this selection. ‘It was consistency in knowing that we are getting a certain type of quality,’ reflects Bandli. ‘We’ve never been let down by the d&b system and we prefer the sound of it to be honest. The other thing that separates that PA from a lot of other competitors in this country is that it is simple to use and the people know how to use it. There’s a lot of education and support behind the system from Stage Audio Works.

L–R: Rocking the Daisies IMAG director Simon Wilkes with Bad Weather’s Jonathan Bandli and Nathan Ihlenfeldt from Stage Audio Works

‘I mean a box is just a box, there’s a lot of other great boxes out there, but if it’s not set up correctly and you don’t have the people with the right education behind it, it’s not going to give you what you want,’ he continues. ‘We just get a consistency of sound across the festival, consistency of quality and, if you tell any artist they’re on d&b, there’s never any question about it because it meets all international spec.’

The system used for both festivals goes down as the largest either has ever had. ‘We’ve used J Series in previous years, but it’s always been on smaller scales like eight, 10 or 12 per side, but this is the first time we’ve gone for a full 16-a-side with J and enough subs,’ says Bandli. ‘It’s just been so much more adequate this year and it was definitely noticeable. The festival invests a lot of money into putting on a world-class performance and booking a world-class lineup and I think the audience noticed a difference, especially from an audio standpoint.’

The move to this unified sonic signature has taken time, but it appears to be something that is working for the festivals. ‘It’s been a journey to get here,’ states Bandli. ‘We’ve been working with the festival director to try and convince them to use the right suppliers and trust us to make the right decisions when it comes to audio, lighting and everything else. And, of course, there’s the financial implications, so it’s about the long-term investments with partners and the rental partners as well. It’s one of the few shows we do where the festival director will say “I only want d&b” so even to people like them, they can hear and see the difference. They’re not saying “get me the cheapest PA around”, they’re saying “get me the best PA around” and half the battle’s won then.’

Double ground-stacked d&b subs were deployed at both sites

Away from the main PA, it was also the biggest setup the festivals have had for a variety of other equipment. ‘It was one of the biggest shows that we’ve done with this sheer number of consoles,’ notes Bandli. ‘We had two DiGiCos for the artist Russ, two DiGiCos for Tash Sultana and one DiGiCo and one SSL for The 1975. So, the front of the house was pretty packed with our full Blackmagic Design system and media service as well.’

While having all the right equipment is important, getting it to the right location for events on either side of the country can be just as much of a challenge. ‘With 20 hours to get the gear from Cape Town to Johannesburg, it’s all very challenging,’ smiles Bandli. ‘The actual time from when the artists land to getting to the site is really tight. So, to make sure that the setup is as identical structurally and technically between both sites gives the artists a lot of comfort and lets us know that, within a tight turnaround, we’ve covered all the bases.

The Rocking the Daisies main stage

‘We need constant communication with the technical team about if there’s a change here, an additional line that needs to run through there, if there’s a power conversion and so forth,’ he continues. ‘These small things can really get in the way of pulling off a perfect show. I think that’s a new skill that us production managers need to adopt in understanding how to get things from A to B in a fast manner and seeing how we can support the artists.’

Reflecting on the events as a whole, Bandli is keen to stress that having all the technical elements working in harmony is the key to the success of the show. ‘Our opinion is, it could be the best-sounding thing but, if it looks rubbish, then it is rubbish. And then it could look the best but, if it sounds rubbish, then it is rubbish. So, to make the show work endto-end is the golden goose egg that we’re trying to chase. You want people to say “Wow, I’ve never heard anything like that, I’ve never seen anything like that, I’ve never experienced anything like that”. Those things have to always work together.’