PRODUCTION PROFILE
REOPENING O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY: CIRCA WAVES Brixton Academy welcomes a capacity crowd of Circa Waves faithful orchestrated by a band of battle-hardened roadies for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Words: Jacob Waite Photos: Jordan Hughes [close-ups] & Luke Dyson [from FOH]
After over a year in oblivion with no in-person audiences, O2 Brixton Academy finally flung open its doors in August to welcome a talented but equally beleaguered troupe of technical production crew and raucous fans during the final stop of Circa Waves’ sold-out UK tour. Initially devised in support of their fourth album, Sad Happy – which was released in two parts in January and March 2020 – Circa Waves, like all touring acts, found their forthcoming stage offering shelved, postponed and ultimately, cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over a year later, the Liverpudlian indie rockers were given the go-ahead to pick up their tour, with technical support from the likes of Siyan, SSE Audio/Wigwam, Northern Star Touring and Pixeled Video providing
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expertise, equipment and infrastructure. An Allen & Heath dLive supplied by SSE Audio/ Wigwam, situated in monitor world was, by far, the standout piece of kit for Tour Manager/ Monitor Engineer, AJ Sutherland, who recalled the vital aspects of the mixing console. “I was so busy with the tour management side of the job, that it was a necessity to have a console I could programme and operate quickly. The extensive options regarding surface configuration and the number of assignable soft keys meant I could get the monitors done to a high standard with minimal faffing about.” However, extra admin regarding health and safety paperwork and the rapid scramble to keep the show on the road when crew suddenly had to isolate is something Sutherland, who ended up testing positive
along with another member of the technical production team midway through the tour, had to prepare for. Following his unforeseen exit from the tour, FOH Engineer, Joe Crouch’s workload was expanded to assume the role of the day-today tour management as well as his traditional mixing duties. “We were really fortunate to have him there ready to go,” remarked Sutherland, describing Crouch as the ‘right person’ to step up and command both roles. “Everyone stepped up and helped out as much as possible when two members of the crew tested positive for COVID-19, and it was only due to the efforts from the crew and band that meant we could continue,” Crouch said rather modestly, speaking to TPi having successfully paved a COVID-19 secure pathway to the final, headline date of the tour.