The first acoustic tour for seven years, Just Passing Through saw American singer/songwriter and musician Ray LaMontagne joined onstage only by Wilco bassist Jon Stirratt. The tour targeted intimate performance with the support of UK rental and production specialist Adlib, who supplied lighting and sound equipment.

With the production team led by Mark Jones, the series of UK dates drew on an L-Acoustics K2 sound system specified by Jones and LaMontagne’s FOH engineer Ryan Pickett, with Adlib’s Mike Thorpe as system tech. The K2 gave the consistency needed between venues, which covered a mix of theatres and Apollo-style rooms.

‘It’s such a smooth and “musical” speaker,’ Pickett says, ‘that’s why Mark chose it and why I love it so much,’ said Ryan.

The typical set-up featured ten or 12 K2 elements flown left and right, with two KS28 subs per side on the ground, and some Kara and ARCS used as front side side fill primarily for the stalls. Some of the theatre venues had three balconies, so the challenge was to get the sound up and right into the far corners of these recesses.

Technically a ‘semi-acoustic’ show, a clean but warm sound was essential, and the K2 driven by L-Acoustics 12XT amplifiers provided plenty of volume and range, barely using the subs. Pickett explains that, as LaMontagne’s music leans towards a more organic roots genre with a core that is ‘delicate and sweet’ to the senses, this is uppermost when getting the required sound.

The tour used L-Aoustics SoundVision software, plus all the tools in the L-Acoustics Network Manager software to analyse and tweak the system for the space and to optimise the design.

Pickett specified an Avid Profile FOH mixing console, while monitor engineer Rob Elliot used a DiGiCo SD12. It was an extremely clean stage as both artists utilised Sennheiser IEMs.

LaMontagne is also mid-way through a full band ‘electric’ tour in the US, and using the Avid Profile for this acoustic section, Pickett needed to add some tone shaping to the equation. This came in the form of a couple of Summit DCL200 compressors, one across LaMontagne’s acoustic guitar and vocal and the other for Siratt’s backing vocal and Fender Mustang bass. He chose a Smart C2 stereo compressor for the mix bus, which provided the final stage of levelling on the mix. ‘The C2 is fast and adds an obvious amount of weight and speed to the sound,’ he says.

He used the Rupert Neve Designs 5045 primary source enhancers on the lead and background vocals to give him control in reflective environments and allow him to focus on more gain and less feedback when boosting some of the more critically sensitive parts throughout the show, and Mercury M7 reverb on both of the lead vocals commenting, ‘it has a lovely long tail and sounds very expensive for a stereo guitar pedal’.

Creatively, the goal for the audio was ‘to provide the audience with a visceral yet cinematic experience’, which is a balance between Jeremy Roth’s sculpted scenic design and ‘Ray’s incredible voice’. The ultimate goal is for the sound to envelope the audience so they become one with the entire production.

Pickett has worked with Adlib on several occasion previously, including for Flight of the Concords and My Morning Jacket, and was very pleased to be back on the road with the company in the UK. ‘Mike is very knowledgeable, thorough and thoughtful in his process’ he says acknowledging Mike Thorpe’s meticulous attention to detail.

More: www.adlib.co.uk